4G depends on Radio. Radio works very well in an environment like Hispañola (the island containing Haiti and Dominican Republic).
You’ve got some convenient very high central locations, lots of nice conductive ground-plane salt-water surrounding the area, and very little terrain interference from those high points to the vast majority of the island. Africa has a much larger and more diverse geography. The water surrounding it is much much further from the central locations and the central locations are NOT proportionately has high above (and in some cases even below) the surrounding terrain. Africa also has a wide variety of political and cultural issues and multiple distinct political frameworks to deal with. (Haiti has only one and if you throw in all of Hispañola, you still only have 2). There are parts of Africa where 4G works relatively well. There are parts where you’re lucky if you can get anything at all. There are parts where electricity, indoor plumbing, and safe drinking water would be a novelty. (Of course that last one is true in Haiti as well). Indeed, I think the biggest thing to realize is that speaking of Africa as if it were a single place is as big a failure as speaking of Asia like it is a single place. Both consist of many countries, many cultures, a wide variety of terrains and geological and geographical features, and a great diversity of experiences to be had. Angola is as different from Zambia as Afghanistan is from Vietnam. Owen > On May 28, 2018, at 23:36 , Ben Cannon <b...@6by7.net> wrote: > > Then Africa in particular is specifically disadvantaged - I spent a good deal > of time in Haiti and 4G connectivity was abundant at good speeds, as were > terrestrial fiber connections. > > Mirrors my experience in half a dozen other 3rd world countries. Unless > there’s something particularly oppressive about Africa? > >> On May 28, 2018, at 5:06 PM, Scott Weeks <sur...@mauigateway.com> wrote: >> >> --- mpet...@netflight.com wrote: >> From: Matthew Petach <mpet...@netflight.com> >> On Mon, May 28, 2018 at 11:22 AM, Ben Cannon <b...@6by7.net> wrote: >> >>> I’m sorry I simply believe that in 2018 with the advanced and cheap ptp >>> radio (ubiquiti anyone? $300 and I have a 200mbit/sec link over 10miles! >>> Spend a bit more and go 100km) plus the advancements in cubesats about to >>> be launched, even the 3rd world can simply get with the times. >> >> I do not think you adequately understand the economics of the >> situation. >> >> https://www.slideshare.net/InternetSociety/international-bandwidth-and-pricing-trends-in-subsahara-africa-79147043 >> >> slide 22, IP transit cost. >> >> Your 200mbit/sec link that costs you $300 in hardware >> is going to cost you $4960/month to actually get IP traffic >> across, in Nairobi. Yes, that's about $60,000/year. >> >> Could *you* afford to "get with the times" if that's what >> your bandwidth was going to cost you? >> >> Please, do a little research on what the real >> costs are before telling others they need to >> "simply get with the times." >> ----------------------------------------- >> >> >> >> Also, please don't just look at continental countries >> when researching. Look at the small PICs (Pacific >> Island Countries). For example, search the posts from >> Christian on Kiribati on the PICISOC list. The cost is >> extraordinary and all the ego-flattering bloat rsk >> speaks (relevant part of the post id below) of in very >> expensive to download and is nearly impossible to stop. >> >> scott >> >> >> >> * >>> The problem (part of the problem) is that the people doing these foolish >>> things are new, ignorant, and privileged: they don't realize that bandwidth >>> is still an expensive and scarce resource for most of the planet. I've >>> said for years that every web designer should be forced to work in an >>> environment bandlimited to 56K in order to instll in them the virtue >>> of frugality and strongly discourage them from flattering their egos >>> by creating all-singing all-dancing web sites...that look great in the >>> portfolios they'll show to their peers but are horribly bloated, slow, >>> unrenderable in a lot of browsers, and fraught with security and privacy >>> problems. (Try pointing a text-only browser at your favorite website. >>> Can you even read the home page?) >> >> >> >
