Re: [GKD-DOTCOM] Bringing Connectivity to Under-Served Communities
On Monday, December 1, 2003, Robert Miller wrote: Simon Woodside wrote: WorldSpace is a broadcast system. With a WorldSpace system you are only capable of receiving data, not sending it. I wish to disagree in that we are currently using WorldSpace very effectively as a global multicast solution to refresh all of the Axxess servers that Advanced Interactive currently has installed across Africa. With a dialup line as a back channel the server maintains contact with the global Network Operations Center that remotely manages this entire network. ..[snip statements I agree with]... let us not discount this technology where a differentiated last mile solution can manage its shortcomings and turn 1-way downlink with a server managed dialup back channel into a viable way of a sustainable affordable connected community. Robert, your post has raised more questions than it answered. Thus far, WorldSpace has been billed as a beachhead information system that can be deployed in areas that have no communications infrastructure. I think I'm convinced at this point that's a valid development, though not one I would ever pursue. It's been assumed so far that once an internet connection is available, the internet is superior. And yes -- since on the internet, my rural users can talk back, hold conversations, email their relatives, use VoIP -- all impossible with WorldSpace. Now you have described a situation which adds a dialup to the regular WorldSpace receiver unit. But why would anyone bother with WorldSpace at all if they have dialup internet access? We run the risk of applying a technology (WorldSpace) just because we can in that situation. simon -- 99% Devil, 1% Angel homepage http://www.simonwoodside.com for the developing world http://www.openict.net member of http://www.mozilla.org/projects/camino This DOT-COM Discussion is funded by the dot-ORG USAID Cooperative Agreement, and hosted by GKD. http://www.dot-com-alliance.org provides more information. To post a message, send it to: [EMAIL PROTECTED] To subscribe or unsubscribe, send a message to: [EMAIL PROTECTED]. In the 1st line of the message type: subscribe gkd OR type: unsubscribe gkd For the GKD database, with past messages: http://www.GKDknowledge.org
Re: [GKD-DOTCOM] Bringing Connectivity to Under-Served Communities
My main concern about WorldSpace is that it is billed as a communication system. Most electronic communication systems are two-way, they allow conversations. But WorldSpace is one-way. It is, in fact, a broadcasting system, not a communications system. Just as you would call TV a broadcast system. WorldSpace users are passive observers. I think it is a good broadcast system. It supports data broadcasting, which is new and has many uses. But if we are talking about ICT, information and communications technologies, this is an IT, not a CT. While communications systems involve connections and interaction, broadcasting involves transmitters and receivers. Although WorldSpace's own websites are very careful to speak only of transmission and reception, others make mistakes. The WorldSpace satellite network is an innovative communication technology that enables people to access information even in the remotest villages where there are no telephone lines or electricity. http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/sci/tech/1608394.stm The unique, patented technology allows inexpensive connectivity to the computer directly from the satellite. http://thinkcycle.media.mit.edu/thinkcycle/main/ development_by_design_2002/ publication__innovative_internet_access_to_a_remote_school_in_kenya/ Implementation_of_SchoolWeb_Project_at_Kabarak_High_School.pdf The internet is very poor at broadcasting. But it's excellent as a communication medium. As another person recently wrote: Because the WorldSpace product is a satellite receiver, there's no back-channel for data upload. As a result, you can't send email, request additional cached webpages or give feedback on whether a particular piece of content is useful. http://cyber.law.harvard.edu/xdev/22.html So, in conclusion. WorldSpace is an innovative and obviously useful information dissemination tool. But, on the other hand, a basic, slow email system (even with intermediaries) is better at communication. simon On Friday, November 28, 2003, David J.A. Sawe wrote: Arguably, the initial step towards joining the information society is to receive information, and not to transmit blindly. In the same way, a newborn's first breath is always to inhale and not to exhale. Especially in terms of educating, informing and entertaining, there is much that can be achieved through being able to merely receive broadcasts. If this were not the case, then the traditional forms of media dissemination (ie. radio/TV/print) could never have become as pervasive as they are now in our more privileged urban areas. So WorldSpace satellite radio receivers bring about inclusivity by merely offering a new option for reliably receiving high quality audio and data content in locations hitherto excluded from any of the traditional media forms. Of course, as with traditional broadcast media, other options would need to be looked into on a case-by-case basis to contribute anything in return; but at the outset, this requirement is not a sine qua non. -- 99% Devil, 1% Angel anti-spam: do NOT post this address publicly homepage http://www.simonwoodside.com for the developing world http://www.openict.net member of http://www.mozilla.org/projects/camino This DOT-COM Discussion is funded by the dot-ORG USAID Cooperative Agreement, and hosted by GKD. http://www.dot-com-alliance.org provides more information. To post a message, send it to: [EMAIL PROTECTED] To subscribe or unsubscribe, send a message to: [EMAIL PROTECTED]. In the 1st line of the message type: subscribe gkd OR type: unsubscribe gkd For the GKD database, with past messages: http://www.GKDknowledge.org
Re: [GKD-DOTCOM] Bringing Connectivity to Under-Served Communities
WorldSpace is a broadcast system. With a WorldSpace system you are only capable of receiving data, not sending it. While I think WorldSpace is a great and wonderful thing, it's very dangerous if people thinking it's a substitute for the real thing which is an internet connection that allows two-way communication, email, web access, VoIP, web email, content creation, content sharing ... none of those are possible with WorldSpace. So, if you want to be merely an information consumer ... WorldSpace is fine. If you want to join the information society, you need something more. simon On Wednesday, November 19, 2003, Robert Miller wrote: The WorldSpace connection together with this CampusAxxess last mile solution for any school, campus, or village truly narrows the digital divide in an affordable and sustainable way. For more info, contact Dr. S. Rangarajan, Sr. Vice President of WorldSpace at [EMAIL PROTECTED] or me. -- www.simonwoodside.com :: www.openict.net :: www.semacode.org 99% Devil, 1% Angel -- anti-spam: do not post this address publicly www.simonwoodside.com -- 99% Devil, 1% Angel This DOT-COM Discussion is funded by the dot-ORG USAID Cooperative Agreement, and hosted by GKD. http://www.dot-com-alliance.org provides more information. To post a message, send it to: [EMAIL PROTECTED] To subscribe or unsubscribe, send a message to: [EMAIL PROTECTED]. In the 1st line of the message type: subscribe gkd OR type: unsubscribe gkd For the GKD database, with past messages: http://www.GKDknowledge.org
Re: [GKD-DOTCOM] Improving Access Via Mobile Telephony
The regulatory environment is very poor for Wi-Fi in developing countries. Please refer to the growing list of countries and their regulations here: http://openict.net/projects/openspectrum/ (choose ByCountry) The reality on the ground is that MOST developing countries do NOT have the proper regulations to make Wi-Fi possible. They need to issue Open Spectrum licenses (for free use of the correct spectrum) but have not done so yet. This situation is taken advantage of by the incumbent telephone companies who in many cases use the lack of proper regulation to shut down inexpensive, open, and often free Wi-Fi systems ... because they see them as competition. For those of you who may have the ability to influence policy ... more open spectrum licenses are needed in developing countries ... simon On Friday, November 21, 2003, Al Hammond wrote: Whether WiFi-like or cellular solutions are most feasible may depend as much on the regulatory environment (what's legal) and on the openness to innovation in cellular providers. -- anti-spam: do not post this address publicly www.simonwoodside.com -- 99% Devil, 1% Angel This DOT-COM Discussion is funded by the dot-ORG USAID Cooperative Agreement, and hosted by GKD. http://www.dot-com-alliance.org provides more information. To post a message, send it to: [EMAIL PROTECTED] To subscribe or unsubscribe, send a message to: [EMAIL PROTECTED]. In the 1st line of the message type: subscribe gkd OR type: unsubscribe gkd For the GKD database, with past messages: http://www.GKDknowledge.org
Re: [GKD-DOTCOM] What's on the Horizon?
Time for peering into the crystal ball, I guess. First, three years is about the outer limit IMO for any kind of computer technology predictions. I tend to look at trends that are coming in the next year or two and that's quite challenging enough... This week we ask GKD members to consider the distant future in ICT terms -- the next 3 years. Connectivity for All. It has a nice ring, but success thus far has been limited. Funding is a central issue. I would say that to the contrary, funding is not a central issue. It is easily possible to pour money into hare-brained schemes that will never yield positive results. Whereas, it is far more difficult to determine what scheme will succeed. Funding is important, but I believe it should come out of a natural process that begins first with coming up with a correct scheme. For example, I have recently read that the East African nations are devoting hundreds of millions of $ to build an undersea cable. I cannot say enough that this is an excellent move. However, if I could question these initiators I would ask - what is your sharing plan? Currently the West African cable (SAT-3) is very slow to bring benefits because it is monopolized. The bandwidth is NOT being used. There is in fact either none or very little competition available, but rather one single supplier in each country of the bandwidth tap that comes out of this fat pipe. The single supplier is a monopoly that knows only one rule - charge high prices. Clearly not the best for the people. What will the East African cable organization do differently? Perhaps I'm being pessimistic, but I suspect it has never occurred to them as a problem worth giving thought to. So I have an intrinsic distrust of huge funding because I think it's more difficult to think creatively in a very expensive project. Forgo experimentation Disagree. Technology is unpredictable. Experimentation, lots of different trials at small scale, is key. Open reporting on successes and FAILURES is key. Then harvest the results and learn, learn, learn. 1. What new high impact technologies are on the 3-year horizon? Who (exactly) needs to do what (concretely) to make those technologies widely available? Wi-Fi is a big one. Whoever is able to influence government policy needs to push developing governments to create an Open Spectrum plan to allow the Wi-Fi growth to happen. Java-enabled cell phones is another area that I think will explode. J2ME enabled java phones will be the new PC especially in developing areas where the following qualities are so valuable: a) portable b) rugged c) cheap d) low-power Wireless cellular in general but I don't think anyone here needs to do anything to make that happen - it's already rolling like a steamroller. In the developing world, I believe that technologies that can be used by people who are illiterate - whether is a Simputer type technology, or internet voice mail :-) will be very popular and important to achieving development goals. Broadband is very important. I think it has been given short shrift in these discussions. The #1 rule of bandwidth is you NEVER have enough bandwidth. Businesses can be built purely on the basis of HAVING broadband. We are talking about voice applications over the internet - this requires broadband. E-learning over the internet - need broadband for that. Downloading the latest version of Linux - broadband. We may realize that we sometimes have to do without it, but the goal should always be to get it. As others have pointed out already, you don't need to have international broadband to see benefits. Even local broadband, through, say, an IXP can give very substantial gains in building local content networks. And voice connections between local villages ... will still save people a lot of time walking on poor-quality roads, paying for the post, etc. 3. Where should we focus our efforts during the coming 3 years? On ICT policy? Creating ICT projects with revenue-generation models that are quickly self-supporting? Demonstrating the value of ICT to developing country communities? Yes. ;-) (that's an engineer's answer) simon This DOT-COM Discussion is funded by the dot-ORG USAID Cooperative Agreement, and hosted by GKD. http://www.dot-com-alliance.org provides more information. To post a message, send it to: [EMAIL PROTECTED] To subscribe or unsubscribe, send a message to: [EMAIL PROTECTED]. In the 1st line of the message type: subscribe gkd OR type: unsubscribe gkd For the GKD database, with past messages: http://www.GKDknowledge.org
Re: [GKD-DOTCOM] How Much Bandwidth is Necessary?
On Wednesday, November 12, 2003, Pam McLean wrote: Ben Parker asked about experiences on solar powered VSAT I don't have time to give details now but can't let the question go by without brief reference to the Solo. It is designed for rural Africa. I saw the second generation prototype during field trials in Oke-Ogun. I undertand that some pre-production versions are now under assembly. Not being a techie I don't know if there is any difference between VSAT and the satelite connection that Solo was making use of then. Pam, thanks for the insight. Satellite phones can definitely be used for internet connections. For many examples try this google search: http://www.google.com/search?q=%22satellite+phone%22+laptop There's no necessity to use a Solo computer for this ... all of the satellite phones that provide data will work with any laptop. There's definitely a difference between VSAT and satellite phone. A VSAT link is like a leased line ... it's a permanent connection to the internet that you lease by the month. For the period of the lease you may use it as often as you like, you can saturate the connection 100% of the time if you like, the price is fixed at a monthly rate. With satellite phone you're paying ... buy the minute. Probably a couple of dollars a minute. So, if your use is sporadic and for very short periods at a time, it may be cheaper than VSAT. That said, VSAT links are usually in the range of $100-$300 a month depending on where you are, that's for the slowest connections of VSAT which are still just as fast as the fastest satellite phone. Satellite phones max out at 144kbps but are more typically 9.6kbps, or 56kbps. As a potential purchaser I know I won't get hold of one until someone in Africa sets up a small, locally financed company, to do small scale assembly (about 100 units a month). The ethos behind Solo development is not just to make the *end product* available in rural Africa, but to *benefit local economies* and to *enable technology transfer through local assembly*. It is an imaginative combination of leading edge technology and cottage industry scale assembly! Hurdles to be overcome are things like problems relating to getting components through customs, and getting a critical mass of initial orders, to give a small company the confidence to go forward. That's why I keep plugging the Solo - I want one, and I want the project I support in Oke-Ogun to be able to get them - so I need other people to want them too. I hope you succeed, but I have to say I'm doubtful that the Solo computer will ultimately prove to be cheaper or better than a laptop. Keeping in mind that a local economy can develop around laptops too ... maybe not building but selling, servicing. And most of the world's laptops are built in just a few factories in Taiwan anyway ;-) simon -- www.simonwoodside.com :: www.openict.net :: www.semacode.org 99% Devil, 1% Angel This DOT-COM Discussion is funded by the dot-ORG USAID Cooperative Agreement, and hosted by GKD. http://www.dot-com-alliance.org provides more information. To post a message, send it to: [EMAIL PROTECTED] To subscribe or unsubscribe, send a message to: [EMAIL PROTECTED]. In the 1st line of the message type: subscribe gkd OR type: unsubscribe gkd For the GKD database, with past messages: http://www.GKDknowledge.org
Re: [GKD-DOTCOM] How Much Bandwidth is Necessary?
On Monday, November 10, 2003, Ben Parker wrote: The other major challenge we face in two remote telecentres UNICEF supports in southern Sudan (at least two days from the nearest telephone) is the generators. These need lots of fuel and oil and are prone to breakdown. Regular desktops are much too greedy for solar power as far as I understand, but I would be interested if anyone can share experiences on solar-powered VSAT? How much power does a VSAT use? Seems like it must be a lot. Desktops are definitely not a good idea with solar, but laptops would do fine with a solar power system, since they generally use less than 10 Watts. Whereas a desktop PC with a monitor draws maybe 100 Watts. Instead of using VSAT for backhaul, consider using Wi-Fi for backhaul connection to the internet. WiFi equipment has very light power requirements -- solar is defintely used to power Wi-Fi installations in remote locations. simon -- www.simonwoodside.com :: www.openict.net :: www.semacode.org 99% Devil, 1% Angel This DOT-COM Discussion is funded by the dot-ORG USAID Cooperative Agreement, and hosted by GKD. http://www.dot-com-alliance.org provides more information. To post a message, send it to: [EMAIL PROTECTED] To subscribe or unsubscribe, send a message to: [EMAIL PROTECTED]. In the 1st line of the message type: subscribe gkd OR type: unsubscribe gkd For the GKD database, with past messages: http://www.GKDknowledge.org
Re: [GKD-DOTCOM] How Much Bandwidth is Necessary?
On Friday, November 7, 2003, at 08:26 AM, Cornelio Hopmann wrote: Hence: if the alternative is to connect many (and through-out the country) by low-bandwidth or a few with megabyte links, go for the first. The latter will come -almost by itself- as technology costs fall and demand increases. I would say rather that the different technologies that are available are so different and so randomly effective it's impossible to say that either low-bandwidth or high-bandwidth is better. Pragmatically, a more scatter-shot approach would have more likelihood of succeeding. Launch many projects with many technologies. Some will work, some won't. Learn from the failures and repeat the successes. Every time a new technology comes along give it a chance. Not only that, but the high cost of a PC or a laptop needs to be considered. A PC is expensive, whether it's connected to high-bandwidth or low. So a substantial sum of the total ICT investment isn't going to change no matter what the bandwidth plan might be. simon This DOT-COM Discussion is funded by the dot-ORG USAID Cooperative Agreement, and hosted by GKD. http://www.dot-com-alliance.org provides more information. To post a message, send it to: [EMAIL PROTECTED] To subscribe or unsubscribe, send a message to: [EMAIL PROTECTED]. In the 1st line of the message type: subscribe gkd OR type: unsubscribe gkd For the GKD database, with past messages: http://www.GKDknowledge.org
Re: [GKD] The Phones Keep Ringing in World's Poorest Country
Actually I think that Somalia's telecomm grew BECAUSE there is no national operator. You also see this ironic situation in DRC, where there are tremendous advances in telecomms despite a totally chaotic situation. The truth is the telecomm in this era needs competition to force down prices. I am not generally an advocate of privatization, but competition in telecomm is essential, and it's got to happen in Africa quickly. But, this article then immediately confuses a national operator with a national regulator, they are completely different. A national regulator is essential, this is a government department that does not sell service, they just design policy and regulations. A national operator is the same thing as a national telecomm company. One is essential to have (national regulator) the other is essential to get rid of (national operator). simon On Tuesday, July 29, 2003, at 04:24 PM, Frederick Noronha (FN) wrote: Notably, Somalias telecommunications sector grew despite the fact that it does not have its own national telecommunications operator, as companies merely filled in the void left by the government. But that is not a model that wins the approval of experts: the International Telecommunication Union (ITU), which closely works with the Somali telecoms companies, says the lack of any regulatory body is a big worry. -- www.simonwoodside.com -- 99% Devil, 1% Angel ***GKD is solely supported by EDC, a Non-Profit Organization*** To post a message, send it to: [EMAIL PROTECTED] To subscribe or unsubscribe, send a message to: [EMAIL PROTECTED]. In the 1st line of the message type: subscribe gkd OR type: unsubscribe gkd Archives of previous GKD messages can be found at: http://www.edc.org/GLG/gkd/
[GKD] ANN: Open Spectrum Mailing List
Open ICT dot net announces a new mailing list, [EMAIL PROTECTED] Open Spectrum is the frequencies that supports the use of Wi-Fi/802.11b, and other wireless internet access technology. Wi-Fi and other wireless data systems make a very good urban/rural internet access solution, as shown by the massive growth in Wireless ISP and community wireless networks. However, in many places regulatory uncertainty leaves its users at risk. The purpose of this list is to further the proliferation of good open spectrum policies world-wide. Topic: Discussion and community effort towards the proliferation of open spectrum policy and regulations world-wide (including developing nations). Subscribe: [EMAIL PROTECTED] List archives and resources on Open Spectrum: http://openict.net/projects/openspectrum/ For other projects hosted at Open ICT dot net, please see http://openict.net/projects Please forward this email to anyone I may have missed. simon -- openict.net: Open Everything. www.simonwoodside.com -- 99% Devil, 1% Angel ***GKD is solely supported by EDC, a Non-Profit Organization*** To post a message, send it to: [EMAIL PROTECTED] To subscribe or unsubscribe, send a message to: [EMAIL PROTECTED]. In the 1st line of the message type: subscribe gkd OR type: unsubscribe gkd Archives of previous GKD messages can be found at: http://www.edc.org/GLG/gkd/
Re: [GKD] RFI: Computer Donations To The Third World
What about importing to small businesses instead? instead of donating the computers, provide them at cost to small business owners who can resell them and provide support services? simon On Monday, June 23, 2003, at 12:29 AM, Raju Dev Acharya wrote: I totally agree with Guido Sohne. In Nepal I can buy a new PIII for US$300. Also importing PC for distribution into the country takes a lot of time and effort due to the never ending red tape and can take months. This increases the cost of the PC if the cost incurred in the host country is added to the total cost of the donor. Guido Sohne [EMAIL PROTECTED] wrote: I was in a thread elsewhere that discussed this same issue and I also thought that shipping used PCs makes perfect sense. The problem is the actual cost of the used PCs when other overheads are taken into account. ..snip... -- www.simonwoodside.com -- 99% Devil, 1% Angel ***GKD is solely supported by EDC, a Non-Profit Organization*** To post a message, send it to: [EMAIL PROTECTED] To subscribe or unsubscribe, send a message to: [EMAIL PROTECTED]. In the 1st line of the message type: subscribe gkd OR type: unsubscribe gkd Archives of previous GKD messages can be found at: http://www.edc.org/GLG/gkd/
Re: [GKD] Can WAP Improve Access for Bad Connections?
Simon -- My WAP experience was about 2 years ago. At that time it was a dead end technology because it just technically didn't work very well at all. The markup language is horrible, and the protocol is also horrible. XHTML: the idea was to have very small pages that wireless devices can handle. However most pages on the WWW that claim to be XHTML do not in fact validate as XML -- that means that the small devices /cannot/ in fact use them. This is major reason for the movement away from XHTML back to HTML 4.01 that is going on in some circles (like me!). Perhaps, though, I am out of date. more below On Thursday, February 27, 2003, at 06:45 AM, Simon Batchelor wrote: Many of my colleagues in Africa complain that low bandwidth and poor phone connections mean that surfing the internet is not yet a real possibility - just a source of frustration. If I understand WAP correctly, then xhtml pages are being set up which are very very small so they can be provided to mobile phones in Europe. This seems to be a sort of low bandwidth parrallel internet. Questions: First - is my understanding of the parallel net correct? Second - if it is, could we who are in development create a service that used basic xhtml software to gather news and in particular development news to make it available for people anywhere in the world (ie not mobile phone restricted) who have a PC with a bad phone connection to the internet. Or has someone done that and I am not aware of it. If you are asking, could you create a lightweight internet service that aggregates news and information for people with poor internet connections, then yes. There are many ways to accomplish this. Perhaps the easiest is simply with the existing web infrastructure. Using CSS2 and HTML 4.01 it is possible to create very light-weight sites that load very quickly ... see sohne.net and openict.net for examples. If you can convince existing sites to move to the CSS2 layout model, reduce their use of graphics to a minimum (and within a year, switch to SVG which can be very low bandwidth, once it is supported). So many of the ICT development sites out there have /huge/ layout overhead that must make display and download very slow indeed for those on a poor modem connection. I need not give examples, virtually all of them are guilty! Simon ***GKD is solely supported by EDC, a Non-Profit Organization*** To post a message, send it to: [EMAIL PROTECTED] To subscribe or unsubscribe, send a message to: [EMAIL PROTECTED]. In the 1st line of the message type: subscribe gkd OR type: unsubscribe gkd Archives of previous GKD messages can be found at: http://www.edc.org/GLG/gkd/
