[GKD-DOTCOM] Improving Access Via Mobile Telephony
How the Rest Can Catch Up With the West The illiterate of the 21st century will not be those who cannot read or write; they will be those who cannot learn, unlearn, and re-learn. -- Alan Tofler Subscriptions to mobile telephones exceeded the number of fixed telephones globally in 2002, according to the International Telecommunications Union (ITU). In developing countries without sufficient fixed telephone infrastructure, wireless growth has been explosive, with mobile phones becoming the first and only telephones for the majority of new subscribers. Africa was the first continent to have more mobile lines than fixed and, with a mobile growth rate of 77.9%, is the fastest growing in the World. In reality, Africa is a world leader when it comes to mobile communications. Until recently, Africa ranked least using any parameter of growth. Inadequate supply of fixed lines often gave the West the false impression that there was no demand for mobile communications in Africa. Some even suggested that telephone affordability was non-existent on the Continent. However, mobile telephony is putting Africa in positive light. 84.8% of all mobile lines in Africa are digital, far greater than all other Continents, except Asia (90.1%). When you consider that the same figure for Europe is 59.4%, Americas 56.5%, Oceania 83.7%, then you will appreciate the import of the African mobile explosion. The primary factor responsible for the phenomenal take-up of mobile lines in Africa is the failure of government-owned public telephone utilities throughout the Continent to satisfy the huge demand for communications by the vast generality of the people. Nearly all the National Telephone Carriers have failed to deliver telephone service cheaply and efficiently. The take-up of GSM phones in many African countries has demonstrated, beyond reasonable doubt, that there is significant pent-up demand for communications services, even among relatively low income users. Other drivers of growth are the increasing adoption of the policy of market liberalization by African governments leading to the licensing of aggressive private companies who are competing among each other to make mobile services increasingly affordable. These companies are essentially African in equity, character and operations. Without a doubt, competition is a major driver of the mobile explosion. With prepaid, mobile has become even more affordable as users are able to control their telephone expenditure without undergoing credit checks or being tied to long term contracts. The use of mobiles now cuts across all social classes. From a mere 646,500 mobile lines in 1995, Africa now has in excess of 36 million mobile subscribers. No other segment of the economy is growing as rapidly. Cumulative annual growth rate is averagely 77%, and mobile is growing faster than most other economic sectors. Several African countries now have double-digit mobile penetration of the population, far beyond the finest predictions of most analysts. Countries with double-digit mobile penetration include Seychelles (53%), South Africa (30%), Botswana (24%), Gabon (21%), and Morocco (20%). Other countries with extremely rapid growth and acceptance of mobile technology with subscriptions in excess of 1 million include Nigeria, Cote DIvoire, Kenya, Ghana, and Egypt. Even war-torn Sudan still manages to have nearly 200,000 mobile users despite the ravaging civil war in that country. Africa is becoming a shining example of how mobile communications is changing lives worldwide. There are several implications of the mobile revolution. I shall zero in on just two. Africa may be the first continent with pervasive mobile Internet The only constraint to this happening now is two-fold. First is the limitation of GSM technology. GSM support for broadband Internet technologies, a key requirement to productive Internet access, is evolving at the moment. There is no clear-cut, globally acceptable single means of assessing the Internet via a mobile device on a GSM network. Whether it is WAP, GPRS, EDGE, or ETC (!), GSM support for the Internet is extremely weak. This is why bypass technologies such as Wi-Fi, and Wi-Max are in strong demand. The second reason is the poor usability of mobile phones as Internet access devices. But this problem would be solved and the Internet will soon merge with, and converge into, mobile devices. When that happens, the digital revolution in Africa would be even more explosive. Think of it again. The day you can conveniently use your regular mobile phone (and I'm not talking of expensive esoteric models as the Communicator) to send emails to your loved ones in the village and browse for current prices of cement (for instance), that day your need for the services of a place to browse would diminish! The place to browse would be right in your hands! And that day is not too far-fetched. The most innovative uses of mobile technology will come out of Africa With
Re: [GKD-DOTCOM] How Much Bandwidth is Necessary?
Regarding Tony Roberts' reply to Simon Woodside: Simon Woodside wrote: 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. I would beg to differ. There are existing real low cost options for PCs. Computer Aid is a non-profit organisation that supplies professionally refurbished high quality PCs for a fraction of the cost of a new machine. This is a resonant tune and not only relevant in developing countries. In Canada, similar programs exist, including a Government subsidized program that has rolled out approximately 32,000 PC's to schools in the province of Ontario alone across a population of 5,500 schools. And, in addition, several for-profit organizations are doing very good work in this area so there is value in developed and developing countries. A pilot program is currently underway in this same region to test what is termed as a blended model. The rationale is that even urban schools with high speed Internet access use many of their computers in browser mode a significant percentage of the time. The model calls for 15% new, 65% mid life (24 to 42 months old) and 20% are over 42 months old. This allows for a natural cascading of technology rather than software compatibility-driven rollovers. To make this a more viable model, I reference a previous message where I briefly discussed the value of a remotely managed and metered content server (i.e. knowledge delivery engine). When connected to whatever local network is available, this provides reliable, network-speed access to cached applications and content, including educator-selected content (often by the Min of Ed in that country). If a network does not exist, then a simple, low-tech wireless network is set up. However, the key to this model is not the infrastructure, but rather the ability of teachers and students to interact with quality multi-modal learning resources in this low tech market. To finance this model in developing countries where local phones with dial-up capabilities, such as in a northern Canadian Aboriginal community, this Content Server also becomes the local ISP host. Affordable Internet access can fund the entire operational costs in this environment. Alternatively, in developing countries, Telecenters are the economic generator that supports local education and often the healthcare access, also. This does not dispute the necessity of having strong community leadership and the challenges of keeping quality staff and skills. Remote monitoring and management of the server environment, as well as, loading up Tony Roberts' refurbished P166+ PC's with Linux-on-the-desktop can increase the reliability and user experience. Now, the desktops and servers can be remotely managed via the Internet and satellite. This model is being implemented in Uganda, where the donation of 1 Content server and 40 P4 PC's for one school became a project for 41 schools (the PC's were upgraded with a 2nd disk drive) and refurbished PC's were donated as the classroom user devices. As in Canada, this provided immediate evidence of the power of mature PC's in technology-assisted teaching and learning where the content is locally available (and refreshed nightly) to bring learning alive and be a catalyst to life-long learning. For more information or a copy of White Papers that discuss this in more detail, contact me. Regards Bob Robert Miller EVP Global Inc. Direct: (416) 423-9100 Mobile: (416) 464-7525 Fax: (416) 696-9734 Email: [EMAIL PROTECTED] mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED] History teaches us that people and nations behave wisely, once they have exhausted all other alternatives Abba Eban 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?
Cliff, this is a very interesting line of argument -- if this way of using the internet through an intermediary is a general practice in Africa because of the lack of connectivity, it might mean amending some of the theories of Internet communication from the idea of the Internet as a many-to-one or individualised, customised form of communication to one that is similar to the two-step flow of communication, where information is mediated by leaders or representatives in society. Can you perhaps point me to some case studies of this type of mediation, or to specific examples? Thanks Herman Cliff Missen wrote: Today, villager's messages are being delivered on paper to a Internet Cafe and then transcribed into email for delivery worldwide by someone who holds an email account. There may someday be a SERVICE that enhances this informal relationship to the point where a single griot can manage email accounts for hundreds of clients through a simple handheld device. It'll take a little tweaking of the current email and client software, but it's very possible. 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?
Since much of the Internet technology (laptops, telecentres etc) seems to be landline based, yet it is cellular telephony that is flourishing in many of the less developed countries, is there a 'disconnect' here that may be inhibiting the spread of the Internet to rural areas?...I just came back from Yemen where cellphones predominate, and coverage has been obtained over most of the country... so voice connections are now relatively normal even to remote rural districts...but Internet of course (notwithstanding the Arabic language issue) is largely confined just to cities... John Lawrence Don Richardson wrote: ..snip... The telephone is the most basic unit of telecommunications service. The policies and programs implemented in support of rural telephony services are a critical part of the supporting environment for other rural ICT initiatives. In most cases rural connectivity can best piggyback on or leverage infrastructure that is primarily intended to support rural telephony. Among rural populations, voice communications will usually be the most immediately useful and easily accessible service (application). ..snip... 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?
Hello, I'm happy to hear Stuart Gannes' voice on alternative means of connectivity. Stuart's Digital Vision program has been instrumental in, among many other activities, promoting the use of store-and-forward models as a way to deliver information services in advance of reliable connectivity. And as many others have said, the answer to the question How much bandwidth is necessary? is critically dependent on what your program is trying to accomplish. For closed systems of data exchange -- as opposed to open systems such as browsing the World Wide Web and accessing documents or media files -- low-cost, low-bandwidth solutions may be ideal. Jiva Institute's Teledoc project uses commercial, off-the-shelf mobile-telephone technologies to reduce costs and enable sustainable, enterprise-based healthcare to reach villages. Village-based field representatives exchange data with the central clinic using a mobile phone to access the Internet via a GPRS network. GPRS is widely available in India, with higher-bandwidth CDMA networks now being installed in the south. Custom applications written in Java 2.0 Micro-edition (J2ME) allow the phone to connect directly with a central database of patient records at the Jiva clinic. Field representatives are able to add new patients, review patient treatment histories, and describe symptoms in detail. The telephone interface has been designed to accommodate the phone's limited screen 'real estate' by providing field representatives with simple codes and sequential decision-support. At the central clinic, Jiva's expert Ayurvedic doctors analyze the data, and then prescribe medication and treatment. Medicines are compounded at a regional office, picked up by field workers, and delivered to patients in their homes-all for 70 rupees or US $1.50 per consultation. Access to healthcare in villages is extremely limited, and is one factor contributing to much higher morbidity rates in India's villages when compared to cities. Teledoc is currently in pilot tests in the state of Haryana, where Jiva is based, and is providing traditional, cost-effective Ayurvedic treatments in villages. Jiva has offered Ayurvedic care locally and internationally over the Internet (60+ patients per day) since 1995. However, we anticipate bundling other healthcare services into Teledoc as the project evolves. The combination of mobile telephones, GPRS, and J2ME results in an extremely low-cost solution. Network installation and maintenance costs are borne by the private sector. The ability to exchange data between villages and the central database combines with a solid business plan and pricing scheme, and with demonstrated demand in the villages to make the project highly scalable. Jiva's innovative, low-cost computing technology has just received the World Summit Award for eHealth for the World Summit on the Information Society. Regards to all, Edmond Gaible www.natomagroup.com | www.jiva.org 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
[GKD-DOTCOM] The NetHope Project
I would like to call everyone's attention to the NetHope project, a consortium of ten (and growing) international non-profit relief and development agencies who have banded together to bring Internet connectivity the last hundred kilometers to the project areas in which we work around the globe. We are using some of the latest satellite technology like the portable Regional BGAN broadband connections, with a strong partnership with Cisco and others. Details are available at www.nethope.org Ed Edward Granger-Happ Chief Technology Officer Save the Children Direct Phone: 203-221-4289 Fax: 203-221-3775 Email: [EMAIL PROTECTED] SC Website: www.savethechildren.org 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
On 11/10/03 18:43, Guido Sohne wrote: This is very interesting to me but raises some questions related to practical use and implementation. It basically seems that 'offline' content is being maintained in a somewhat current state by periodically syncing with upstream information. You mention satellite broadcasts, which imply that the information stream is one way. This makes sense to me, because if it was two way, why does one need to mirror content locally, except to save bandwidth (still worth doing!) This brings to mind something that the satellite radio outfit WorldSpace is doing. The idea is brilliant, in my opinion. You basically buy this satellite radio (approx. $70-100 depending on model). You also buy a computer card to interface with the radio. For a fee (that includes the card free) of approx. $40, you get unmetered limited internet access. The access is limited in the sense that you are restricted to a few WorldSpace approved websites. This would work great if WorldSpace expanded the list of approved sites to include those like Yahoo mail and Hotmail. Unfortunately, they don't. For most people, getting cheap access to a web-based email system like Yahoo mail is a good start. Thaths -- Slacker At Largehttp://openscroll.org/ Key fingerprint = 8A 84 2E 67 10 9A 64 03 24 38 B6 AB 1B 6E 8C E4 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
