[GKD-DOTCOM] DOTCOM Discussion to Continue
Dear GKD Members, In response to the dynamism and value of your contributions, DOT-COM would like to continue the focused discussion on Access for Underserved Areas, through this week. Our deep thanks for the consistent, extremely high quality of your input. Best regards, GKD Moderators 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?
If we were to ask What SHOULD be on the horizon?, then I would answer: IMHO, the number one thing that would help Africa catch up to the technology revolution would be the elimination of the telecom monopolies. Whether by allowing competition from both internal and external vendors, privatization of existing government-owned telcoms, relaxation of laws for VSAT and wireless connectivity, or other similar choices, African governments could speed up the development of affordable services running on a sustainable and reliable infrastructure by letting go of their choke hold on their telecoms. Ironically, the increase in business that the ensuing development would enable, would create untold opportunities for money-making schemes, the very reason that governments cling to those fragile telecoms. Bill Lester William A. Lester CTO/Director of Technology NinthBridge a program of EngenderHealth 440 Ninth Avenue New York, NY 10001 (Office) 212.561.8002 (eFax) 212.202.5167 (e-Mail) [EMAIL PROTECTED] (URL) www.ninthbridge.org The Means to The Mission 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?
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? Universities in developing countries need to build their ICT capacity for a variety of reasons. For the purposes of development, universities potentially can contribute significantly to the nurturing and long term support of community telecenters and related ICT resources. As partners, for example, they can: (1) Conduct continual research on community information needs so that appropriate information resources can be developed. (2) Conduct on-going e-Readiness studies at the regional and community level and interpret their results for regional and local policy formulation and action. (3) Convert its own research and academic knowledge into education, information, and training packages suitable for community use. (4) Mobilize, interpret, integrate, and package information from external authoritative sources and tailor it to the needs of populations in surrounding communities. (5) Train students in the application of ICTs to development problems by: assigning them as student interns at community telecenters, having them collect indigenous case studies and lessons learned related to development initiatives, involving them in data collection and processing related to e-Readiness and information needs analysis studies, and training them in the process of information packaging. (6) Design and execute ICT training programs for various community groups, especially those that are likely to be by-passed by conventional ICT training. (7) Through their participation as students in this program, prepare a new generation of professionals in various sectors (health, education, agriculture) to use and support the application of ICTs and telecenters for community development and poverty alleviation programs. (8) Experiment with innovation approaches to ICT4D. (9) Actively contribute to the Country Gateway (information portal) system. (10) Establish a community ICT access (telecenter) facility as part of a university program. We're working on this idea in China and would like to learn more about other developing nations universities' experiences in these matters. Would be happy to have messages directed to [EMAIL PROTECTED] Roy Colle Cornell University 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?
I agree strongly with Simon Woodside's answers--experimentation, more modern technology, and broadband. But I was also struck by what another contributor said, e.g. Find successful and sustainable activities. Replicate. Get constraints out of the way. Get funding on the right basis. Let the demand pull what is wanted. I think the aid community should continue experimentation, but also be willing to fund scale-ups of apparently successful models--yes, that would include those that have a business model--even to the point of making equity investments or funding additional training and social networking that leverage a private sector enterprise and its network. There are beginning to be some successful models, many of them driven by the private sector, and some not aimed primarily at connectivity, but at an agricultural solution or a microfinance solution or a health solution. Nonetheless, they will spread access perhaps more rapidly. See our case studies at www.digitaldividend.org. Allen L. Hammond Vice President for Innovation Special Projects World Resources Institute 10 G Street NE Washington, DC 20002 USA V (202) 729- F (202) 729-7775 [EMAIL PROTECTED] www.wri.org www.digitaldividend.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] How Much Bandwidth is Necessary?
Simon Woodside wrote: 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. Maybe it is because we are thinking upside down? We should not first look at the technology, but the needs (not in technology, the social needs), then identify how ICT can help address them, then build meaningful ICT use strategies and implement them with what ever technology is available to answer that question. I believe all projects should be started like this from the needs, and build a sustainable capacity to manage ICT integration/appropriation. Whatever technology is used or available. And IMHO yes, every project, ICT4D project, is somehow unique, not necessarily scalable, as ICT is just one element in the complex development process equation. yacine 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?
My two bits... 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? Optical frequencies communication for exceptionally low power, very high bandwidth, short distance communications (line-of-sight) will be very likely to emerge as a new low cost option, in both desktop (laptop) and handheld devices. To deploy it, far more effort will be needed from grassroots social assistance program workers. Voice based messaging software programs will also appear on handhelds, enabling the Grameen model to be deployed much more effectively in other regions of the world, where cellular and cellular-like systems are being and will be deployed over the next three years. 2. What's the most valuable area for technology development? Voice recognition? Cheap broadband delivery? Cheap hand-helds (under $50)? The most critical area for technology development lies in the digitisation and support of services in demand, not in hardware per se. This is an exceedingly local activity, given that software development by its very nature demands a huge level of interaction between technologists and users. In hardware, though, it is both cheaper broadband and handhelds that need to emerge. Right now, in countries like India, the only really cheap mobile handsets are obsolete ones, which do not support the kind of operating systems that run such applications. 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? We need to evolve better funding models, that are better equipped to evaluate and deliver funds to grassroots projects that are more appropriate to the communities in which they are to add value. Trying to opine here in this group about specific projects we get to know about somewhere else in the world is both frustrating and patronizing. 4. What levels of access should we be able to achieve by 2007 in each of the major under-served regions? Who (exactly) must do what (concretely) to attain them? We need to get a foothold into these regions. And we need to have funding in place that will support the growth of that foothold, driven by local demand. 5. What funding models should we develop over the next 3 years? Projects with business plans that provide self-sustainability? Support from multilateral corporations? Venture capital funds for ICT and development? In a nutshell, none of the above. But see *3.*, for the glaring weaknesses in these models make it impossible to choose between them, or even to want to make such a choice. -- Vickram 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
