If it were only so............. (you know the saying about assuming?) Heres a link to the Pokhara Chamber of Commerce and Industry--- Pokhara, Nepal http://www.pokharachamber.org.np/
Eric Walter Facspro.Net ----- Original Message ----- From: "Nimesh D. Parikh" <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> To: <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> Sent: Sunday, October 05, 2003 11:53 PM Subject: RE: [smartBridges] Bridging the Digital Divide > > Thanks for the email. The names and network diagram have been provided > by them only. So I assume they have taken the necessary precautions. > They mention at the bottom of the story that the names have been changed > for security reasons. So I assume there is no real place named Pokhara. > > Nimesh > > > -----Original Message----- > From: [EMAIL PROTECTED] > [mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED] On Behalf Of Bill Culpepper > Sent: Monday, October 06, 2003 11:54 AM > To: [EMAIL PROTECTED] > Subject: Re: [smartBridges] Bridging the Digital Divide > > Do you think that you may be exposing their location to anyone that > means them harm? You have given distance and height differential which > should be enough to locate them if someone knows the topology near > Pokhara. I am a supporter of freedom-lovers everywhere and would not > wish them to suffer because of our great list group. > > > Nimesh D. Parikh wrote: > > > I thought this may be an interesting story to share with the group > > here. The impact is quite large. sB had sponsored a group of > > volunteers and they have done an outstanding job. A more polished > > version of the story will be coming out soon but here is the report > > they filed from the field. > > > > > > > > Nimesh Parikh > > > > smartBridges > > > > > > > > > > > > -- > > > > > > > > > > > > Bridging the Digital Divide: > > > > A smartBridges success story in rural Nepal > > > > > > > > A handful of Nepali villagers and foreign friends had a vision. One > > year later, the vision has become a reality. > > > > > > > > A ragtag team, without much technical experience and without much > > money, has been able to create a wireless communications network that > > connections five villages and the outside world using wireless data > > radios. Two UCLA students, Mark Michalski and Robin Shields, and one > > Boston-based carpenter, Sage Radachowsky, helped their Nepali > > counterparts to locate the equipment and to implement the network. > > > > > > > > Nanda Thapa(*) uses the internet for many things. He communicates with > > > people around the world to find funding for his village's school. He > > also responds to incoming emails from a website that he created to get > > > volunteers to come to his village. > > > > > > > > Nanda used to have to walk for 8 hours and then take a 6 hour bus ride > > > to check his email. He used to have to walk for two days to have a > > meeting with a neighboring village about a joint project. Now he can > > do both in seconds, thanks to a new wireless network in rural Nepal. > > He used to check his email once a month. Now he checks it daily. > > > > > > > > Now, instead of walking for one or two days to deliver a simple > > message or to meet with people in neighboring villages, villagers are > > able to communicate via voice and text meeting software. Villagers and > > > volunteers in the villages are able to communicate with people > > anywhere in the world by sending email, a facility that was previously > > > available only by walking one to three days and then taking a 4 hour > > bus ride to Pokhara. People are also able to access the wealth of > > information on the internet regarding any subject, from learning about > > > mushroom culture to getting drivers for a printer. > > > > > > > > These capabilities have already made a big difference in the lives of > > the people living in the villages. The ability to communicate easily > > has already worked as a catalyst for future locally-generated > > development projects. > > > > > > > > However, the future of the network remains uncertain. In the context > > of a guerrilla war, the people having the ability to communicate may > > be seen as a threat by both the government and the Maoists. Each side > > may possibly believe that the other side will use the ability to > > communicate against them. For this reason, the network must > > unfortunately remain something of a secret within Nepal at the moment. > > > In a time of peace, the wireless network could be shown off as a model > > > of local development, to be replicated elsewhere for relatively little > > > money. > > > > > > > > Despite the war, the team that implemented the project would like to > > draw upon their experience in creating this network and replicate the > > network in other places in Nepal and elsewhere in the Himalayas. > > > > > > > > > > > > Technical Aspects of the Project > > > > > > > > Please refer to the attached Network Topology graph. The wireless > > network currently employs 12 smartBridges AirPointPro Outdoor radios, > > and may soon employ two more to reach additional villages. The longest > > > link is between the main relay station and a city, where a server is > > located to connect to a dialup ISP. This link spans about 34 km > > horizontally, and about 3,000 meters vertically. The main relay > > station is on a mountaintop at an altitude of about 3,400 meters. > > > > > > > > The extreme sensitivity of the smartBridges APPO unit is one key to > > bridging this great distance without using a signal amplifier. Using > > quality 24 dBi grid dish antennas from Pacific Wireless, and > > connecting the dipole directly to the radios with a 0.5 meter pigtail > > to minimize cable loss, is another key. > > > > > > > > All radios are protected from nearby lightning discharges by lighting > > arrestors which are grounded to the earth. > > > > > > > > There is a secondary relay station on another ridge at an even higher > > altitude. (Part of the Annapurna mountain, one of the ten tallest > > mountains in the world. See attached photograph). From these two relay > > > stations, the five target villages have direct lines of sight of up to > > > 5 km from the relay stations, and are easily spanned using the > > smartBridges APPOs on less-than-maximum power settings. The > > Dial-A-Power feature of smartBridges radios has proven to be very > > useful, for it saves power at the off-grid stations. > > > > > > > > The relay stations are each powered by 70 watt solar panels connected > > to deep cycle batteries by a charge controller. Each relay station > > also has a wind generator, but so far this has proven to be > > unnecessary. There has been little wind, and the solar power has > > proven to be sufficient for the radios. > > > > > > > > Currently, villagers talk and chat with each other using Microsoft > > Netmeeting. However, one member of the team is working to develop > > custom VoIP (Voice over Internet Protocol) software, using the > > OpenH323 VoIP standard, which will use a Quicknet Internet LineJack at > > > the server base station to allow voice telephone calls to the PSTN > > (Public Switched Telephone Network). This is very important in a > > country such as Nepal, where the majority of people even in cities do > > not have an email address. > > > > > > > > > > > > [If you would like more information about this project, or if you > > would like to contribute to a future project, please email Sage > > Radachowsky at [EMAIL PROTECTED] > > > > > > > > (*) The names of all Nepali persons and all place names have been > > changed for security purposes, due to the current civil war in Nepal. > > > > > > > > ### > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > ------------------------------------------------------------------------ > > > > > > > ------------------------------------------------------------------------ > > > > > > ----------ANNOUNCEMENT---------- > Don't forget to register for WISPCON IV > http://www.wispcon.info/us/wispcon-iv/wispcon-iv.htm > > The PART-15.ORG smartBridges Discussion List > To Join: mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED] (in the body type subscribe > smartBridges <yournickname> > To Remove: mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED] (in the body type unsubscribe > smartBridges) > Archives: http://archives.part-15.org > > ----------ANNOUNCEMENT---------- > Don't forget to register for WISPCON IV > http://www.wispcon.info/us/wispcon-iv/wispcon-iv.htm > > The PART-15.ORG smartBridges Discussion List > To Join: mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED] (in the body type subscribe smartBridges <yournickname> > To Remove: mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED] (in the body type unsubscribe smartBridges) > Archives: http://archives.part-15.org ----------ANNOUNCEMENT---------- Don't forget to register for WISPCON IV http://www.wispcon.info/us/wispcon-iv/wispcon-iv.htm The PART-15.ORG smartBridges Discussion List To Join: mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED] (in the body type subscribe smartBridges <yournickname> To Remove: mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED] (in the body type unsubscribe smartBridges) Archives: http://archives.part-15.org
