DigI:Community Networks in Zimbabwe-Jan2020
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Digital Inclusion (DigI) | |||||||
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DigI:Community Networks in Zimbabwe-Jan2020
Title | DigI:Community Networks in Zimbabwe-Jan2020 |
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Place | |
Date, Time | 2020/01/03, 1000-1200 |
Contact Person | Josef.Noll |
Participants | Joseph Bishi, Josef Noll |
related to Project | DigI, BasicInternet |
Keywords |
this page was created by Special:FormEdit/Meeting, and can be edited by Special:FormEdit/Meeting/DigI:Community Networks in Zimbabwe-Jan2020 |
Category:Meeting |
Topics being discussed
Network infrastructure at Murambinda
Joseph Bishi a chairman for Zimbabwe Community Network Initiatives, has been attended in 4 Africa Community Network Summits hosted by Internet Society since inception in 2016 and in the last 2 years as a member of the program committee member for organization the Africa community network summit.
The «Murambinda Rural Community Network Project» that aims to provide affordable Internet access to the remote rural community in Murambinda, Buhera District. Murambinda is now a local innovation hub potential to build and sustain a multi-node community network to enhance access. The national e- learning, e-health and e-government programs provide the initial anchor points for the network. Murambinda Works went into partnership with TelOne, the service provider having widest fibre coverage in rural Zimbabwe. Murambinda Works offers affordable internet access to rural schools, health facilities, government institutions and community at large at a revenue sharing basis through the partnership with TelOne.
Murambinda works provides access through a bulk shared connection where costs of connectivity are shared among the community depending on capacity but eventually accommodating everyone. A school automated management software is a system deployed with the network as this will be an element that will add value to the network. Where schools can use for school management purposes at the same time these schools becoming local hubs for development of local content, locally hosted by Murambinda works, which will be accessed by the community from the local network hotspots some service at free costs and others at affordable price.
The current infrastructure powered by solar connects 8 schools having a capacity to connect 80 of the 216 schools in the district. The schools only need a Customer Premise Equipment (CPE), catching up radio links up to 16 km from the sectorial antennas built to connect these schools. The schools mentioned here are the schools currently connected after support from the Internet Society. Regardless these schools there are business entities connected. From community engagement meeting which was conducted in Murambinda on the 15th of November 2018 which was attended by many schools from the district and there was great interest shown in having access to connectivity from their schools.
In Murambinda, they connected a total of 216 schools through radio links. The backhaul is terminated in the fibre of Telone, and from there radio links are used to reach the schools, health spots and village centres (NEST?). Telone has fibre out to the districts, and works with Buhera ICT. https://www.herald.co.zw/telone-partners-buhera-ict-to-set-up-network-system/amp/
Activities in the last years were to get the regulatory conditions in place, a.o. establishing a lite license for the operation of community networks.