DigI:Community Networks Empowerment Sep2019
From its-wiki.no
Digital Inclusion (DigI) | |||||||
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DigI:Community Networks Empowerment Sep2019
Title | DigI:Community Networks Empowerment Sep2019 |
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Place | Gotomeet.me/BasicInternet |
Date, Time | 2019/09/03, 0900-0945 |
Contact Person | Matogoro Jabera |
Participants | Josef.Noll, Matogoro Jabera |
related to Project | DigI |
Keywords |
this page was created by Special:FormEdit/Meeting, and can be edited by Special:FormEdit/Meeting/DigI:Community Networks Empowerment Sep2019 |
Category:Meeting |
Topics being addressed
Having discussed the status of the projects (see longer down), we focussed on experiences from connectivity and involvement of communities. A good opportunity for discussions is at the 4th Summit on Community Networks, which Matogoro organises. As he stated: We still have 27 Million people not connected to the Internet. We need community involvement and novel business approaches, otherwise it will take us another 50 years to get them onboard.
Other topics being addressed were:
- getting the operational costs of the access down
- empower local industries/SMEs for bringing welfare to the local societies
- collaborate on "schools as centres for access to information"
- analyse the split architecture suggested by Basic Internet (see: DigI:Internet_Lite_for_All) with local information being present at the school to avoid high bandwidth costs
- invite Matogoro for one day visiting us at the DigI meeting in Arusha (see DigI:Meetings)
eLearning and connectivity of schools
The government has extended the "Education for all" demand into all secondary schools should have access to Internet, which is stated as a goal. Connecting the teacher colleges, an initiative sponsored by the government of
The two main initiatives bringing digital content to schools are:
- http://www.thlpc.com/ - having a mobile app and an eLearning tablet for 440.000 TZS
- http://ShuleDirect.co.tz - with off-line version of the content
Status of Community Networks
The high bandwidth costs are the main hinder for the take-up of community networks. Examples of TZ show that we need to pay up to USD 1000 for a 4 Mbps line & co-location costs. Thus, the main driver for enhancing connectivity is to get the costs down.
- The current project of TV white space connectivity has ended
- Though connectivity is still in place, sustainability is the highest issue. The monthly costs for connectivity make it difficult to find suitable funds.
- Focus is on small industries/local business to create the income needed to keep the access alive.
Status of DigI Project
The "Digital Inclusion" (http://DigI.BasicInternet.no) project has so far connected 6 villages (see DigI:Villages), with 3 more to be connected within 2019. Sustainability of the business model is also an issue, though the concept of using Mobile Broadband with costs of TZS 35000/month make the business case easier.