BasicInternet:Collaboration Basic Internet Foundation-Telenor Myanmar Mar2020

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BasicInternet:Collaboration Basic Internet Foundation-Telenor Myanmar Mar2020

Title Collaboration Basic Internet Foundation-Telenor Myanmar
Place gotomeet.me/BasicInternet
Date, Time 2020/03/20, 10:00-11:00h MEZ = 15:30h MMT
Contact Person Josef Noll
Participants Josef Noll, Htet Myat Thu, Semunthu Dminda Rajapaksha, Arvind Sharma, Min Thu, Brenda Jimris-Rekve
related to Project BasicInternet, DigI
Keywords
this page was created by Special:FormEdit/Meeting, and can be edited by Special:FormEdit/Meeting/BasicInternet:Collaboration Basic Internet Foundation-Telenor Myanmar Mar2020
Category:Meeting


Topics

  • Collaboration BasicInternet - Telenor Myanmar
  • Business Models for Access
  • Connectivity for Schools in Myanmar
  • National Agenda for Education and School connectivity

Conclusion and takeaways

Note: This section holds an overview over the key agreements. For further details, please read further down.

We discussed the business model for access to schools in Myanmar. The Basic Internet Foundation (BasicInternet) had brought to the table the "wholesale" approach, where Telenor provides a a certain number (5-10) of SIM cards under one contract. Taken this as a starting point, we agreed on:

  • An OPEX of max USD 20 per month is a suitable model for Telenor Mynamar in providing connectivity to the schools in Myanmar.
  • Telenor Myanmar is ready and has the capacity to work with Basic Internet Foundation in connecting 20 schools as a pilot project as part of realising SDG indicator 4.A.1, "the percent of schools connected to the Internet".

Thus, agreement was reached to bring the model to the Ministry of Education and other relevant ministries in Myanmar. Both Telenor and the Basic Internet Foundation will identify how we can reach the relevant ministries to

  • get a pilot established in connecting 20 schools,
  • contributed to a national agenda in Myanmar, and
  • discuss the interest of a National Knowledge Portal for Myanmar.

Further to these minutes, a short concept note will be established by the Basic Internet Foundation to initiate the next steps.

Further Discussions

As an example of activities by the Basic Internet Foundation: In Tanzania, we discussed and agreed on a pilot on connecting 10 schools, aiming at a maximum OPEX of 20 USD/month. Roles of the involved partners:

  • UCSAF (regional development authorities): invite to meetings with TelCo for "leadership" towards sustainable connectivity, supporting costs for installation(?)
  • BasicInternet configuration (we), consulting (African Child), help (African Child)
  • Telecom: provide (SIM), partially co-finance SIM usage (e.g. 10 GB package for 6/12 months), developing a "wholesale" to give us 5 SIM cards under one contract (I have with Telia 8 SIM cards under one contract here in Norway).

The advantage for Telecom operators in this business model:

  • Increased business through sales of SIM cards
  • Direct contribution to SDG indicator 4.A.1 “the percentage of schools connected to the Internet”, and SDG 3
  • Best Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR), as the Mobile Operator contributes to the SDGs and creates business.
  • Fostering future business through Digital Literacy and Societal Empowerment.
Figure 1: Cost of an information spot (CAPEX and OPEX)

Cost model is presented in the figure, indicating that the cost of equipment is around 300 USD/information spot, while currently the configuration costs are around 700 USD/spot, in addition comes shipping and local installation.


The OPEX cost model is based on the collaboration with Telecom operators, by bundling SIM cards into one contract (“wholesale”). This connectivity for schools can be adopted to every other country, with roles like

  • The coordinating role for school connectivity, typically Ministry of Education or Telecommunications, or regional development fund
  • Equipment provider, typically Basic Internet Foundation
  • Local organisation for installation and management of schools, also managing wholesale of SIM cards for connectivity, typically Educational Foundation
  • Collaborating Telecom partner for the wholesale of the SIM cards

An adoption of this business model is also viable for the access to the National Knowledge Portal including Digital Public Goods


About the Basic Internet Foundation

In order to reach the targets for SDG 3 and SDG 4, digital inclusion and societal empowerment is a key area. The University of Oslo (UiO) and Kjeller Innovation have established the Basic Internet Foundation (BasicInternet.org), to foster solely on connecting the unconnected. The Foundation has established the the concept Internet Lite for All, the free access to information for everyone. furthermore, the Foundation

  • has the vision to improve the life of every human through free access to information on the Internet
  • promotes and provides the Freemium model for access
  • builds Information spots with free access to information, and premium access to broadband services.

Basic Internet Foundation enforces the need to empower the society by fostering trust, and ensuring how this trust as a value proposition is achieved. This value proposition has all to do with the digital participation by the people.

For easy reference I include our website link and our wiki pages below, encompassing our projects and some major relevant information

Recognition of the Work

The Government of Norway (Research Council of Norway, Norad and MfA) supports the work of the Foundation through the Non-discriminating Access for Digital Inclusion (DigI project), involving 11 partners from 9 countries. As part of the DigI project, the consortium has connected 10 villages in Tanzania (see DigI:Villages) and established the basis for local communities building information spots.

The provision of digital health information through publicly available information spots in remote villages has shown tremendous success. Increase of 60% for Cysticercosis (from 16% to 75%), and 30% for Tuberculosis (from 64% to 94%) - see: https://its-Presentation by Christine Holst at the Breakfast Seminar in Oslo on free access to digital public goods

The work of the Foundation was recognised by the United Nations' High-Level Panel on Digital Cooperation, and was cited as an example by the Norwegian Parliament Report Digital transformasjon og utviklingspolitikken (Stortinget Meld. St. 11, 2019–2020). See further details at DigI:Publications.


Thumb Title Keywords Date Author/Project
Screenshot 2020-03-10 at 14.53.26.png Mexico National Knowledge Portal for Digital Inclusion
Click to Open
Meeting with the Mexican Embassy in Oslo
Digital Inclusion, National Knowledge Portal, Society5.0 9 March 2020 Josef Noll


The model of connectivity and access to a National Knowledge Portal has been presented and discussed with governmental representatives, e.g. Mexico, Tanzania and Rwanda.

As explained in the presentation, the Foundation has achieved the following

Figure 4: Basic Internet Infrastructure with Local Information Spot, high level overview (left) and detailed view of components of the Information Spot (right)