[wsfii-discuss] Economic Sustainability of Community Wireless

Tue Apr 10 16:06:56 UTC 2007

Thomas,

Thanks for adding your input here.

My view is that a cooperative good not only to distribute hardware and
bandwidth and provide connectivity but also to enable funding to develop
Community Wireless Networks and training for such approaches and
developments.

The VSAT ISP is an interesting idea and one of the greatest challenges
is to bring the costs of VSAT down to more reasonable levels. Yet of
course one would require a very high degree of economic leverage to
achieve such a task.

About French yes I think there are a lot of political issues relating to
this and I don't think the natural tendency is to organize French
speakers around technical issues. However the offline Wikipedia system
Moulin was developed first in French by Geek Corps.
http://www.moulinwiki.org/l/en/ 

Jeff

-----Original Message-----
From: wsfii-discuss-bounces at lists.okfn.org
[mailto:wsfii-discuss-bounces at lists.okfn.org] On Behalf Of Thomas Maketa
Sent: Tuesday, April 10, 2007 8:24 AM
To: Discuss list on the World Summit on Free Information Infrastructure
Subject: Re: [wsfii-discuss] Economic Sustainability of Community
Wireless

I Have read this exchange and find it very exciting different views
different sensibility in approach...
I really think that a cooperative for buying WIFI hardware is a good
idea, I think about it as a big cooperative where Wifi communities will
seat and plan their needs and negotiate the better price to
manufacturer... 

If we push that logic further, one can also think that the WIFI
community must appropriate all the chain of services it needs, why not
to build a cooperative VSAT ISP, which could provide Internet
connectivity among its member at negotiated cost?. 

I have talked about the idea with a lot of people and I see it very
feasible. In Africa there are multiples in projects , in installation or
already existing WIFI communities. And I think that it would be great
that all of them meet or initiate contact and see how they can share
resources for solving common problems in coordinated way. 
I have an example: In Africa the only way to have Internet signal is via
VSAT(in some countries you can get it via Fiber, but I dont have clear
ideas of realities of those countries), some VSAT provider have offer
for societies having multiples locations for their VSAT (the only
limitation is the coverage of their satellite) and proposes the option
of linking them into a lone network. If all WIFI communities of Africa
(or the world) using VSAT for Internet unite and appear in front of the
VSAT ISP as a block (what seems a little utopia...) they can negotiate
better price, have all their site interconnected into a virtual network
(free VOIP communication, free IM,...). 
I know that currently everyone has his own provider but each situation
evolves and concert could be good.

Beside I see a lot of contribution in the English speaking world but I
see very few from French speaking countries of Africa (or maybe it's
because the forum is in English...). 
We are based in DRC and would really want to have contact with others
French WIFI communities from Africa. What does not mean that we are
bounded into a language segregation shema (the proof I write in
english).

>the idea is about a trading and manufacturing cooperative for WIFI
>hardware. at the wsfii, people, in the majority locals, sit together
and
>prepare for a (future) demand in WIFI hardware in Ghana. development
aid 
>is not nessecarily involved. we sit together and set up a business
PLAN,
>according to the possible demand for the next 12 month. this demand
>certainly is a matter of research.
>.then with some voluntary support from US and Europe we look for some 
>(ethical or direct) investment and for cheap hardware to buy. thats
>business, a social enterprise, which will benefit the employees and the
>communities, because it will share any price reduction amongst the 
>customers, instead of making someONE rich.

On 4/10/07, marco <marco.pompe at web.de> wrote: 
Matthew Asham - BCWNS wrote:
> We must all be mindful that solutions to local problems must come from
within the communities, and that perhaps, our roles within 
> our respective organizations when dealing with cross-cultural or cross
socio-economic co-operation are really gatekeepers; but ultimately the
answers to Socio-Economic development have to come from the local
community, or regional districts. 

i totally agree with general scepticism about development aid and euro-
or us-centric minds planning the life of the underpreviledged. i am
quiet aware of development aid being a part of the "game" keeping "the 
wretched" in their position. anyway, i want this discussion to become a
little more pragmatic, so ill describe a little further what i have in
mind:

the idea is about a trading and manufacturing cooperative for WIFI 
hardware. at the wsfii, people, in the majority locals, sit together and
prepare for a (future) demand in WIFI hardware in Ghana. development aid
is not nessecarily involved. we sit together and set up a business PLAN,

according to the possible demand for the next 12 month. this demand
certainly is a matter of research.
then with some voluntary support from US and Europe we look for some
(ethical or direct) investment and for cheap hardware to buy. thats 
business, a social enterprise, which will benefit the employees and the
communities, because it will share any price reduction amongst the
customers, instead of making someONE rich.

the local context is more or less expanding wireless networks, pushed by

local NGOs and local or national authorities, however it will look like.
we shouldnt forget, there is already something going in Ghana and with
some efforts in promoting the wsfii and the experiences which people 
made all over the world with this technology, much more interest will
arise, and as i know the Ghanaians - more will happen.

this idea doesnt answer the question of how to expand the wireless
networks, because i agree, that this is question to be answered locally.

its about reliable and fair hardware supply, about democratisation of
economy - including the creations of jobs in the high tech sector.

grts, marco, berlin

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