[wsfii-discuss] Economic Sustainability of Community Wireless

[Ian Howard]

Mbote Thomas!

Indeed.

Regarding my use of the term "economic value" here. In the design of
networks in countries like yours, I have found that cash flow is the
greatest challenge. Local governments are not able to subsidize. Foreign
governments wish only to provide short-term capital investment. Thus,
ultimately, most often in the developing world (lesser developed
countries) the model for supporting a wireless network must be
self-financing, and thus we must find the economic value, or there is no
hope to find social value. In Canada, it is much easier for me to build
a network that is first focused on social value. Many of the community
networks here use such a model. They provide a social value, more than
an economic value. That can be done because the costs are negligible in
terms of the economic output of the community, whereas a network in
Congo, for example, can be a significant cost in terms of the
community's economic output, because costs are factors more and revenues
are much more constrained. So, my use of the term "economic value", I
propose, is perhaps appropriate here as my point is that the network
will only survive if its economic value is greater than its costs.

Ian


 Maketa wrote:
> Hi Ian,
> Very pertinent what you said below, maybe we should accept that some
> project will have as only purpose to show a possibility, and it is
> people themselves who must embrace  it or not according to their needs.
>
> Fundamentally what I draw from your reaction is that a model is
> adopted only if it suits a community needs, and as there are so
> different communities with so different needs , because of the
> difference in environments and mindset  in which they live, than an
> universal business model is utopia. (So difficult to take the freifunk
> or the server host based, or the FON , or the exotic model and
> transpose it at it is in a different context, I know that nobody
> proposed it !!!!!!).
>
> So we should look at model where all the same opportunities are given
> to everybody and anyone according to his background, availability ,
> willingness could grab it or not.
>
>
> Just a quick pique to a previous direction that the discussion took, I
> noticed the way you used "economical value" for you "if the network
> fulfill a need the community will keep it alive", shouldnt you say
> however "Social value"???  Why do we always associate something that
> has a social value to money?
>
> >>>>
> >:leaning to, such as in the phrase,
> >"Demonstrate the economic viability of sustainable development,
> promoting a variety of appropriate >sustainable technologies and
> approaches suitable to local conditions and preferences." We believe
> >that some models should be simply that, to demonstrate something, for
> the purpose of testing it and >showing people(training) them. Then,
> you later close the doors and if local peopl ewant that network, >they
> will build it, as they will know how (if the project was done
> right).To get back to your mention of >FM, I might simply redirect
> your reference to state what is most important is that the network
> fulfil >ssome crucial need of the community, such as an FM radio is
> hungry for information, or that farmers >need to know market info. If
> the network then fulfils a real need, than the network will be kept
> alive by >the community. It will then have economic value.Cheers!
>
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