[Global-FFS-l] ICT Update, Issue 45, October 2008 : Rural Telephony
ICT Update is a bimonthly web magazine (http://ictupdate.cta.int) with an accompanying printed bulletin and an email newsletter. It is published by the Technical Centre for Agricultural and Rural Cooperation (CTA) ACP-EU, P.O. Box 380, 6700 AJ Wageningen, the Netherlands.
ICT Update is a bimonthly web magazine (http://ictupdate.cta.int) with an accompanying printed bulletin and an email newsletter. It is published by the Technical Centre for Agricultural and Rural Cooperation (CTA) ACP-EU, P.O. Box 380, 6700 AJ Wageningen, the Netherlands.
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INTRODUCTION TO THIS ISSUE ictupdate.cta.int/en/regulars/editorial/(issue)/45
Telecommunications companies find it too expensive to extend their
networks to rural areas where low population numbers means they are
unlikely to see a quick return on their investment. But several
initiatives are now making the prospect of telephone communication
in rural communities a real possibility. And making it affordable.
Read more: ictupdate.cta.int/en/regulars/editorial/(issue)/45
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PERSPECTIVES ictupdate.cta.int/en/regulars/perspectives/(issue)/45
The only communication service that will really take off in rural
areas of ACP countries is mobile telephony. Development
organizations have put a lot of effort into building telecentres
and providing internet access but internet use is marginal in many
rural communities. What people really want is a mobile phone.´
Russell Southwood, chief executive of Balancing Act, a weekly
e-letter on telecoms and internet in Africa.
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ARTICLES ictupdate.cta.int/en/feature_articles/(issue)/45
A group of software experts, technical specialists and
telecommunications entrepreneurs in South Africa is working to
develop an inexpensive system to provide rural and under-served
area with affordable telephone communication. ictupdate.cta.int/en/Feature-Articles/The-mesh-potato-network
A pilot project to introduce payphones, connected to satellite
networks, provides telephone services to remote communities and
develops the elecoms market in rural Zambia.
ictupdate.cta.int/en/Feature-Articles/The-community-call-box
With no fixed-line service and mobile phone operators reluctant to
invest in rural areas, the Fantsuam Foundation decided to provide
VoIP to customers on its wireless network in northern
Nigeria.
ictupdate.cta.int/en/Feature-Articles/VoIP-in-the-wilderness
Using a VoIP conference call feature on a portable satellite
connection, remote communities can express their opinions in their
own language, and organizations can reduce the travel costs for
agricultural projects. ictupdate.cta.int/en/Feature-Articles/Using-BGAN-to-talk
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Q&A ictupdate.cta.int/en/regulars/q_a/(issue)/45
VoIP is set to become more widely available and easier to use. Most
telephone networks run ´IP´ already. But many regulators are still
cautious about VoIP, with some governments restricting access to
equipment and knowledge and even making it illegal.´ Alberto
Escudero-Pascual, co-author of VoIP4D Primer, and co-founder of
IT+46, a consultancy company specializing in information technology
in developing regions.
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