Bringing the Internet to Rural Areas of Developing Countries as the Great Equalizer Toward Promoting Social Justice Catholic Relief Services ICT4D Conference.

Bringing the Internet to Rural Areas of Developing Countries as the Great Equalizer

Toward Promoting Social Justice

Catholic Relief Services ICT4D ConferenceAccra, Ghana

March 20, 2013John McFadden

1

2

http://www.internetworldstats.com/stats.htm

The Problem (Opportunity)• Lack of or very poor electricity and

communication services in rural areas• Not profitable for corporations to bring

traditional technologies to rural villages• Governments don’t have resources for this

“First or last mile” of infrastructure

3

A Solution• Drive By Wi-Fi (DBWF)– Conceived by Amir Alexander Hasson as an MIT

business class project in 2001– Being implemented by United Villages– Uses wireless and computer technologies to bring

the internet to places that can’t be wired

4

5

Applications• Email• Voice Mail• Web Searching• Village Specific– Access to market pricing– Access to consumer goods– Access to health care information and education– Schools

6

Stages of Business Growth *• Stage 1 -- Provide voice, data and Web

Internet Services• Stage 2 -- Provide small scale ordering and

delivery services - E-Shop• Stage 3 -- Provide full web ordering and delivery services

Chintan Bakshi, Jaipur, India 2013http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/business-12841993

7

Lessons Learned• Ensure the long term commitment of all• Villagers want information –not bytes• Carefully assess connectivity requirements• Leverage evolving infrastructure to reduce costs

and increase sustainability• Mobile applications – “the last inch” are a fertile

research area for rural development

8

Risk Mitigation• Committed executive sponsor and resources• Alignment with community initiatives• Regular project updates to ensure continued

commitment, alignment, and communications• Procedures for managing changes/problems,

including system tests and business continuity• Ensure language and technical training• Ensure reliability and security of data

9

2013 and On-Going Trends• Advances in technology – Cheaper hardware with easier access in Web 3.0– Micro-loans & individual ownership of computers– Specialized applications (using Web 3.0)

• Increase in “Green Movement”– Reuse of equipment & alternate energy sources

• A Greater Need for Global Social Justice– More opportunities for ecommerce

10

Special thanks to former students Faith Abney and Leslie Bosley

Questions and

THANK YOU !

John C. McFaddenLoyola University Maryland [email protected]

11