Dear all, Innovative mesh networks in South Africa are connecting the connected for less than $2 a month. https://www.bbc.com/news/av/world-africa-47723967/internet-access-in-africa-... Could this be the solution for connecting thousands in rural Kenya? Best, Joash Moitui ~Sent from mobile device. Apologies for brevity and typos ~
Hi Joash, This is a great piece of video journalism from the BBC but a minor point of clarification. Zenzeleni is not a mesh network. It did start out as one but now uses hub and spoke WiFi technology from Ubiquiti just like Mawingu and many others do in Kenya. The BBC unfortunately buried the lead in the headline by not highlighting the real innovation of Zenzeleni, which is the nature of their organisation. They are a registered cooperative under South African law. Profits from the network go back to the community and back into the network. Cooperatives have been around since the middle ages. Their time is coming for rural broadband. Cheers... Steve Song On Fri, 29 Mar 2019 at 06:37, Joash Moitui via kictanet < kictanet@lists.kictanet.or.ke> wrote:
Dear all,
Innovative mesh networks in South Africa are connecting the connected for less than $2 a month.
https://www.bbc.com/news/av/world-africa-47723967/internet-access-in-africa-...
Could this be the solution for connecting thousands in rural Kenya?
Best,
Joash Moitui
~Sent from mobile device. Apologies for brevity and typos ~
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The Kenya ICT Action Network (KICTANet) is a multi-stakeholder platform for people and institutions interested and involved in ICT policy and regulation. The network aims to act as a catalyst for reform in the ICT sector in support of the national aim of ICT enabled growth and development.
KICTANetiquette : Adhere to the same standards of acceptable behaviors online that you follow in real life: respect people's times and bandwidth, share knowledge, don't flame or abuse or personalize, respect privacy, do not spam, do not market your wares or qualifications.
-- Steve Song +1 902 529 0046 http://manypossibilities.net http://nsrc.org
Who can talk to me about Mawingu and how it compares to this South Africa network. I would like to understand just what enables the lower costs and how it is different. On Fri, Mar 29, 2019 at 1:25 PM Song, Stephen via kictanet < kictanet@lists.kictanet.or.ke> wrote:
Hi Joash,
This is a great piece of video journalism from the BBC but a minor point of clarification. Zenzeleni is not a mesh network. It did start out as one but now uses hub and spoke WiFi technology from Ubiquiti just like Mawingu and many others do in Kenya. The BBC unfortunately buried the lead in the headline by not highlighting the real innovation of Zenzeleni, which is the nature of their organisation. They are a registered cooperative under South African law. Profits from the network go back to the community and back into the network. Cooperatives have been around since the middle ages. Their time is coming for rural broadband.
Cheers... Steve Song
On Fri, 29 Mar 2019 at 06:37, Joash Moitui via kictanet < kictanet@lists.kictanet.or.ke> wrote:
Dear all,
Innovative mesh networks in South Africa are connecting the connected for less than $2 a month.
https://www.bbc.com/news/av/world-africa-47723967/internet-access-in-africa-...
Could this be the solution for connecting thousands in rural Kenya?
Best,
Joash Moitui
~Sent from mobile device. Apologies for brevity and typos ~
_______________________________________________ kictanet mailing list kictanet@lists.kictanet.or.ke https://lists.kictanet.or.ke/mailman/listinfo/kictanet Twitter: http://twitter.com/kictanet Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/KICTANet/
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The Kenya ICT Action Network (KICTANet) is a multi-stakeholder platform for people and institutions interested and involved in ICT policy and regulation. The network aims to act as a catalyst for reform in the ICT sector in support of the national aim of ICT enabled growth and development.
KICTANetiquette : Adhere to the same standards of acceptable behaviors online that you follow in real life: respect people's times and bandwidth, share knowledge, don't flame or abuse or personalize, respect privacy, do not spam, do not market your wares or qualifications.
-- Steve Song +1 902 529 0046 http://manypossibilities.net http://nsrc.org
_______________________________________________ kictanet mailing list kictanet@lists.kictanet.or.ke https://lists.kictanet.or.ke/mailman/listinfo/kictanet Twitter: http://twitter.com/kictanet Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/KICTANet/
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The Kenya ICT Action Network (KICTANet) is a multi-stakeholder platform for people and institutions interested and involved in ICT policy and regulation. The network aims to act as a catalyst for reform in the ICT sector in support of the national aim of ICT enabled growth and development.
KICTANetiquette : Adhere to the same standards of acceptable behaviors online that you follow in real life: respect people's times and bandwidth, share knowledge, don't flame or abuse or personalize, respect privacy, do not spam, do not market your wares or qualifications.
-- *Every morning in Africa, a gazelle wakes up, It knows it must run faster than the fastest lion or it will be killed. Every morning a lion wakes up, it knows it must outrun the slowest gazelle or it will starve to death. It doesn't matter whether you are a gazelle or a lion. When the sun comes up, you better start running. - In "The World is Flat" by Thomas L. Friedman.*
It uses broadcast spectrum on a shared basis. It is the aspect of sharing economy of the airwaves that lowers the cost. Ndemo. On Fri, Mar 29, 2019 at 4:27 PM Peter Wakaba via kictanet < kictanet@lists.kictanet.or.ke> wrote:
Who can talk to me about Mawingu and how it compares to this South Africa network. I would like to understand just what enables the lower costs and how it is different.
On Fri, Mar 29, 2019 at 1:25 PM Song, Stephen via kictanet < kictanet@lists.kictanet.or.ke> wrote:
Hi Joash,
This is a great piece of video journalism from the BBC but a minor point of clarification. Zenzeleni is not a mesh network. It did start out as one but now uses hub and spoke WiFi technology from Ubiquiti just like Mawingu and many others do in Kenya. The BBC unfortunately buried the lead in the headline by not highlighting the real innovation of Zenzeleni, which is the nature of their organisation. They are a registered cooperative under South African law. Profits from the network go back to the community and back into the network. Cooperatives have been around since the middle ages. Their time is coming for rural broadband.
Cheers... Steve Song
On Fri, 29 Mar 2019 at 06:37, Joash Moitui via kictanet < kictanet@lists.kictanet.or.ke> wrote:
Dear all,
Innovative mesh networks in South Africa are connecting the connected for less than $2 a month.
https://www.bbc.com/news/av/world-africa-47723967/internet-access-in-africa-...
Could this be the solution for connecting thousands in rural Kenya?
Best,
Joash Moitui
~Sent from mobile device. Apologies for brevity and typos ~
_______________________________________________ kictanet mailing list kictanet@lists.kictanet.or.ke https://lists.kictanet.or.ke/mailman/listinfo/kictanet Twitter: http://twitter.com/kictanet Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/KICTANet/
Unsubscribe or change your options at https://lists.kictanet.or.ke/mailman/options/kictanet/stephen.song%40gmail.c...
The Kenya ICT Action Network (KICTANet) is a multi-stakeholder platform for people and institutions interested and involved in ICT policy and regulation. The network aims to act as a catalyst for reform in the ICT sector in support of the national aim of ICT enabled growth and development.
KICTANetiquette : Adhere to the same standards of acceptable behaviors online that you follow in real life: respect people's times and bandwidth, share knowledge, don't flame or abuse or personalize, respect privacy, do not spam, do not market your wares or qualifications.
-- Steve Song +1 902 529 0046 http://manypossibilities.net http://nsrc.org
_______________________________________________ kictanet mailing list kictanet@lists.kictanet.or.ke https://lists.kictanet.or.ke/mailman/listinfo/kictanet Twitter: http://twitter.com/kictanet Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/KICTANet/
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The Kenya ICT Action Network (KICTANet) is a multi-stakeholder platform for people and institutions interested and involved in ICT policy and regulation. The network aims to act as a catalyst for reform in the ICT sector in support of the national aim of ICT enabled growth and development.
KICTANetiquette : Adhere to the same standards of acceptable behaviors online that you follow in real life: respect people's times and bandwidth, share knowledge, don't flame or abuse or personalize, respect privacy, do not spam, do not market your wares or qualifications.
-- *Every morning in Africa, a gazelle wakes up, It knows it must run faster than the fastest lion or it will be killed. Every morning a lion wakes up, it knows it must outrun the slowest gazelle or it will starve to death. It doesn't matter whether you are a gazelle or a lion. When the sun comes up, you better start running. - In "The World is Flat" by Thomas L. Friedman.*
_______________________________________________ kictanet mailing list kictanet@lists.kictanet.or.ke https://lists.kictanet.or.ke/mailman/listinfo/kictanet Twitter: http://twitter.com/kictanet Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/KICTANet/
Unsubscribe or change your options at https://lists.kictanet.or.ke/mailman/options/kictanet/bndemo%40bitangendemo....
The Kenya ICT Action Network (KICTANet) is a multi-stakeholder platform for people and institutions interested and involved in ICT policy and regulation. The network aims to act as a catalyst for reform in the ICT sector in support of the national aim of ICT enabled growth and development.
KICTANetiquette : Adhere to the same standards of acceptable behaviors online that you follow in real life: respect people's times and bandwidth, share knowledge, don't flame or abuse or personalize, respect privacy, do not spam, do not market your wares or qualifications.
Peter, To provide some insights on how community networks are built and operated, I would like to refer you to similar community initiatives we have in the country. You may have come across community water projects. These initiatives have for many years provided communities in semi-urban and rural areas with clean, piped, portable water and at affordable rates. Their sustainability is based on low OPEX and growing membership and a general application of Elinor Ostrom's "commons model". For most of these projects the initial CAPEX is from grant funds or loans that they repay over time. Community Networks (CNs) are not any different. They are established using CAPEX from grants and similar models to those community water projects. The engineers are local youth trained through the initiative with the basic training needed to run and operate the network. CNs will negotiate IP transit capacity from operators closest to them. In some cases, it means building long haul wifi links spanning over 50kms to get to the closest operator's node. In the case of Zenzeleni, the closest operator who could provide them with reasonably priced capacity is in Umtata, more 100kms from Mankosi. In addition, CNs use low cost, low power wi-fi gear and use solar to power the equipment. All these factors have a significant impact on the OPEX and as a result, CNs are able to offer affordable access to the communities they serve. In some cases, CNs offer other services that supplement their revenue stream. Sustainability is still a challenge for many of them just like many water projects tend to suffer from. However, both of these tend to find ways of continuing to serve their communities for many years. I suppose its largely dependent on their bottom up community approach to the initiative. Kindly allow me to invite you to read the following study on CNs in Africa - https://www.internetsociety.org/wp-content/uploads/2017/08/CommunityNetworki... Regards, Michuki. On Fri, Mar 29, 2019 at 5:45 PM Bitange Ndemo via kictanet < kictanet@lists.kictanet.or.ke> wrote:
It uses broadcast spectrum on a shared basis. It is the aspect of sharing economy of the airwaves that lowers the cost.
Ndemo.
On Fri, Mar 29, 2019 at 4:27 PM Peter Wakaba via kictanet < kictanet@lists.kictanet.or.ke> wrote:
Who can talk to me about Mawingu and how it compares to this South Africa network. I would like to understand just what enables the lower costs and how it is different.
On Fri, Mar 29, 2019 at 1:25 PM Song, Stephen via kictanet < kictanet@lists.kictanet.or.ke> wrote:
Hi Joash,
This is a great piece of video journalism from the BBC but a minor point of clarification. Zenzeleni is not a mesh network. It did start out as one but now uses hub and spoke WiFi technology from Ubiquiti just like Mawingu and many others do in Kenya. The BBC unfortunately buried the lead in the headline by not highlighting the real innovation of Zenzeleni, which is the nature of their organisation. They are a registered cooperative under South African law. Profits from the network go back to the community and back into the network. Cooperatives have been around since the middle ages. Their time is coming for rural broadband.
Cheers... Steve Song
On Fri, 29 Mar 2019 at 06:37, Joash Moitui via kictanet < kictanet@lists.kictanet.or.ke> wrote:
Dear all,
Innovative mesh networks in South Africa are connecting the connected for less than $2 a month.
https://www.bbc.com/news/av/world-africa-47723967/internet-access-in-africa-...
Could this be the solution for connecting thousands in rural Kenya?
Best,
Joash Moitui
~Sent from mobile device. Apologies for brevity and typos ~
_______________________________________________ kictanet mailing list kictanet@lists.kictanet.or.ke https://lists.kictanet.or.ke/mailman/listinfo/kictanet Twitter: http://twitter.com/kictanet Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/KICTANet/
Unsubscribe or change your options at https://lists.kictanet.or.ke/mailman/options/kictanet/stephen.song%40gmail.c...
The Kenya ICT Action Network (KICTANet) is a multi-stakeholder platform for people and institutions interested and involved in ICT policy and regulation. The network aims to act as a catalyst for reform in the ICT sector in support of the national aim of ICT enabled growth and development.
KICTANetiquette : Adhere to the same standards of acceptable behaviors online that you follow in real life: respect people's times and bandwidth, share knowledge, don't flame or abuse or personalize, respect privacy, do not spam, do not market your wares or qualifications.
-- Steve Song +1 902 529 0046 http://manypossibilities.net http://nsrc.org
_______________________________________________ kictanet mailing list kictanet@lists.kictanet.or.ke https://lists.kictanet.or.ke/mailman/listinfo/kictanet Twitter: http://twitter.com/kictanet Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/KICTANet/
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The Kenya ICT Action Network (KICTANet) is a multi-stakeholder platform for people and institutions interested and involved in ICT policy and regulation. The network aims to act as a catalyst for reform in the ICT sector in support of the national aim of ICT enabled growth and development.
KICTANetiquette : Adhere to the same standards of acceptable behaviors online that you follow in real life: respect people's times and bandwidth, share knowledge, don't flame or abuse or personalize, respect privacy, do not spam, do not market your wares or qualifications.
-- *Every morning in Africa, a gazelle wakes up, It knows it must run faster than the fastest lion or it will be killed. Every morning a lion wakes up, it knows it must outrun the slowest gazelle or it will starve to death. It doesn't matter whether you are a gazelle or a lion. When the sun comes up, you better start running. - In "The World is Flat" by Thomas L. Friedman.*
_______________________________________________ kictanet mailing list kictanet@lists.kictanet.or.ke https://lists.kictanet.or.ke/mailman/listinfo/kictanet Twitter: http://twitter.com/kictanet Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/KICTANet/
Unsubscribe or change your options at https://lists.kictanet.or.ke/mailman/options/kictanet/bndemo%40bitangendemo....
The Kenya ICT Action Network (KICTANet) is a multi-stakeholder platform for people and institutions interested and involved in ICT policy and regulation. The network aims to act as a catalyst for reform in the ICT sector in support of the national aim of ICT enabled growth and development.
KICTANetiquette : Adhere to the same standards of acceptable behaviors online that you follow in real life: respect people's times and bandwidth, share knowledge, don't flame or abuse or personalize, respect privacy, do not spam, do not market your wares or qualifications.
_______________________________________________ kictanet mailing list kictanet@lists.kictanet.or.ke https://lists.kictanet.or.ke/mailman/listinfo/kictanet Twitter: http://twitter.com/kictanet Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/KICTANet/
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The Kenya ICT Action Network (KICTANet) is a multi-stakeholder platform for people and institutions interested and involved in ICT policy and regulation. The network aims to act as a catalyst for reform in the ICT sector in support of the national aim of ICT enabled growth and development.
KICTANetiquette : Adhere to the same standards of acceptable behaviors online that you follow in real life: respect people's times and bandwidth, share knowledge, don't flame or abuse or personalize, respect privacy, do not spam, do not market your wares or qualifications.
Peter, The following article by Steve Song also provides some further insights on why Community Networks provide an alternative solution to providing connectivity to remote and underserved communities. https://manypossibilities.net/2019/02/rethinking-affordable-access/ Regards, Michuki. On Fri, Mar 29, 2019 at 6:38 PM Michuki Mwangi <michuki.mwangi@gmail.com> wrote:
Peter,
To provide some insights on how community networks are built and operated, I would like to refer you to similar community initiatives we have in the country. You may have come across community water projects. These initiatives have for many years provided communities in semi-urban and rural areas with clean, piped, portable water and at affordable rates. Their sustainability is based on low OPEX and growing membership and a general application of Elinor Ostrom's "commons model". For most of these projects the initial CAPEX is from grant funds or loans that they repay over time.
Community Networks (CNs) are not any different. They are established using CAPEX from grants and similar models to those community water projects. The engineers are local youth trained through the initiative with the basic training needed to run and operate the network. CNs will negotiate IP transit capacity from operators closest to them. In some cases, it means building long haul wifi links spanning over 50kms to get to the closest operator's node. In the case of Zenzeleni, the closest operator who could provide them with reasonably priced capacity is in Umtata, more 100kms from Mankosi. In addition, CNs use low cost, low power wi-fi gear and use solar to power the equipment. All these factors have a significant impact on the OPEX and as a result, CNs are able to offer affordable access to the communities they serve. In some cases, CNs offer other services that supplement their revenue stream. Sustainability is still a challenge for many of them just like many water projects tend to suffer from. However, both of these tend to find ways of continuing to serve their communities for many years. I suppose its largely dependent on their bottom up community approach to the initiative. Kindly allow me to invite you to read the following study on CNs in Africa - https://www.internetsociety.org/wp-content/uploads/2017/08/CommunityNetworki...
Regards,
Michuki.
On Fri, Mar 29, 2019 at 5:45 PM Bitange Ndemo via kictanet < kictanet@lists.kictanet.or.ke> wrote:
It uses broadcast spectrum on a shared basis. It is the aspect of sharing economy of the airwaves that lowers the cost.
Ndemo.
On Fri, Mar 29, 2019 at 4:27 PM Peter Wakaba via kictanet < kictanet@lists.kictanet.or.ke> wrote:
Who can talk to me about Mawingu and how it compares to this South Africa network. I would like to understand just what enables the lower costs and how it is different.
On Fri, Mar 29, 2019 at 1:25 PM Song, Stephen via kictanet < kictanet@lists.kictanet.or.ke> wrote:
Hi Joash,
This is a great piece of video journalism from the BBC but a minor point of clarification. Zenzeleni is not a mesh network. It did start out as one but now uses hub and spoke WiFi technology from Ubiquiti just like Mawingu and many others do in Kenya. The BBC unfortunately buried the lead in the headline by not highlighting the real innovation of Zenzeleni, which is the nature of their organisation. They are a registered cooperative under South African law. Profits from the network go back to the community and back into the network. Cooperatives have been around since the middle ages. Their time is coming for rural broadband.
Cheers... Steve Song
On Fri, 29 Mar 2019 at 06:37, Joash Moitui via kictanet < kictanet@lists.kictanet.or.ke> wrote:
Dear all,
Innovative mesh networks in South Africa are connecting the connected for less than $2 a month.
https://www.bbc.com/news/av/world-africa-47723967/internet-access-in-africa-...
Could this be the solution for connecting thousands in rural Kenya?
Best,
Joash Moitui
~Sent from mobile device. Apologies for brevity and typos ~
_______________________________________________ kictanet mailing list kictanet@lists.kictanet.or.ke https://lists.kictanet.or.ke/mailman/listinfo/kictanet Twitter: http://twitter.com/kictanet Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/KICTANet/
Unsubscribe or change your options at https://lists.kictanet.or.ke/mailman/options/kictanet/stephen.song%40gmail.c...
The Kenya ICT Action Network (KICTANet) is a multi-stakeholder platform for people and institutions interested and involved in ICT policy and regulation. The network aims to act as a catalyst for reform in the ICT sector in support of the national aim of ICT enabled growth and development.
KICTANetiquette : Adhere to the same standards of acceptable behaviors online that you follow in real life: respect people's times and bandwidth, share knowledge, don't flame or abuse or personalize, respect privacy, do not spam, do not market your wares or qualifications.
-- Steve Song +1 902 529 0046 http://manypossibilities.net http://nsrc.org
_______________________________________________ kictanet mailing list kictanet@lists.kictanet.or.ke https://lists.kictanet.or.ke/mailman/listinfo/kictanet Twitter: http://twitter.com/kictanet Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/KICTANet/
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The Kenya ICT Action Network (KICTANet) is a multi-stakeholder platform for people and institutions interested and involved in ICT policy and regulation. The network aims to act as a catalyst for reform in the ICT sector in support of the national aim of ICT enabled growth and development.
KICTANetiquette : Adhere to the same standards of acceptable behaviors online that you follow in real life: respect people's times and bandwidth, share knowledge, don't flame or abuse or personalize, respect privacy, do not spam, do not market your wares or qualifications.
-- *Every morning in Africa, a gazelle wakes up, It knows it must run faster than the fastest lion or it will be killed. Every morning a lion wakes up, it knows it must outrun the slowest gazelle or it will starve to death. It doesn't matter whether you are a gazelle or a lion. When the sun comes up, you better start running. - In "The World is Flat" by Thomas L. Friedman.*
_______________________________________________ kictanet mailing list kictanet@lists.kictanet.or.ke https://lists.kictanet.or.ke/mailman/listinfo/kictanet Twitter: http://twitter.com/kictanet Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/KICTANet/
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The Kenya ICT Action Network (KICTANet) is a multi-stakeholder platform for people and institutions interested and involved in ICT policy and regulation. The network aims to act as a catalyst for reform in the ICT sector in support of the national aim of ICT enabled growth and development.
KICTANetiquette : Adhere to the same standards of acceptable behaviors online that you follow in real life: respect people's times and bandwidth, share knowledge, don't flame or abuse or personalize, respect privacy, do not spam, do not market your wares or qualifications.
_______________________________________________ kictanet mailing list kictanet@lists.kictanet.or.ke https://lists.kictanet.or.ke/mailman/listinfo/kictanet Twitter: http://twitter.com/kictanet Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/KICTANet/
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The Kenya ICT Action Network (KICTANet) is a multi-stakeholder platform for people and institutions interested and involved in ICT policy and regulation. The network aims to act as a catalyst for reform in the ICT sector in support of the national aim of ICT enabled growth and development.
KICTANetiquette : Adhere to the same standards of acceptable behaviors online that you follow in real life: respect people's times and bandwidth, share knowledge, don't flame or abuse or personalize, respect privacy, do not spam, do not market your wares or qualifications.
Thank you Peter Wakaba for the probing questions. It has lead to very rich answers from Michuki, Ndemo, and Gitau. Thank you Joash for putting this forward, and Song too. I want to request the following three players to also comment about their initiative. Probably what their initiative is all about, the positives, opportunities, and challenges they face. 1. Josephine Miliza of Tunapanda Network. 2. Tonny Okwonga of BOSCO Network Uganda 3. Andy Halsall / Dirk-Jan Koeman / Chris Rhodes of Poa Internet. Can someone link the good people at Poa internet to this thread? Andrew Alston or Ben Roberts probably? For a fact, I know BOSCO Network in Northern Uganda is quite expansive, covering a radius of about 200km, and offering FREE internet to community centers. Is this sustainable? Well, they have been around for more than 12 years. There is the answer. Warm regards ______________________ Mwendwa Kivuva, Nairobi, Kenya On Fri, 29 Mar 2019 at 18:51, Michuki Mwangi via kictanet < kictanet@lists.kictanet.or.ke> wrote:
Peter,
The following article by Steve Song also provides some further insights on why Community Networks provide an alternative solution to providing connectivity to remote and underserved communities.
https://manypossibilities.net/2019/02/rethinking-affordable-access/
Regards,
Michuki.
On Fri, Mar 29, 2019 at 6:38 PM Michuki Mwangi <michuki.mwangi@gmail.com> wrote:
Peter,
To provide some insights on how community networks are built and operated, I would like to refer you to similar community initiatives we have in the country. You may have come across community water projects. These initiatives have for many years provided communities in semi-urban and rural areas with clean, piped, portable water and at affordable rates. Their sustainability is based on low OPEX and growing membership and a general application of Elinor Ostrom's "commons model". For most of these projects the initial CAPEX is from grant funds or loans that they repay over time.
Community Networks (CNs) are not any different. They are established using CAPEX from grants and similar models to those community water projects. The engineers are local youth trained through the initiative with the basic training needed to run and operate the network. CNs will negotiate IP transit capacity from operators closest to them. In some cases, it means building long haul wifi links spanning over 50kms to get to the closest operator's node. In the case of Zenzeleni, the closest operator who could provide them with reasonably priced capacity is in Umtata, more 100kms from Mankosi. In addition, CNs use low cost, low power wi-fi gear and use solar to power the equipment. All these factors have a significant impact on the OPEX and as a result, CNs are able to offer affordable access to the communities they serve. In some cases, CNs offer other services that supplement their revenue stream. Sustainability is still a challenge for many of them just like many water projects tend to suffer from. However, both of these tend to find ways of continuing to serve their communities for many years. I suppose its largely dependent on their bottom up community approach to the initiative. Kindly allow me to invite you to read the following study on CNs in Africa - https://www.internetsociety.org/wp-content/uploads/2017/08/CommunityNetworki...
Regards,
Michuki.
On Fri, Mar 29, 2019 at 5:45 PM Bitange Ndemo via kictanet < kictanet@lists.kictanet.or.ke> wrote:
It uses broadcast spectrum on a shared basis. It is the aspect of sharing economy of the airwaves that lowers the cost.
Ndemo.
On Fri, Mar 29, 2019 at 4:27 PM Peter Wakaba via kictanet < kictanet@lists.kictanet.or.ke> wrote:
Who can talk to me about Mawingu and how it compares to this South Africa network. I would like to understand just what enables the lower costs and how it is different.
On Fri, Mar 29, 2019 at 1:25 PM Song, Stephen via kictanet < kictanet@lists.kictanet.or.ke> wrote:
Hi Joash,
This is a great piece of video journalism from the BBC but a minor point of clarification. Zenzeleni is not a mesh network. It did start out as one but now uses hub and spoke WiFi technology from Ubiquiti just like Mawingu and many others do in Kenya. The BBC unfortunately buried the lead in the headline by not highlighting the real innovation of Zenzeleni, which is the nature of their organisation. They are a registered cooperative under South African law. Profits from the network go back to the community and back into the network. Cooperatives have been around since the middle ages. Their time is coming for rural broadband.
Cheers... Steve Song
On Fri, 29 Mar 2019 at 06:37, Joash Moitui via kictanet < kictanet@lists.kictanet.or.ke> wrote:
Dear all,
Innovative mesh networks in South Africa are connecting the connected for less than $2 a month.
https://www.bbc.com/news/av/world-africa-47723967/internet-access-in-africa-...
Could this be the solution for connecting thousands in rural Kenya?
Best,
Joash Moitui
~Sent from mobile device. Apologies for brevity and typos ~
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Mwendwa, This very interesting thread died out! Despite NOFBI having been laid out to cover all counties, apart from the county headquarters the wider area of most counties remain uncovered. This calls for a joint public / private / community effort to get all connected. Zenzeleni has proved that this is doable. Further away in the US (with all their might and resources) they too believe that The Fiber Future is Cooperative: Policy Brief On Rural Cooperative Fiber Deployment <https://ilsr.org/the-fiber-future-is-cooperative-policy-brief-on-rural-cooperative-fiber-deployment/>. Despite the gains made by USF, we still have a long way to go to making internet available to all. With most government services now going online, if measures are not taken to address this issue we stand the possibility of creating cartels to do this. Can we reopen this talk and seek ways to address this problem? Regards Twahir On Sat, Mar 30, 2019 at 5:35 PM Mwendwa Kivuva via kictanet < kictanet@lists.kictanet.or.ke> wrote:
Thank you Peter Wakaba for the probing questions. It has lead to very rich answers from Michuki, Ndemo, and Gitau. Thank you Joash for putting this forward, and Song too.
I want to request the following three players to also comment about their initiative. Probably what their initiative is all about, the positives, opportunities, and challenges they face.
1. Josephine Miliza of Tunapanda Network. 2. Tonny Okwonga of BOSCO Network Uganda 3. Andy Halsall / Dirk-Jan Koeman / Chris Rhodes of Poa Internet.
Can someone link the good people at Poa internet to this thread? Andrew Alston or Ben Roberts probably?
For a fact, I know BOSCO Network in Northern Uganda is quite expansive, covering a radius of about 200km, and offering FREE internet to community centers. Is this sustainable? Well, they have been around for more than 12 years. There is the answer.
Warm regards ______________________ Mwendwa Kivuva, Nairobi, Kenya
On Fri, 29 Mar 2019 at 18:51, Michuki Mwangi via kictanet < kictanet@lists.kictanet.or.ke> wrote:
Peter,
The following article by Steve Song also provides some further insights on why Community Networks provide an alternative solution to providing connectivity to remote and underserved communities.
https://manypossibilities.net/2019/02/rethinking-affordable-access/
Regards,
Michuki.
On Fri, Mar 29, 2019 at 6:38 PM Michuki Mwangi <michuki.mwangi@gmail.com> wrote:
Peter,
To provide some insights on how community networks are built and operated, I would like to refer you to similar community initiatives we have in the country. You may have come across community water projects. These initiatives have for many years provided communities in semi-urban and rural areas with clean, piped, portable water and at affordable rates. Their sustainability is based on low OPEX and growing membership and a general application of Elinor Ostrom's "commons model". For most of these projects the initial CAPEX is from grant funds or loans that they repay over time.
Community Networks (CNs) are not any different. They are established using CAPEX from grants and similar models to those community water projects. The engineers are local youth trained through the initiative with the basic training needed to run and operate the network. CNs will negotiate IP transit capacity from operators closest to them. In some cases, it means building long haul wifi links spanning over 50kms to get to the closest operator's node. In the case of Zenzeleni, the closest operator who could provide them with reasonably priced capacity is in Umtata, more 100kms from Mankosi. In addition, CNs use low cost, low power wi-fi gear and use solar to power the equipment. All these factors have a significant impact on the OPEX and as a result, CNs are able to offer affordable access to the communities they serve. In some cases, CNs offer other services that supplement their revenue stream. Sustainability is still a challenge for many of them just like many water projects tend to suffer from. However, both of these tend to find ways of continuing to serve their communities for many years. I suppose its largely dependent on their bottom up community approach to the initiative. Kindly allow me to invite you to read the following study on CNs in Africa - https://www.internetsociety.org/wp-content/uploads/2017/08/CommunityNetworki...
Regards,
Michuki.
On Fri, Mar 29, 2019 at 5:45 PM Bitange Ndemo via kictanet < kictanet@lists.kictanet.or.ke> wrote:
It uses broadcast spectrum on a shared basis. It is the aspect of sharing economy of the airwaves that lowers the cost.
Ndemo.
On Fri, Mar 29, 2019 at 4:27 PM Peter Wakaba via kictanet < kictanet@lists.kictanet.or.ke> wrote:
Who can talk to me about Mawingu and how it compares to this South Africa network. I would like to understand just what enables the lower costs and how it is different.
On Fri, Mar 29, 2019 at 1:25 PM Song, Stephen via kictanet < kictanet@lists.kictanet.or.ke> wrote:
Hi Joash,
This is a great piece of video journalism from the BBC but a minor point of clarification. Zenzeleni is not a mesh network. It did start out as one but now uses hub and spoke WiFi technology from Ubiquiti just like Mawingu and many others do in Kenya. The BBC unfortunately buried the lead in the headline by not highlighting the real innovation of Zenzeleni, which is the nature of their organisation. They are a registered cooperative under South African law. Profits from the network go back to the community and back into the network. Cooperatives have been around since the middle ages. Their time is coming for rural broadband.
Cheers... Steve Song
On Fri, 29 Mar 2019 at 06:37, Joash Moitui via kictanet < kictanet@lists.kictanet.or.ke> wrote:
> Dear all, > > Innovative mesh networks in South Africa are connecting the > connected for less than $2 a month. > > > https://www.bbc.com/news/av/world-africa-47723967/internet-access-in-africa-... > > Could this be the solution for connecting thousands in rural Kenya? > > Best, > > Joash Moitui > > > ~Sent from mobile device. Apologies for brevity and typos ~ > > > > _______________________________________________ > kictanet mailing list > kictanet@lists.kictanet.or.ke > https://lists.kictanet.or.ke/mailman/listinfo/kictanet > Twitter: http://twitter.com/kictanet > Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/KICTANet/ > > Unsubscribe or change your options at > https://lists.kictanet.or.ke/mailman/options/kictanet/stephen.song%40gmail.c... > > The Kenya ICT Action Network (KICTANet) is a multi-stakeholder > platform for people and institutions interested and involved in ICT policy > and regulation. The network aims to act as a catalyst for reform in the ICT > sector in support of the national aim of ICT enabled growth and development. > > KICTANetiquette : Adhere to the same standards of acceptable > behaviors online that you follow in real life: respect people's times and > bandwidth, share knowledge, don't flame or abuse or personalize, respect > privacy, do not spam, do not market your wares or qualifications. >
-- Steve Song +1 902 529 0046 http://manypossibilities.net http://nsrc.org
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The Kenya ICT Action Network (KICTANet) is a multi-stakeholder platform for people and institutions interested and involved in ICT policy and regulation. The network aims to act as a catalyst for reform in the ICT sector in support of the national aim of ICT enabled growth and development.
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So mawingu started off several years back. Part of their funding were grants and partnerships to experiment with 'tv whitespace' (google that) as a backhaul. This allowed them longer range and they have slowly started offering regular X-to the home services using a mix of whitespace,fiber and wireless backhaul with cable into your house or WiFi. Very popular in Nanyuki and its environs.... I'm involved with a team testing community based WiFi solutions with a blockchain backend for instant settlement (smart contracts between the bandwidth provider, kra, access point provider,the community and the sponsor company) and the same mix with some interesting surprises of technologies above. Others to look at are POA WiFi, surfspot recently acquired by brck among others.... Cooperative WiFi is a great way to go too... JG On Fri, 29 Mar 2019, 16:26 Peter Wakaba via kictanet < kictanet@lists.kictanet.or.ke> wrote:
Who can talk to me about Mawingu and how it compares to this South Africa network. I would like to understand just what enables the lower costs and how it is different.
On Fri, Mar 29, 2019 at 1:25 PM Song, Stephen via kictanet < kictanet@lists.kictanet.or.ke> wrote:
Hi Joash,
This is a great piece of video journalism from the BBC but a minor point of clarification. Zenzeleni is not a mesh network. It did start out as one but now uses hub and spoke WiFi technology from Ubiquiti just like Mawingu and many others do in Kenya. The BBC unfortunately buried the lead in the headline by not highlighting the real innovation of Zenzeleni, which is the nature of their organisation. They are a registered cooperative under South African law. Profits from the network go back to the community and back into the network. Cooperatives have been around since the middle ages. Their time is coming for rural broadband.
Cheers... Steve Song
On Fri, 29 Mar 2019 at 06:37, Joash Moitui via kictanet < kictanet@lists.kictanet.or.ke> wrote:
Dear all,
Innovative mesh networks in South Africa are connecting the connected for less than $2 a month.
https://www.bbc.com/news/av/world-africa-47723967/internet-access-in-africa-...
Could this be the solution for connecting thousands in rural Kenya?
Best,
Joash Moitui
~Sent from mobile device. Apologies for brevity and typos ~
_______________________________________________ kictanet mailing list kictanet@lists.kictanet.or.ke https://lists.kictanet.or.ke/mailman/listinfo/kictanet Twitter: http://twitter.com/kictanet Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/KICTANet/
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KICTANetiquette : Adhere to the same standards of acceptable behaviors online that you follow in real life: respect people's times and bandwidth, share knowledge, don't flame or abuse or personalize, respect privacy, do not spam, do not market your wares or qualifications.
-- Steve Song +1 902 529 0046 http://manypossibilities.net http://nsrc.org
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KICTANetiquette : Adhere to the same standards of acceptable behaviors online that you follow in real life: respect people's times and bandwidth, share knowledge, don't flame or abuse or personalize, respect privacy, do not spam, do not market your wares or qualifications.
-- *Every morning in Africa, a gazelle wakes up, It knows it must run faster than the fastest lion or it will be killed. Every morning a lion wakes up, it knows it must outrun the slowest gazelle or it will starve to death. It doesn't matter whether you are a gazelle or a lion. When the sun comes up, you better start running. - In "The World is Flat" by Thomas L. Friedman.*
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participants (8)
-
Bitange Ndemo -
Joash Moitui -
John Gitau -
Michuki Mwangi -
Mwendwa Kivuva -
Peter Wakaba -
Song, Stephen -
Twahir Hussein Kassim