Minibuses and shared taxis are a very important, although sometimes frustrating, mode of transport in many ACP countries. They provide an essential link to family, businesses, government offices, markets and shops for millions of people living in remote areas. And since they are used to deliver pretty much everything else it almost seems obvious to use them to deliver the internet too. But how?
They are known all around the world by their many different names. In Kenya it is a matatu. In Ghana a tro tro. It is a concho in the Dominican Republic, a combi in much of Southern Africa, and a maxi taxi in Trinidad and Tobago. In West Africa they call it a bush taxi. They usually travel fixed routes through cities, between towns and out into village areas.
The problem was solved by United Villages, a start-up company based in the US, who use buses in Rwanda to take the emails, voice mails and web pages to rural districts around Kigali. The bus doesn’t even have to stop. It just passes an antenna linked to a computer in the village which transfers data to a small box on the bus that is capable of storing all the necessary information. When the bus goes back to town on its usual route the data is once again transferred wirelessly to a computer terminal with a real time internet connection. The emails are sent, voice mails delivered and web pages are sought and found. Replies are communicated back to the bus as it makes its way out to the villages again. And all of this is achieved using Wi-Fi. Communities
The term Wi-Fi was coined as a shorthand way of describing products that conform to the IEEE 802.11 Local Area Network (LAN) standards. This shorthand term has now become so well known it has entered into popular culture; mentioned on TV and radio, all over the internet and is even defined in dictionaries. It might be a surprise to learn that Wi-Fi is, in fact, a registered trademark owned by the Wi-Fi Alliance (who kindly gave ICTUpdate permission to use the term).
As the 200+ companies that are members of the Alliance continue to develop and integrate their products with other applications, Wi-Fi is being put to good use in some innovative projects in ACP countries. The flexibility, relatively low cost and the fact that several computers can operate on the same wireless network make this an ideal technology for improving communication in rural areas. Even the disadvantage of the relatively short range of Wi-Fi has been overcome using imaginative solutions in both Ghana and the Dominican Republic where they show that it is possible to extend the reach of the internet beyond a single telephone landline or satellite link.
The Rural Alternatives Center (CAREL) based in the small village of El Limon in the Dominican Republic has spent the last ten years developing a wireless system that is now spreading to other areas. Each village has its own set of problems to be overcome but a dedicated team has continually managed to come with some very inventive solutions.
Likewise in the small town of Apirede in Ghana, a community centre hosts a wireless network that now spans 20km into the surrounding rural communities. An impressive feat for a project run by volunteers who also used their own money to get the system started. With a combination of resourcefulness and ingenuity they manage to squeeze the limited bandwidth and make sure they provide a steady, reliable service.
These stories will surely inspire others who are struggling to bring the internet and other communications systems to remote areas but their experience tells us that there is much more to their success than just computers, routers, antennas and modems. There also has to be committed input from the local community, from residents, local authorities and schools to NGOs, businesses and, of course, those taxi and bus drivers. It is only when all their efforts are combined that it can become truly effective wireless network.
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