International Summit for Community Wireless Networks

Notes were compiled by Rennie Ferguson, Intern for the Science and Human Rights Program at the American Association for the Advancement of Science.

Panelists: John Atkinson (Wireless Ghana)
Yahel Ben-David (AirJaldi)
Dilip Pattanaik (IRMA-India)

Atkinson of Wireless Ghana opened the session with a brief introduction of his project. He described six different small community networks in Ghana, which included the capital city as well as rural areas. He defined two major problems that impede the development of wireless networks in these places: bandwidth and power supply. The primary difficulty with bandwidth is the overbearing cost, as well as questions of Quality of Service, which include trying to avoid and prevent network abuse. Atkinson noted that recently, issues with bandwidth have improved; one example of this was streamlining the bandwidth traffic with software such as Adblock to greater improve function capability. The continuing problems with power supply in the remote areas in which Wireless Ghana works called for innovation; one solution included using “hacked up” power routing through car batteries, which recharged when the power was on but could support the node when power was down. Finally, Atkinson described local involvement, namely Project Champions, who were locals trained to lead the networks. Atkinson then turned the discussion over to Pattanaik.

Pattanaik of IRMA-India introduced his organization, which works to construct community information centers for the rural poor, and described some of the new technologies changing the face of India today. These included mobile phones, which provide increased mobility; the India Broadband Policy; and Wi-Fi Mobile Convergence, which includes cafés and homes. Pattanaik noted that there were possible business and retail applications of Wi-Fi in India. He however did outline some of the issues facing Indian wireless network development, such as resolution, roaming, and billing in hotspots; and education and awareness of these technologies. He provided a positive outlook on the spread of this technology, saying that there has been impressive growth of laptop penetration within the country, combined with declining broadband rates. Pattanaik then gave a useful background of life in rural India: 75% of the Indian population lives in rural areas; 27% of those living in rural areas fall below the poverty-line; and there are more than 600,000 villages in India. There is clearly a barrier of accessibility and connectivity in these areas; one solution may come from the use of existing GSM technology. Pattanaik said that “GSM/CDMA access on existing rural switches is supported based on SDR which is configured for GSM or CDMA base stations.” However, the US$8/month hook-up cost is still high, and thus the technology is used primarily in urban centers. Pattanaik described the four community information centers which have already been established, which serve seventy-five villages, as well as “awareness camps” which serve to educate communities. He concluded by saying that in order for wireless technology to succeed, rural communities would need community awareness and participation, in conjunction with low-cost local wireless solutions.

Ben-David of AirJaldi then gave a description of his group, which works in Dharamsala, the center of the Tibetan community-in-exile. He described his organization as a “social enterprise” which was working to create viable rural wireless networks. So far, it has connected an 80 km² open source network of monasteries, schools, hospitals, and NGOs, which encompasses 10,000 individuals. It has also developed three network academies to provide local education. AirJaldi has worked to reduce its footprint on ecology, and does not serve mobile or roaming users. It does however provide the only connectivity in the area. Ben-David stated that it was mostly a MESH-network; it began as one large MESH, and then broke into smaller connected and overlapping MESH networks. He described some of the environmental issues that they had to cope with in Dharamsala, including heat in the summer, monsoon rains, and pests such as monkeys, which destroyed antennae. An AirJaldi summit was held in October 2006 in Dharamsala. The site in Dharamsala is serviced by six DSL government connectivity lines; another site is fiber-connected. AirJaldi doesn’t provide service to commercial groups; Ben-David said this was because they received a small ISP license from the Indian government, right before the government abolished this form of small license, so now they cannot provide to commercial organizations. They charge subscribers, yet what has occurred is that a school will buy the internet, and then community members will donate to the school. The panelists then opened the floor for questions.

One question was, "What is WIMAX?". The answer came that although there may be better quality of service with WIMAX as compared to Wi-Fi, it has distinct disadvantages to Wi-Fi when applied to rural communities. WIMAX operates on a regulated frequency, so a special license is needed from the government. It is also more expensive, and isn’t easily scaled to rural communities. Finally, there isn’t a distance advantage when compared to Wi-Fi. Another question asked was how far a point-to-point connection in the Ghana network could be; Atkinson answered 74 km on a 5.8.

Ben-David then made the point that it was interesting that all three panelists were from non-profits. He described the struggles of AirJaldi to determine whether it was a non-profit or a commercial entity, and eventually decided it was both. He reminded the audience of the challenge of developing a commercial and non-profit “synergy.” Ben-David also discussed the need for a “vacuum” of connectivity in these remote areas; that is, these communities first needed someone who can use the technology, and who can instruct others; this is how the technology spreads. He also used the phrase “penetration points,” to describe how technology enters communities. There was a question about cost: Ben-David said that the security deposit was used to pay for the initial cost of the equipment. Someone else asked about pest issues, which required working around some extreme environmental conditions. Ben-David described building fiberglass antennae to deter the large monkeys which had previously destroyed the equipment. Finally, there was discussion of the costs, especially to small organizations, of importing expensive foreign technology.