At every beauty pageant they always ask the bikini-clad candidate, what is your wish for mankind. Everyone always says the noble standard answer, "World peace" and the crowds cheer. However if I were ever the Miss Canada candidate, I would have to make my answer, free broadband Internet access in Africa.
I cannot claim this idea as my own but it starts with an obscure agreement between the government of the Province of British Columbia and a major Canadian telco Telus Corporation signed in July 29, 2011. BC is in a business agreement with Telus, for a transfer of $10.00 Canadian (if I read that right), to provide access to all residents in BC access to broadband Internet and telecommunications services to have access to the social benefits of connectivity for economic initiatives, access to government services, electronic health and
education services. Contract in pdf here.
The 109 page document signed by the Minister of Citizen's Services and Open Government outlines lots of provisions including askingTelus
- to facilitate last mile connectivity
- expand cellular coverage in rural areas
- maintain Central Office live status if no other ISP is available
- to provide carrier service to the CO for a small ISP
- set a fair wholesale pricing list
- to not compete with eligible ISPs to provide the retail broadband services to end users, except where Telus already has cellular coverage (EVDO, HSPA, LTE) and DSL
The agreement seems to support fair market prices for the consumer and a non competition period of three years, and seems to leave it up to Telus to build the infrastructure, the way I understand it. Sound like a pretty sweet deal for all!
I read a recent article on CNN that poverty in the USA was linked to lack of access to basic telecommunications and Internet because job searching opportunities and even access to higher education and everything these days were most accessible to folks with Internet access, and the have nots were hurting even more with lack of it. We'll see how this reaches out the more rural communities and people living off the grid. Imagine what it could do for a developing nation! Access to information and the capability to communicate and collaborate with other humans.
In my search for the road to world peace, I came across the most inspiring article on CNN by Hamadoun Touré who writes the best case scenario for how mobile broadband could save Africa and help them reach Millennium Development Goals. The UN Millennium Development Goals are best summarized in three categories of education, health, and the environment, and the author sees mobile broadband playing a key role in each. Alright, he takes the crown from Miss Canada's idea.
"If you combat disease, you also reduce child mortality; if you give every child a primary education, you promote gender equality. It is because these goals are interlinked that broadband is so important."
http://edition.cnn.com/2012/02/27/opinion/technology-toure-africa-mobile/index.html?iref=allsearch
The government priority or foreign aid should be geared at building the infrastructure to support the broadband network or even mobile public transport vehicles equipped with low-cost wifi repeaters.
Here are examples of the Smartphone usage helping local businesses
1) Regular weather updates for the farmer on his Smartphone to plan his planting and seeding schedules
2) GPS geolocation capability for precision farming and optimizing fertilizer and pesticide usage
3) Online access to employment and training in Kenya
4) A young entrepreneur who developed an app for children to improve literacy, numeracy and general knowledge and the platform to delivery the wifi Internet access by public transport vehicles
As long as the kids don't spend too much time playing Angry Birds, here's to saving Africa one smartphone at a time.
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