[kictanet] Mesh Networks in South Africa

Fri Mar 29 18:38:49 EAT 2019

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/CommunityNetworkingAfrica_report_May2017_1.pdf

Regards,

Michuki.

On Fri, Mar 29, 2019 at 5:45 PM Bitange Ndemo via kictanet <
kictanet at 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 at 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 at 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 at 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-are-mesh-networks-the-future?ocid=socialflow_facebook
>>>>
>>>> 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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>>>
>>>
>>> --
>>> Steve Song
>>> +1 902 529 0046
>>> http://manypossibilities.net
>>> http://nsrc.org
>>>
>>>
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>>> sector in support of the national aim of ICT enabled growth and development.
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>>
>>
>> --
>> *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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>>
>> 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.
>>
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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.
>
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