[UgaBYTES] Press Release: CWRC Launches Community Wireless Networks in Lira and Nabweru

[Dorothy Okello]

Dear Polly,

Many apologies for the delay in responding to you and thank you for 
your interest. Let me respond to the questions you raise.

1) The wireless networks are using commercial wireless equipment, 
sourced from abroad with the support of IT+46. Currently, we are 
looking around town, Kampala, to see which of these equipment we can 
obtain locally.

2) We regard the telecentres as "Internet Access" points as opposed 
to ISPs. This is primarily because the telecentres are not selling 
the bandwidth per-se, they are instead collaborating with partners in 
the community to share the cost of bringing in bandwidth. A major 
challenge for all the telecenters we have engaged with so far has 
been the costs of bandwidth, so this solution seeks to address this 
particular challenge. The partners in the community are those that 
would/were using the telecentre anyways, the benefit of this is that 
they can still access the telecentre service but 'wirelessly' from 
their own locations. The Ministry of ICT is aware of our project, in 
fact, at one time we had thought we would collaborate on the project 
in Nakaseke.

Hope this helps,

Dorothy


At 01:29 PM 8/6/2007, Polly Gaster wrote:
>Dear Dorothy
>
>This press release is interesting but I would like a little more information
>if possible, considering that there are various similar initiatives under way
>in Mozambique. Firstly, are the wireless networks using the low-cost
>"cantenna" model, or normal commercial wireless equipment? Secondly, are the
>telecentres that are the "hubs" of the system registered as commercial ISPs,
>or do they have to be in Uganda? In Mozambique this is a problem - providing
>this type of service is understood by government as moving clearly into the
>area of commerce and away from the non-profit telecentre, and this has many
>implications for legal status, paying taxes and VAT, etc etc.
>
>Polly
>
>
>----
>PLEASE NOTE NEW TELEPHONE CODES AND NUMBERING!
>
>Polly Gaster
>UNESCO-CMCs
>cel: +258-82-3264540
>e-mail: polly.gaster at uem.mz
>
>
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