[UgaBYTES] Strategic Thinking - Connecting Pakistan through Telecenters & Free and Open Source Software FOSS

[Hilton Theunissen]

The download link?

Kind regards.

Hilton Theunissen
Inkululeko Technologies
Tel: +27 11 462 9124
Fax-to-mail: 0865033491
Mobile: +27 72 900800 1
E-mail: hilton at inkululeko.co.za
http://www.tuxlab.org.za


Fouad Riaz Bajwa wrote:
> Telecenters and Community Resource and Information Centers in Pakistan 
> 
> Salman Ansari Technology Consultants  
> International Free and Open Source Software Foundation iFOSSF  
> 
> Written for the World Bank, this 279-page document is a study of telecentres
> in Pakistan and in different parts of the world, especially India and Sri
> Lanka, as context for analysis of Pakistan's telecentre development
> direction. The document also analyses different approaches to creating the
> actual telecentres and addressing challenges which will be faced, including
> the involvement of prospective large-size telecentre operators. In
> attempting to support the establishment of telecentres, the document offers
> spreadsheets for business models and makes a case for the use of free and
> open-source software (FOSS). 
> 
> Written in two volumes, the first volume contains a report on Pakistan's
> telecommunications and impacts of its growth, including suggested regulatory
> interventions, survey findings, international experiences, models of best
> practices, enabling structures of support, and business models. The second
> volume has details of the individual surveys done to support report
> findings.
> 
> The research for this publication indicated the following content and
> service recommendations for telecentres: electronic payments of various
> types of bills, like utilities; conversion of static forms to writeable
> forms that can be electronically submitted; interface with automated police
> documents like driver's licensing and car registration; and access to
> telephone networks, fax, printing, typing, basic educations, photocopying,
> and pictures, as well as telemedicine and agricultural information.
> 
> Telecentre models indicated by the research are the following: the public
> sector model (the Post Office), the public-private model, the private
> telecommunications company model, the private sector telecom operator-owned
> model, the development non-governmental organisation (NGO) model, and the
> private entrepreneurial model. 
> 
> Four elements of telecentre sustainability are cited in the document: 
> 
> - Local social and cultural fit is important to reach beyond the basic
> services of telephones and e-mails. 
> 
> - Financial sustainability is essential for the time when subsidies and
> policy support are withdrawn. 
> 
> - Political support, which, in the rural areas of Pakistan is a crucial
> aspect, necessitates early involvement both of the political structure and
> of civil society. 
> 
> - Technological choice - the selection of the correct combination of
> hardware and software - can cut capital costs down by a factor of 60%,
> according to this document. 
> 
> A section entitled "Pakistan’s Case for Sustainable Development with FOSS"
> states that hardware suppliers are selling technology with pirated software
> that cannot be replaced when it expires or malfunctions due to cost,
> resulting in the flooding of pirated software CDs into large computer
> hardware vendor markets, creating a culture of using pirated proprietary
> software unknowingly. Because, according to this section, software piracy is
> not only a crime under international and national copyright law, but it can
> also destroy computers and data, the solution promoted by this study is
> FOSS, for the following reasons: 
> 
> - Less dependence on imports; 
> - Lowered cost of purchase; 
> - Flourishing internet and communication technology (ICT) production with
> local software development; 
> - Interoperability; and 
> - Avoiding multinational vendor lock-ins. 
> 
> The opportunity, as stated here, exists for a Pakistani "FOSS ecosystem" of
> learning communities, user groups, civil society ICT foundations, government
> initiatives, and international support organisations. 
> 
> The final section puts forth business models with sample calculations using
> commercial software or FOSS and then charts of revenues and purchase costs,
> costs and selling prices of services, and operating costs. Finally, annexes
> contain resources and references.
> 
> In summary, this document supports the following steps:
>  
> - a national policy emphasising broadband should be drafted based upon the
> document's recommendations with consideration of an institutional structure
> for a complete telecommunications programme and elimination of regulatory
> obstacles; 
> 
> - a comprehensive survey for locations of telecentres is needed; broad
> stakeholder support, and, especially, public - private partnerships are
> recommended along with a definition of "rural" for Universal Service Funding
> distributions; 
> 
> - a risk analysis coupled with a funding methodology should be considered
> along with using this study and a demand survey for estimating funding
> requirements; and 
> 
> - a Telecentre Information Clearing House should be created along with a
> training infrastructure for centre operators, among other recommendations. 
> 
> Click the following link to download the full text of this document in PDF
> format.
> 
> Contact:
> Salman Ansari 
> Salman Ansari Technology Consultants 
> 522, F-10/2, Margala Road
> Islamabad
> Pakistan
> 
> International Free and Open Source Software Foundation
> iFOSSF International Secretariat
> 39555 Orchard Hill Place
> Suite 600
> Novi, Michigan 48375
> United States
> Tel: 1 248 232 8875
> Fax: 1 248 232 8875
> 
> 
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