[UgaBYTES] Rural communication: Is there still a need for telecentres now that there are mobile phones?

[Sarah mpagi]

The discussions coming up are very interesting. Some of us who still
think that telecentres are still the most convenient spaces people go
to to access the services, IT inclusive and those who think that
mobile phones are soon swapping away telecentres. However, the spaces
provided like Meddie said are very important if those mobile phones
are to be used for community development purposes. We would like to
know your say on the subject.



Best,
Sarah Mpagi



On 11/18/08, Ahmed Ndaula <andaula at ugabytes.org> wrote:
> Absolutely agree with Polly. Telecentres and mobile phones are
> complementary. From the experiment I have had over the last couple of days,
> if you have got a good phone with 3G for instance Nokia N70, N95 etc, you
> can have a fair access to the internet similar to the speed of some internet
> cafes in the country. This brought me to think that if mobile phone
> companies could adopt a fair monthly fee to those interested just using the
> normal sim card I think would be great. And for a telecentre in rural areas
> with say 3-4 computers this could somehow help than thinking of a VSAT. I
> know it's not the best speed but could work for them.
>
> Here's what I experimented;
>
> Have a Nokia N70 using my normal Uganda Telecom sim card connected to my
> laptop via a bluetooth adapter, I make a dial up Network and my laptop gets
> connected to the internet with a 115kpbs speed. I shared my connectivity
> with my friend's laptop via a created Local Area Network and we are all able
> to surf the internet very well. It becomes faster in the evenning.
>
> Best,
> Ahmed
>
> On Tue, Nov 18, 2008 at 10:43 AM, Polly Gaster <polly.gaster at uem.mz> wrote:
>
>> Yes, in our view telecentres and mobile phones are complementary. For
>> instance, at this moment some telecentres that had no connectivity are now
>> online via mobile phone modems and infrastructures, for the cost of a
>> modem
>> and ordinary pay-as-you-go phone cards - good synergy, don't you think?
>> Polly
>>
>> ----
>>
>> Polly Gaster
>> TICs para Desenvolvimento/ICT4D
>> Centro de Informatica da Universidade Eduardo Mondlane (CIUEM)
>> Campus Universitario, Maputo, Mozambique
>> e-mail: polly.gaster at uem.mz
>> cel: +258-82-3264540
>> tel/fax: +258-21-485779
>> Skype: polly_gaster
>>
>>
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>
>
>
> --
> Ndaula Ahmed
> Program officer,
> Technology management
> UgaBYTES Initiative
> Plot 2218 Ggaba Road, Kabalagala
> 2nd Floor, Kangave House
> P.O. Box 6081 Kampala, Uganda
> Mobl: +256 773 066 343 / 702 066 343
> Off: +256-414-267247
> Check our web: www.ugabytes.org
> http://www.ahmedpanel.com
>
>
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-- 
Nalwoga Sarah Mpagi
Program Officer
Knowledge Management & Research
UgaBYTES Initiative
Plot 2218 Ggaba Road, Kabalagala
2nd Floor, Kangave House
P.O. Box 6081 Kampala, Uganda
Mobl: +256 772 433 158
Off:    +256 414 370 163
Check our web: www.ugabytes.org
skype: sarah.nalwoga.mpagi