[wsfii-coord] Telecommunications for rural areas and other disaster
zones
Yahel Ben-David
yahel at yahel.org
Sat Apr 22 08:43:09 BST 2006
again - a cross post - I hate myself now - I must stop this.
------------------------------------------
What a wonderful post Arun.
And right in time... !
One of the biggest lessons I learned from the work in Dharamsala is the
need for telephony in these rural areas.
Some organizations didn't immediately jumped-in to become mesh members,
as we presented that as an innovative networking solution for computers...
Most people around here care less for computers or innovation :-)
As soon as we started to give VoIP telephony solutions, these same
people suddenly become intrigued, fascinated and very interested.
I think that our next project will be presented as an advanced,
decentralized, low-cost, telephony solution, with some added value for
computer networking.
I have no doubt it will make this not only a welcomed initiative, but a
much needed one.
-----
Operating a Wireless Mesh network is even more suitable for disaster areas.
There is no central access-point that can go down, no central server to
crash, etc.
We operate most of our stations using solar power only - hence we don't
even care for the power grid, which is very unstable around here.
We now offer advanced, wide-scale VoIP telephony to our members.
Inter-office telephony as well as between campuses and remote VoIP
terminations world-wide. These reduce dramatically the costs for
international calls and even provide toll-free numbers to our member
organizations in America and elsewhere.
A true revolution for us, here in Dharamsala.
To make this work, we had to research much in the field of QoS.
Without proper, yet decentralized control of such networking elements,
voice just don't work well over these wireless networks. We are using
the open-source Asterisk software PBX and even run the same on the Mesh
routers themselves to increase decentralization, while decreasing
dependability on remote sites (voice prompts and all - on the same $60
routers together with the Mesh routing, etc.).
Sites are using multiple ATAs (Analog Telephone Adapters - such as
Linksys's PAP2) to interface with existing telephony equipment, as well
as software phones, etc.
Some more technical details are available online at:
http://www.tibtec.org/drup/?q=node/59
One of our current development aims is to produce a Mesh router which
includes an in-built ATA.
Such a futuristic equipment could be the corner-stone for fast,
affordable and simple deployment of telephony solutions for disaster areas.
No doubt, if I had time to develop this technology, rather then
coordinating conferences, then this product would be ready in time to be
presented at the conference. Maybe there is still a chance, now that we
have students from Europe doing their internship at our center.
Not to mention professors who come to teach and train.
-----
The FM community-radio stations is another fantastic idea, which
hopefully will become less regulated in India.
We have already applied for a license to operate a community radio
station for TCV School (over 2000 students).
The idea is that the multi-lingual station (Hindi/Tibetan/English) will
be operated by the students, and will become an educational aid, as well
as a community service. Knowing the Indian bureaucracy, I'm afraid
getting the license might take a long time. Maybe the very high Indian
officials, who will attend the conference in October, would help to
speed this one up as well.
Here again, we can use the equipment which we already own to demonstrate
how simple, low-cost and quick it is to setup a community radio station.
We can show how to build professional transmitters in a Do It Yourself
way by using kits of less then $100 in total cost. We can demonstrate
how to build effective and long-lasting antennas, at a very low-cost, etc.
It's a good point - should we include the FM part in the summit itself?
Should we only do it as a work-shop after the summit?
Maybe this should be a separate conference by itself - in Radaur maybe?
I think we must focus on the VoIP potential of the wireless networks, in
the con.
- No doubt here... But maybe to include also the FM business would be
too much?
Any ideas?
Thanks.
Yahel.
[wsfii-coord] Telecommunications for rural areas and other disaster zones
*Arun Mehta* arunlists at gmail.com
<mailto:wsfii-coord%40lists.okfn.org?Subject=%5Bwsfii-coord%5D%20Telecommunications%20for%20rural%20areas%20and%20other%20disaster%0A%09zones&In-Reply-To=>
/Fri Apr 21 22:23:08 BST 2006/
* Previous message: [wsfii-coord] fixing dates and places
<http://lists.okfn.org/pipermail/wsfii-coord/2006-April/000243.html>
* *Messages sorted by:* [ date ]
<http://lists.okfn.org/pipermail/wsfii-coord/2006-April/date.html#244>
[ thread ]
<http://lists.okfn.org/pipermail/wsfii-coord/2006-April/thread.html#244>
[ subject ]
<http://lists.okfn.org/pipermail/wsfii-coord/2006-April/subject.html#244>
[ author ]
<http://lists.okfn.org/pipermail/wsfii-coord/2006-April/author.html#244>
------------------------------------------------------------------------
Before this recent twist in the venue discussion (how many are
thoroughly bored, how many enjoying it?), this is what I started to
write about what I had in mind, as a first draft, for the Radaur
portion. Very focussed, clear goals, maybe even fundable. As long as
people travel otherwise to north India around that time, even the
funding aspect is clear, i.e. we need no further funding to make this
happen. But if we can get funding, maybe we can fly in a few people
from even as far away as the US, who can then stay on for the rest.
Arun
Conference on "Telecommunications for rural areas and other disaster zones"
In disaster after disaster, we have seen how the breakdown of the
telecommunications infrastructure routinely compounds the misery of
the people, and hinders relief. When telecommunications is operated in
a centralized, hierarchical way, all it takes is for the roof to fall
on the electronic equipment of the telephone exchange, for all the
phones to go dead - even though each contains a transmitter and a
receiver.
Among the community wireless fraternity, are many with experience
dealing with the aftermath of disasters, from floods in Bangladesh, to
tsunami in Sri Lanka and India, to hurricane Katrina. Three
communications technologies have been found by us to be the most
useful. Ham radio provides instant communications, but its bandwidth
is limited. A FM transmitter allows you to reach all the survivors
within a short distance, for even the poor can afford and are likely
to own FM receivers. WiFi-based wide area networks are the cheapest,
fastest means of bringing phones back to life, and even establishing
broadband services, on the back of which, telemedicine can save lives,
and distance learning reduce the disruption and trauma for the
children. The technologies complement each other brilliantly.
This is not a new discovery. Yet, we forget about ham radio between
disasters, and each time there is another, we desperately look around
for volunteer hams willing to jump in. FM radio is highly restricted
in most countries, and particularly in the developing world, awareness
about how grassroots organizations can set up wireless broadband
networks is lacking. The conference in Radaur will attempt to tackle
these issues, at the technological, training, policy and community
levels.
We will conduct hands-on workshops in ham radio, FM radio and wide
area wireless broadband: How to make or select, assemble, configure,
and operate these. In each of these areas, we will bring together
leading experts in the field, not just the theoretical kind, rather
those with vast amounts of practical experience in all aspects.
Further, we will deliberate on how we should use these skills in the
aftermath of disasters, what policy changes are necessary, and how we
might quickly mobilize, when needed.
Among the options we will weigh, is the setting up of an international
task force of volunteers armed with these skills and equipment, who
can quickly be brought in during disasters, or at least to train the
people likely to be employed in the aftermath of disaster. It would be
even better, of course, if the people living in the disaster zone
themselves were similarly trained. We will therefore look to see how
such workshops and expertise can be disseminated faster in regions
prone to disasters, such as South Asia.
What will the taskforce do, in between disasters? Deploy similar
networks in rural areas, which all over the world are in deep trouble.
Globalization, the vagaries of recent weather, and the attractiveness
of urban areas are all making life in rural areas very hard indeed.
Broadband communications can hardly be looked upon as a panacea, but
any solution will rely heavily on accurate, extensive and timely
information, the kind that the Internet can provide. Then again,
telemedicine might be the only chance poor people in these areas ever
get, to consult a medical specialist. A country like India has almost
half a billion illiterate people. There aren't enough teachers to
quickly address this gigantic problem. The only hope seems to be
distance learning. The government too appreciates being able to deal
with citizens faster, cheaper and more fairly, via e-governance, that
also needs such networks to exist, particularly in remote villages.
In other words, we will attempt to put together a team that might
save lives during disasters, while being vastly productive at other
times.
The venue for this conference is rural Radaur, in north India, a three
hour drive north from New Delhi airport -- not far from the Himalayas,
the magnificent mountain range that is actually becoming taller each
year due to seismic activity. Many major earthquakes have taken place
around, the most recent in Kashmir. This is one of the most
spectacularly beautiful parts of the world. Also, arguably,
endangered. In any case, in this part of the world, we know disasters
very intimately. We routinely have drought and floods at the same
time, merely hundreds of kilometers apart. Cyclones, tsunami - you
name it. What better match, between location and topic?
Even though technology will be at the heart of the conference, we will
by no means neglect the community aspect, for we endeavour to make
technology not just accessible, in terms of setting it up, but
actually available when you need it most. We will consider the
conference a success only when our efforts actually help improve the
telecommunications in the aftermath of a future disaster, thus saving
actual lives. If you can possibly make a contribution to this effort,
you must come. You will find us a delightful community.
------------------------------------------------------------------------
* Previous message: [wsfii-coord] fixing dates and places
<http://lists.okfn.org/pipermail/wsfii-coord/2006-April/000243.html>
* *Messages sorted by:* [ date ]
<http://lists.okfn.org/pipermail/wsfii-coord/2006-April/date.html#244>
[ thread ]
<http://lists.okfn.org/pipermail/wsfii-coord/2006-April/thread.html#244>
[ subject ]
<http://lists.okfn.org/pipermail/wsfii-coord/2006-April/subject.html#244>
[ author ]
<http://lists.okfn.org/pipermail/wsfii-coord/2006-April/author.html#244>
------------------------------------------------------------------------
More information about the wsfii-coord mailing list
<http://lists.okfn.org/mailman/listinfo/wsfii-coord>
-------------- next part --------------
An HTML attachment was scrubbed...
URL: http://lists.okfn.org/pipermail/wsfii-coord/attachments/20060422/63446baf/attachment.html
More information about the wsfii-coord
mailing list