News: Wireless technology
Why the Stop Online Piracy Act might pass -- and why it shouldn't
The Stop Online Piracy Act (SOPA) is being debated in the US House of Representatives today. Wildly unpopular, this bill is the latest in a series of extreme and reactionary legislation that seek a heavy-handed approach to dealing with copyright infringement online. If passed, SOPA would grant broad powers to censor and restrict content on the Internet.
Dear Librarian in Denver: Why are you filtering the internet?
Controlling what users can and can’t see on computers using filtering software is standard in US libraries. APC questions the Denver Public Library on their filtering policy and practices in a fictional exchange that tackles very real questions of freedom of information.
I Can Stalk U - Raising awareness about inadvertent information sharing
The aptly named icanstalku.com attempts to expose the dangers inherent in posting information — in this case pictures — online in a rather unconventional way: the site regularly updates its news feed with individuals’ user names and locations, all gleaned from photos posted to Twitter.
India's untapped potential: Are a billion people losing out because of spectrum?
As one of the world’s fastest growing economies and with over 65% of its billion-plus population under 35, India has huge potential. But according to a new report by Shyam Ponappa, commissioned by APC the current model for managing spectrum in India could be a huge barrier to the country’s economic and social development. Instead, he suggests that “it would be much more conducive to a sound economy…to have two to three main operators as we do with the provision of utilities.
Women's rights and realities transformed by technology
Can information and communication technologies (ICTs) transform women’s realities? Undoubtedly, yes. This connection between ICTs and the advancement of women’s rights will be addressed during the 55th session of the Commission on the Status of Women (CSW) 22 February – 4 March in New York. The CSW is a global policy-making body of the United Nations dedicated to gender equality and the advancement of women. APC’s GenderIT.org has released a special edition that speaks directly to this year’s theme of the CSW: gender, education and technology. APC staff attending the CSW will provide live coverage from the session in GenderIT.org’s Feminist Talk section on the website, so stay tuned.
Opening up spectrum can prevent Kenya from running out
Currently, about 20 million Kenyans own mobile phones. Mobile phones receive their signals over electromagnetic waves that are also used for everything from home appliances like microwave ovens and remote controls, to the radio and internet. These waves are assigned different frequencies or spectrum so that they don’t interfere with each other. However Kenya is at risk of running out of spectrum because of an outdated spectrum allocation framework and a disaster in day-to-day communications and the security of countless services is waiting to happen. A new study by Muriuki Mureithi commissioned by the APC proposes a solution.
What's the “digital dividend”? West African digital broadcast migration
Nollywood is bigger than Hollywood —Nigeria produces a massive 200 films a month— yet 80-90% of content on most African TV stations comes from other continents. As African nations plan to move to digital broadcasting by 2015 it’s time for serious shifts to be made. APC and Balancing Act launch a new initiative to lower the costs and maximise the benefits of migration for citizens and governments.
Computer Aid launches its first solar powered internet cafe in Nairobi
On 15 October 2010, Computer Aid launched its first solar powered internet cafe in Kenya, with partner and local NGO Computers for Schools Kenya. Computer Aid has built three solar internet cafes which are being piloted in Zambia and Kenya. In Zambia, two are located in rural areas as a part of an exciting rural connectivity programme. The system, which can work off-grid anywhere in the world, is “an exciting new project for Computer Aid that enables us to reach even the most isolated rural communities. We are planning to set up several more solar Internet cafes in sub-Saharan Africa over the coming year, and we’re keen for sponsors to get involved and help us expand this solution that illustrates commitment to social development and the environment,” says Computer Aid CEO Tony Roberts. Photo by “Computer Aid”:http://www.flickr.com/photos/tonyroberts/4603407785/in/set-72157624096227436/lightbox/
Content filtering in US libraries is haphazard
Freedom of speech and its flipside, access to information, is guaranteed by the First Amendment of the US Constitution. However federally-funded libraries are required to prevent people under eighteen accessing “harmful” content. Kevicha Echols and Melissa Ditmore investigate the use of internet filters on public library computers and find that measures adopted by libraries range from installation of filtering software on all computers for child and adult use to no filters at all! The law is being implemented differently varying across city, county and state. Sectors of the society most likely to be affected by this ad hoc censorship are young people and the economically-disadvantaged who rely particularly on library computers to access online information. Photo: “FallWithMe”:http://www.flickr.com/people/fallwithme/
Calling all readers in the USA: Survey on content filtering in public libraries
APC has teamed up with Sex Work Awareness in a study to look at content filtering systems in public libraries with internet access in the United States, with an eye towards reproductive health and sexuality. Find out more and take the survey!
Bytes for All applauds firm Pakistani parliamentarians’ stance on scanning in the USA
While members of the Pakistani parliament were on a diplomatic trip in the United States to talk about the impact of the ar on terror on northern rural tribes in the country, they were asked by airport security in Washington to be body-scanned. The right not to undergo a body scan is a privilege given to parliamentarians the world over. APC member Bytes for All in Pakistan applauds the Pakistani parliamentarians’ firm stance and refusal to be scanned.
Ecuador: Getting to where cables and commercial interests don't reach
New APC member May First / People Link : Redefining the way non-profits use the internet
May First/People Link, a New York collective, has been hosting websites and providing technology solutions and support to the city’s non-profits since the late ’90s. They have doubled in size since 2005 to about 250 members – without government or foundation funding. During the US Social Forum 2007 they provided all the technology for the event and are in the middle of planning for the next USSF. Find out more about APC’s newest member.
A rural area in Bolivia connects its institutions with the world via internet
In San Ignacio de Moxos, an area located in the Beni region of northern Bolivia, the only internet connection available was an expensive and intermittent telephone connection. Since March 2006, thanks to the local campesino centre and wireless internet, the main institutions in the area have been interconnected, so that the inhabitants can access the internet at a quarter of the price it used to cost them, connecting them to each other, the rest of the nation and the world.
Nigeria's first rural internet service tower collapses during heavy rain storm
APC member, Fantsuam Foundation established the first rural community wireless internet service provider (ISP) in Nigeria in 2006. On Tuesday April 21 the ISP took a huge blow as the central communication tower was destroyed in a storm. Several buildings including the old network operation centre, a Cisco Laboratory and a neighbouring building were seriously damaged. No people were hurt. This is the second major natural disaster that Fantsuam has suffered in a few months. In August 2008, a lighting strike destroyed a large part of their power and wireless infrastructure. APC is waiting for news of how you can help Fantsuam rebuild. For now visit the IT46 site for more details.
Rural communication: Is there still a need for telecentres now that there are mobile phones?
Following the initial rush of Information and communication technologies for development (ICT4D) projects in rural Africa, many did not yield the anticipated outcomes, and interest has been dying down. People then began talking about “sustainable ICT” projects, in which it was understood that projects would become self-sufficient after their initial donor-led investment and set-up period. But with the use of mobile phones gaining in popularity, popular rhetoric has begun to question the need of ICTs beyond the mobiles phone. While mobile phones certainly have had a great impact in rural areas, a new study by Ian Howard, commissioned by APC, through the analysis of two case studies he argues that the need for telecentres and affordable internet connections exists, as such centres cater to rural and niche markets the way larger companies cannot.
Tips for setting up wireless internet where there are few resources
“The principles that I learned in the APC workshop helped me work in resource-constrained environments,” says Alex Gondwe, techie at the Baobab Health Partnership in Malawi. Alex is setting up wireless internet connections between health institutions to improve patient care and HIV/AIDS data collection and he shares his tips here.
Andean schoolchildren and indigenous communities go online thanks to innovative training
Last year APC and partners trained local technicians, community leaders and telecentre operators from the Andes on the basic principles of setting up wireless internet access in their communities. Now the participants report on the impact once they went back home.
Seven new modules on community wireless connectivity
As part of the TRICALCAR project a set of seven new training modules, which the WILAC network is pleased to share with its African counterpart, has been made available. The modules range from WiMax to energy for telecommunications systems, visiting VoIP, long distance wireless links and community, gender and technology on the way. There are even sustainability strategies and network planning modules.
The wireless school connectivity project... a concrete outcome
The wireless school connectivity project is an initiative that has connected a secondary school in a poor township of Harare to the internet, using wireless technologies. The genesis of this project was a result of the wireless skills training workshop, which took place in Pretoria, South Africa in 2005 and was facilitated by APC. Muroro Dziruni of Connect Africa in Zimbabwe tells the story of how wireless technology can work in Africa, when everyone joins in and cooperates.
