Drew Cogbill | Thesis Blog

Google, HSBC, and Libety Global have invested in O3b networks.  The group plans to implement satellite wireless broadband access to the ‘other three billion’.  The scalable plan calls for partial coverage in Africa by 2010.

(Thanks Ambreen!)

Downloaded a bunch of papers and a book from DIRSI (Regional Dialogue on the Information Society) to read and comment on soon.  This is an important academic source for me as it focuses on information and communication technology use in Latin America and the Caribbean, the context in which I will be carrying out my work.

Twitter has stopped their SMS service in all but the US, India, and Canada (via White African).  The service was stopped due to the cost to the company.

Google invests in Mobile Planet

Mobile telephony is already popular in Africa, and has seen significant growth over the past few years, particularly in countries like Kenya. SMS is clearly a very important technology that provides access to the majority of mobile subscribers. Mobile Planet’s expertise with SMS related technology and mission to “empower the African people with information” make this a very exciting partnership for us. We’ll be sure to keep you updated on how things go!

This paper argues that when more people can work to generate and carry out social innovation, they are able to be more effective than individuals working on their own.  Ashoka attempts to facilitate this with Changemakers, an online competition narrowed by ‘the public’, but ultimately decided on by a panel of experts.

In the paper they over-extend the ideas of ‘open-souce’ collaboration and ‘crowd-sourcing’ instead of focusing on what they actually do well, which is create a collaborative environment which encourages innovation through funding and knowledge of similar projects.  If they want to extend an internet term it seems more appropriate to call their approach ’social networking.’  They are creating a site where like-minded people people can connect in a way that they could not in person.

Beyond all of this, the most interesting part of the paper for me in the ‘Mosaic of Solutions’.  An expert from Ashoka has pooled together common obstacles in related innovations giving guidance and provoking thought from new innovators.  They provide precedents and solutions to particular problems which can be extended and changed by new innovators.  This is a very valuable resource for those beginning to create answers to similar problems which have been addressed before.  The more widely available these charts were, the more useful they could be to such people.

“Open Sourcing Social Solutions” from innovations summer 2007

In many places, such India, Bangladesh, and where I am in Belize, there aren’t enough doctors for all of the patients that need care, especially in rural areas.  MobileActive.org talked with Krishnan Ganapathy about telemedicine via mobile phone networks.

Currently, a paramedic or nurse must take the readings, but a device called mDoc, “specialized mobile phone with lots of added features“, is in the works which will allow laypeople to easily and noninvasive take readings which can be transmitted to doctors.

We realized that in India it is possible to transfer an ECG and to listen to heartbeats via a stethoscope with the doctor and the patient several thousand miles away from each other using purely wireless technology on mobile phones. The greatest part of this is that villages in India which still do not have a landline, which still do not have a wired phone, are directly going into the 21st century by using wireless technology.

I would like every single human being on this planet to know within three years from now that it is possible to get health care through a mobile phone…. People will get interested, a business case will develop, and it will become a reality.

The White African on mesh networks.

Indian Telecom company VNL has launched solar powered GSM towers for mobile communication.  Most importantly, the towers can connect areas off of the electricity grid and have a low environmental impact.

via Ethan Zuckerman

Mosoko or mobile “soko” (for local market in Swahili) is a text message and voice based “online” market place, “Craiglist for the next billion.”  The system is a launchpad for research into providing a way to interface with the internet through mobile phones.

The Question Box is a telephone intercom system that people can use to call an operator who can look things up for the user on the internet.  It’s a free service available in India, and ultimately people will be able to call in to the system from their mobile phones.

This is great as it expands the idea of what connection to the internet is.  To access the system and the internet, you only need to know how to use a mobile phone or, even more simply, how to push a button.  To use the Question Box would require a certain amount of trust of the person on the other end of the line.  Question Box is supported built by Open Mind, a non-prof, so I wonder how the system is financially supported.

via Appfrica