International Summit for Community Wireless Networks 2008

Notes: CWNs and the Developing World

cecille — Thu, 19 Jun 2008 14:27:58 -0500

Notes were compiled by Rennie Ferguson, Intern for the Science and Human Rights Program at the American Association for the Advancement of Science.

Panelists: John Atkinson (Wireless Ghana)
Yahel Ben-David (AirJaldi)
Dilip Pattanaik (IRMA-India)

Atkinson of Wireless Ghana opened the session with a brief introduction of his project. He described six different small community networks in Ghana, which included the capital city as well as rural areas. He defined two major problems that impede the development of wireless networks in these places: bandwidth and power supply. The primary difficulty with bandwidth is the overbearing cost, as well as questions of Quality of Service, which include trying to avoid and prevent network abuse. Atkinson noted that recently, issues with bandwidth have improved; one example of this was streamlining the bandwidth traffic with software such as Adblock to greater improve function capability. The continuing problems with power supply in the remote areas in which Wireless Ghana works called for innovation; one solution included using “hacked up” power routing through car batteries, which recharged when the power was on but could support the node when power was down. Finally, Atkinson described local involvement, namely Project Champions, who were locals trained to lead the networks. Atkinson then turned the discussion over to Pattanaik.

Pattanaik of IRMA-India introduced his organization, which works to construct community information centers for the rural poor, and described some of the new technologies changing the face of India today. These included mobile phones, which provide increased mobility; the India Broadband Policy; and Wi-Fi Mobile Convergence, which includes cafés and homes. Pattanaik noted that there were possible business and retail applications of Wi-Fi in India. He however did outline some of the issues facing Indian wireless network development, such as resolution, roaming, and billing in hotspots; and education and awareness of these technologies. He provided a positive outlook on the spread of this technology, saying that there has been impressive growth of laptop penetration within the country, combined with declining broadband rates. Pattanaik then gave a useful background of life in rural India: 75% of the Indian population lives in rural areas; 27% of those living in rural areas fall below the poverty-line; and there are more than 600,000 villages in India. There is clearly a barrier of accessibility and connectivity in these areas; one solution may come from the use of existing GSM technology. Pattanaik said that “GSM/CDMA access on existing rural switches is supported based on SDR which is configured for GSM or CDMA base stations.” However, the US$8/month hook-up cost is still high, and thus the technology is used primarily in urban centers. Pattanaik described the four community information centers which have already been established, which serve seventy-five villages, as well as “awareness camps” which serve to educate communities. He concluded by saying that in order for wireless technology to succeed, rural communities would need community awareness and participation, in conjunction with low-cost local wireless solutions.

Ben-David of AirJaldi then gave a description of his group, which works in Dharamsala, the center of the Tibetan community-in-exile. He described his organization as a “social enterprise” which was working to create viable rural wireless networks. So far, it has connected an 80 km² open source network of monasteries, schools, hospitals, and NGOs, which encompasses 10,000 individuals. It has also developed three network academies to provide local education. AirJaldi has worked to reduce its footprint on ecology, and does not serve mobile or roaming users. It does however provide the only connectivity in the area. Ben-David stated that it was mostly a MESH-network; it began as one large MESH, and then broke into smaller connected and overlapping MESH networks. He described some of the environmental issues that they had to cope with in Dharamsala, including heat in the summer, monsoon rains, and pests such as monkeys, which destroyed antennae. An AirJaldi summit was held in October 2006 in Dharamsala. The site in Dharamsala is serviced by six DSL government connectivity lines; another site is fiber-connected. AirJaldi doesn’t provide service to commercial groups; Ben-David said this was because they received a small ISP license from the Indian government, right before the government abolished this form of small license, so now they cannot provide to commercial organizations. They charge subscribers, yet what has occurred is that a school will buy the internet, and then community members will donate to the school. The panelists then opened the floor for questions.

One question was, "What is WIMAX?". The answer came that although there may be better quality of service with WIMAX as compared to Wi-Fi, it has distinct disadvantages to Wi-Fi when applied to rural communities. WIMAX operates on a regulated frequency, so a special license is needed from the government. It is also more expensive, and isn’t easily scaled to rural communities. Finally, there isn’t a distance advantage when compared to Wi-Fi. Another question asked was how far a point-to-point connection in the Ghana network could be; Atkinson answered 74 km on a 5.8.

Ben-David then made the point that it was interesting that all three panelists were from non-profits. He described the struggles of AirJaldi to determine whether it was a non-profit or a commercial entity, and eventually decided it was both. He reminded the audience of the challenge of developing a commercial and non-profit “synergy.” Ben-David also discussed the need for a “vacuum” of connectivity in these remote areas; that is, these communities first needed someone who can use the technology, and who can instruct others; this is how the technology spreads. He also used the phrase “penetration points,” to describe how technology enters communities. There was a question about cost: Ben-David said that the security deposit was used to pay for the initial cost of the equipment. Someone else asked about pest issues, which required working around some extreme environmental conditions. Ben-David described building fiberglass antennae to deter the large monkeys which had previously destroyed the equipment. Finally, there was discussion of the costs, especially to small organizations, of importing expensive foreign technology.

International Summit for Community Wireless Networks 2008

Notes: Using Wireless Networks to Protect Human Rights

cecille — Thu, 19 Jun 2008 14:12:45 -0500

Notes were compiled by Rosh Sethi, Intern for the Science and Human Rights Program at the American Association for the Advancement of Science

Panelists: Josh Robbins (Program Associate, AAAS)
Reetu Sangani (Board Member and Technical Advisor, Community
Awareness Centre – India)
John Atkinson (Director of Wireless Ghana)

The session was moderated by Josh Robbins, Program Associate for the AAAS, who began the panel by introducing the panelists. Josh, a former Peace Corps volunteer, first described his work with a new project at AAAS to determine how human rights can assist the community wireless network movement and vice versa. Next, he introduced John Atkinson, also a former peace corps volunteer, who currently directs Wireless Ghana, which is a small organization focused on bringing internet connections to rural areas in Ghana. Josh then introdcued Reetu Sangani who works with a community awareness centre in India and advocates for human rights and communication.

The panel began with Reetu Sangani who described her work in the middle Himalayan areas. She talked about the need to protect and strengthen the region’s unique, local knowledge base, which has come about as a result of the local’s need to adapt to their difficult living situation and their local religions. She also talked about the need to empower these local populations, but also use strategies based on their local knowledge base. She expressed concern that the local body of knowledge is being eroded, and that lack of documentation is to blame. Ms. Sangani also spoke about women, and the fact that they retain most of the local knowledge. They are often times illiterate, however, and Ms. Sangani described the need for more visual and auditory modes of communication. She also pointed out that though many people are illiterate, this does not mean they are uneducated. As a result, she pointed out that it is still necessary for them to be informed and involved. She also spoke about the challenges she has faced. Her greatest one has been trying to prevent global knowledge from overcoming local knowledge. Ms. Sangani then went on to describe how she has tried to use ICT to not only bring in outside knowledge, but also preserve the locals’ confidence in their own knowledge system. She also spoke about her efforts to lay down a community managed infrastructure of technology. She described how the locals control the hub and can determine what content is distributed to local access points. Finally, Ms. Sangani spoke about her efforts to use ICT to protect people’s rights including their right to participate in the governing process and right to freedom of expression.

Next, John Atkinson gave a brief presentation on his work in eastern Ghana. He described his efforts to bring internet to local areas in Ghana through his company “Wireless Ghana.” He described how he has been using WiFi to share internet between areas that do not have telephone lines. He also described how he was able to use old Dell Optiplex machines and convert them into routers using software developed by Sasha. He also optimized internet browsing software such as Firefox to minize the amount of bandwidth used. His first customer was a school, and he now serves a variety of different customers including internet café’s, churches and other schools. He currently has 6 networks in Ghana with 10 to 14 nodes each. John also described how the focus of his work is to support community networks that are managed locally. He has found that projects that have strong community leaders are able to sustain the network and its required upkeep.

Question and Answer Session:

1) What obstacles has John faced in setting up his wireless networks?

John answered by describing how he has had some issues with shipping equipment and bringing money in and out of Ghana. He described how he has faced some problems with Ghanaian customs, but avoids this by sending equipment through friends. He acknowledged that as the project gets bigger, he will need to eventually face customs. He also spoke about the untapped potential for intranets to be created amongst the nodes for internal community communication. He acknowledged that most of the time internet is the motivating force behind the creation of CWNs, not creating an internal communication network.

2) How sustainable are these wireless networks created in countries like Ghana?

John answered this question by explaining how the cost of internet is split amongst everyone, and sharing is a major driving factor. He acknowledged that the equipment being used is not the most up-to-date or reliable. Reetu also added that she has been using used computers that were provided for free, and also pointed out that local governing bodies have their own funds that can be used to invest in technology in the long term.

3) An audience member mentioned how in Senegal many networks are created in remote areas where information is simply cached on computers, and provides users with the experience of being on the web even when computers were not always “online.”

To this comment, John replied that it was definitely something that could also be done in Ghana, but was not being taken up currently.

4) A concern was brought up by one audience member over the use of electricity and access to electricity at all times.

Both Reetu and John acknowledged that the unreliable nature of electricity in their respective countries poses a real problem. John also showed pictures of a device he created in which car batteries were used to power an access point in the event of a power outage.

5) John, how big is your community wireless network in eastern Ghana?

John answered by describing how it is approximately 14km long, but is only linear and only acts as a basic backbone that replaces what would otherwise be a telephone line.

6) Literacy and access to knowledge are important issues. What are the next steps one might take to distribute non-text based knowledge?

Reetu spoke about the need for human rights groups to be able to learn about what local communities are doing. Though Reetu did not know of any examples of non-text based technology devices, she mentioned that it was important to believe that other modes of communication are possible. John also added that there are ways to distribute video and audio content, but that they have not been popularized yet.

7) What are some ways in which success can be achieved in the future, and why have some things failed in setting up these wireless communities?

John answered this question by describing his experience with success. He mentioned how the wireless communities that succeed are those that have “local champions.” Josh described how it is necessary for a local leader to be on top of a CWN.

8) What are some barriers that you face and what support do you get, if any?

John began by describing how he has had very little government interference in terms of actually providing internet and creating networks. His only obstacles have been with customs agents. Reetu described how there is very little financial support, and that until recently, NGO’s were not allowed to own CWNs in her area. She did mention that the Indian government has installed some wireless phones which can be used to access internet, but again electricity often renders these useless. But Reetu did end by pointing out that the communications situtation in her area has improved significantly over the last year alone.

9) To avoid the problem of electricity, why don’t you use “Green Wifi,” which functions using solar energy?

John answered by stating that solar technology is very expensive. In addition, since solar panels are very brittle, careful packaging and transportating is required to import them. This poses a significant challenge. Another audience member also answered by citing the example of Cenegal, where the government requires a license to use solar energy. This again poses a challenge to its immediate use.

10) John, have you obtained other funding, from organizations like USAID?

John stated that he has not tried to get funding on such a large scale. He said he’d rather see a network being self sufficient rather than being funded by external sources. He also mentioned that previous attempts to obtain funding were unsuccessful.

International Summit for Community Wireless Networks 2008

IS4CWN 2k8 Slideshow by Steven Mansour

blah — Sat, 07 Jun 2008 00:34:06 -0500

International Summit for Community Wireless Networks 2008

WiFi Use Survey

laura4lano — Thu, 05 Jun 2008 10:40:07 -0500

International Summit for Community Wireless Networks 2008

Mesh Routing Data Collection Presentation

wnagele — Thu, 05 Jun 2008 10:14:28 -0500

International Summit for Community Wireless Networks 2008

Publishing your work on community wireless networks

aabdelaal — Wed, 04 Jun 2008 12:28:40 -0500

Dear Summit participants, There is opportunity to publish your work or boost the publicity of your project when you subimmit a research paper to the HICSS-42 conference to share your vision, ides, and contribution with other wireless practitioners and researchers. http://www.hicss.hawaii.edu/hicss_42/minitracks/in-cwn.htm Or you can simply complete this survey: http://FreeOnlineSurveys.com/rendersurvey.asp?sid=yxcwzw752hbjwac444560

International Summit for Community Wireless Networks 2008

Notes on the Community Wireless Summit

Wed, 04 Jun 2008 11:14:21 -0500

The summit was inspiring. I was impressed by the knowledge and enthusiasm of the people there; it was certainly an international crowd, and a number of people from Canada including Allison Powell, Hanna Cho, Gabe Sawhney. There were people from various European community wireless projects, from OneCommunity and OneCleveland, Christopher Mitchell, Harold Feld, The Ethos Group, the New American Foundation.

Since I was not at any of the previous three summits it is hard to say that is different/similar in terms of where the field is and where it is going. There was certainly a focus on wireless as a technology - but also talk of broadband in other forums. There was a sense that these are the people and projects left after the bubble of muni-wifi - people who have had an alternative perspective all along, and whose ideas may now have more of a chance of being heard after the crash of Civitium, Earthlink, etc..

Harold Feld gave an inspiring speech to finish up the summit. From what he said, there was a sense that in the past 4 years the Community Wireless movement has come a long way -coming from the grassroots into the policy sector, and that it is at a point of maturity where it may begin to really make a difference, and to really cohere as a movement. He argued "We are the right people (a very interesting group of people, coming from many perspectives, each with a commitment to doing things in the best way for the public or communities), at the right time (an important moment is opening up politically where many people are starting to see that the Washington solution of global capitalism is not what it promised to be, people are interested in alternatives), in the right place (we are everywhere! in many countries, fields, etc.)." And, he spoke about three ways/issues of going forward:

-We should introduce ourselves to international groups and at summits on diverse topics (health, economy, food, human rights, etc.) that the work we are doing in communications and technology would be useful for creating a wider net of connections.

-We should ask, "what are the things that are holding us back from doing the things we want to do?" (For example, "we need more open spectrum") And, figure out how to address these issues.

-We should put our solutions forward, and engage in partnerships, but we also need to be careful of co-option, something which can happen very subtly. This is not to say that, for example, we should refuse outright a donation of something like a Motorola mesh network, but that we should approach companies and other partners from the position of equals and with full understanding on both our parts of what a partnership would look like. e.g. engaging Motorola in a discussion about the reservations we might have about this donation, and ways that we can work together to address this.

Other interesting topics of conversation included:

-Talk about early U.S. history as it was characterized by a free press: this as something to be inspired by, and the relationship of the FCC to this history and to the current state of communications in the US. Ironically, ideas about communications "freedom" can be used both ways. For example, now there is a discourse focused on letting the market rule (aka letting the incumbents dominate) in the name of freedom. The FCC has played an interesting and at times disappointing role in the consolidation of media and the loss of media competition.

The FCC tends to direct its attention towards big companies – and with some good reason, as they can be strongly affected by FCC rulings and - the fact is - that these are currently the entities that are deploying much of U.S. broadband service. What is the current reality of U.S. communications in relation to our history of media freedom as a political tool? How can we draw on this powerful history? What should the role of the FCC be? The role of others?

-The intersection of the open source, human rights, community development, policy communities and issues.These various groups can help each other in their work. Our work needs to happen in two simultaneous steps:

1) What do we do now on the ground?

2) What do we need to change? How do we do it?

Common issues/challenges include:

*The regulatory environment has a huge effect on mobile device types > more openness would change this field and marketplace hugely. For example, there is a (non-technical) REASON why little Wal-Mart cell phones are so cheap and blackberries so expensive.

*The important of showing the real impact of this regulation > its underbelly. Showing in lurid detail why things are the way they are and why we should care. Showing how things actually work, not the official story.

*Data collection to demonstrate the bias in the current regulatory scheme (race, class, device, etc. divides). Role of open source community, potentially developing open source devices for communities.

*The US human rights network may be interested in funding some sort of research along these lines. They recently wrote a report on discrimination on the US.

-The relationship between "techie" groups (Ile Sans Fil, etc.) and community development groups (OneCommunity, etc.) in community wireless. Despite a focus on similar issues and technologies, where are the mis-communications, dis-connections, mis-designs between these two groups? How do they overlap? How are they different? Who are people/organizations who might play a bridging role between the two? How could they benefit each other?
-Amelia Bryne Potter

International Summit for Community Wireless Networks 2008

The Role of Wireless Networks in Boosting Democracy

aabdelaal — Mon, 02 Jun 2008 12:53:08 -0500

International Summit for Community Wireless Networks 2008

Community Wireless Data in BroadbandCensus.com

drewclark — Fri, 30 May 2008 01:37:58 -0500

Dear attendees, I enjoyed the time that I spent with you on Wednesday and Thursday at ISCWN. I wanted to call you attention to two developments: (1) At BroadbandCensus.com, we have posted a story about FCC Commissioner Jonathan Adelstein's Thursday speech. The piece is available at href="http://broadbandcensus.com/blog/?p=7,and inaugurates a series of daily reports on broadband-related subjects to complement the "crowdsourcing" data that we are collecting about local broadband deployment. (2) At BroadbandCensus.com, we are all about making information about broadband availability, competition, speeds and prices publicly available under a Creative Commons attribution-noncommercial license. See more about us at http://broadbandcensus.com/home/aboutus or http://broadbandcensus.com/home/faq. I would like to reach out to all of you, the practitioners of community wireless networks, about how we at BroadbandCensus.com can help you to publicize the areas and ZIP codes in which you serve customers. We are still building in the tools that will allow this to happen in an automated fashion, but I would be interested in speaking with as many of you as possible about how we publicize your own data about availability, competition, speeds and prices! I can be reached via e-mail: drew@broadbandcensus.com, or via phone at 202-329-9517. yours, Drew Clark

International Summit for Community Wireless Networks 2008

IRC channel?

westbywest — Thu, 29 May 2008 10:23:49 -0500

During 5/28 opening plenary, Sascha mentioned an IRC channel was set up for back-chat during the conference. What is name/IP for the IRC server?

International Summit for Community Wireless Networks 2008

CUWiN

jheretic — Thu, 29 May 2008 09:19:48 -0500

International Summit for Community Wireless Networks 2008

nocatslessdogsmorefunk

aaron — Wed, 28 May 2008 22:25:12 -0500

International Summit for Community Wireless Networks 2008

FunkFeuer

aaron — Wed, 28 May 2008 22:24:33 -0500

International Summit for Community Wireless Networks 2008

OLSR

aaron — Wed, 28 May 2008 22:24:05 -0500

International Summit for Community Wireless Networks 2008

OLPC

aaron — Wed, 28 May 2008 22:23:42 -0500

International Summit for Community Wireless Networks 2008

Sun SPOTs source links

arshan — Tue, 20 May 2008 20:00:27 -0500

International Summit for Community Wireless Networks 2008

Human Rights & Technology Social

cecille — Tue, 20 May 2008 15:44:25 -0500

This event brings together representatives from human rights organizations from around the world with activists committed to bridging the digital divide. Co-hosted by the Ethos Group, the Human Rights and Technology Social is a celebration of the successes and budding partnerships between human rights groups and community minded technologists.
From AAAS to Cafe Luna:

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International Summit for Community Wireless Networks 2008

Ken DiPietro

cecille — Tue, 20 May 2008 15:23:10 -0500

In 1999, after two years of research, Ken began providing broadband connectivity in rural, northern Vermont using a combination of SDSL and Fixed Wireless technologies. Over the next several years, Ken consulted with numerous WISP (Wireless Internet Service Provider) projects, helping to launch dozens of these networks. Ken was a founding member of WISPA (Wireless Internet Service Provider Association) and held a seat as part of the original Board of Directors for WISPA. When the Wireless Philadelphia project was originally announced, a shift in focus moved Ken into the Municipal Wireless space. As a regular speaker at the MuniWireless events, as well as a contributing author for their magazine, Ken's message that all was not well in this industry was not well received. With the spate of recent, well publicized, municipal network setbacks, these views have now been validated and Ken's message has now changed to one of enlightened hope, as we learn from these pioneering experiments and incorporate this experiences into our knowledge base, moving forward.

International Summit for Community Wireless Networks 2008

One Economy

cecille — Tue, 20 May 2008 14:50:51 -0500

International Summit for Community Wireless Networks 2008

Rey Ramsey

cecille — Tue, 20 May 2008 14:48:32 -0500

Rey Ramsey is Chief Executive Officer of One Economy Corporation. Under his leadership, One Economy, which he co-founded in 2000, has emerged as the nation’s leading nonprofit organization in the field of technology. He has led the organization’s growth from four employees working in basement to a global organization that has taken root on four continents.

Mr. Ramsey is an internationally respected social entrepreneur who has spent years creating innovative partnerships between nonprofits, government and the private sector. He has been featured in numerous publications and was named among “50 Great Leaders” by Oregon Business magazine.

Mr. Ramsey is the author, with Ben Hecht, of ManagingNonprofits.org: Dynamic Management for the Digital Age (John Wiley & Sons).

Prior to the founding of One Economy, Mr. Ramsey served as President and Chief Operating Officer of the Enterprise Foundation. Before joining Enterprise, Mr. Ramsey served in the cabinets of two governors of Oregon as the state’s Director of Housing and Community Services and practiced law.

Mr. Ramsey serves on many boards, including the Schnitzer Investment Corporation, Washington Jesuit Academy and the Local Initiatives Support Corporation (LISC). He is the immediate past chairman of Habitat for Humanity International. He holds a B.A. in political science from Rutgers University and is a graduate of the University of Virginia Law School.

International Summit for Community Wireless Networks 2008

Alison Powell

cecille — Tue, 20 May 2008 14:29:27 -0500

Alison Powell is a PhD candidate in the Communication Studies department at Concordia University in Montreal, where she holds a Canada Graduate Scholarship. Her work focuses on the design, governance, and regulation of urban WiFi networks, and the practices of alternative, non-commercial technological development, especially the development of wireless technologies for use in public spaces. She has been a member of the Canadian Research Alliance on Community Innovation and Networking (CRACIN), the Community Wireless Infrastructure Research Project (CWIRP) and the Ethos Group. Her work examines community and municipal wireless projects in terms of their contribution to broad social and political shifts. She has published recently in Government Information Quarterly and forthcoming in Atlantis: A Journal of Women’s Studies. In October 2008 she will begin a postdoctoral fellowship at the Oxford Internet Institute.

International Summit for Community Wireless Networks 2008

A Classification of Business Models of Community Wireless Networks

aabdelaal — Tue, 20 May 2008 09:16:34 -0500

International Summit for Community Wireless Networks 2008

Dharma Dailey

cecille — Tue, 20 May 2008 09:16:25 -0500

Dharma Dailey has over a decade of experience as a community media activist and researcher. Her research on the purported risks to public safety of Low Power FM (LPFM) broadcasting, as claimed by large commercial broadcasters, played a timely role in the FCC's decision to begin re-issuing LPFM licenses. Dharma was the principal author of Prometheus Radio Project's official reply comments to the FCC on the 12 Media Ownership Studies that were meant to launch another wave of media ownership consolidation. These comments gave Prometheus the legal standing to become the lead plaintiff in a successful lawsuit against the FCC that stopped further radio consolidation. For the last three years, Dharma's work has focused on the task of taking the issues of Spectrum Reform beyond the beltway. From Hackers on Planet Earth to the Ford Foundation, she provides expert testimony on many topics, including smart radios, FCC licensing regimes, appropriate technology, and community media to audiences across North America. She is regularly sought out for input by a variety of media reform groups and researchers and is a member of the New America Foundation's Wireless Futures Advisory Board.

International Summit for Community Wireless Networks 2008

Jim Baller

cecille — Mon, 19 May 2008 09:25:24 -0500

Jim Baller is the founder and president of the Baller Herbst Law Group in Washington, DC. Over the last fifteen years, he has been involved in most of the Nation’s leading public cable, fiber, and wireless projects and in nearly every major legislative and judicial battle against state barriers to public broadband initiatives. NATOA named him its Member of the Year for 2001 and its first Community Broadband Visionary of the Year for 2007. Washingtonian Magazine listed him as one of the top one percent of lawyers in Washington in 2007, and both the Fiber to the Home Council and Public Technologies Institute have called him "the nation's most experienced and knowledgeable attorney on public broadband matters."

International Summit for Community Wireless Networks 2008

How wireless internet can establish Human rights in a developing country like Bangladesh

asm462 — Sat, 17 May 2008 15:16:21 -0500

I am a practicing barrister in Bangladesh and I am very keen to attend this conference as it is absolutely a new topic for me and my country. I would like to know how wireless network can help to establish Human Rights and how it is related with HRA.

International Summit for Community Wireless Networks 2008

SF Tech Connect Digital Inclusion events

KEHGray — Tue, 13 May 2008 14:20:20 -0500

International Summit for Community Wireless Networks 2008

San Francisco Digital Connectors program

KEHGray — Tue, 13 May 2008 14:11:26 -0500

International Summit for Community Wireless Networks 2008

UN Office for Partnerships

cecille — Tue, 13 May 2008 13:56:05 -0500

International Summit for Community Wireless Networks 2008

Amir Dossal

cecille — Tue, 13 May 2008 13:51:02 -0500

Amir Dossal is the United Nations representative for public/private partnerships as the Executive Director of the United Nations Office for Partnerships. He guides the development of strategic alliances with corporations, foundations and philanthropists for achieving the Millennium Development Goals. Amir is the UN's Chief Liaison for Ted Turner's $1 billion donation for UN causes, which involves over 450 programmes and projects in the areas of children’s health, women and population, climate change and biodiversity. This includes "investments" from other donors and partners (such as the American Red Cross, the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation, the Coca-Cola Company, the Rockefeller Brothers Fund, Rotary International, etc.) which to date total over $550 million. He also oversees the management of the UN Democracy Fund, which he established in 2005, to strengthen democratic institutions and enhance democratic governance in new or restored democracies. Amir has developed numerous partnerships for the United Nations, including with the Commonwealth Business Council, the European Foundation Centre, Google.org, the LTB Foundation, the Synergos Institute, the US Chamber of Commerce, and others. He has also spearheaded the UN's engagement in new areas including the technology sector working with Cisco Systems, Ericsson, Microsoft and Vodafone. Since joining the United Nations in 1985, Amir has led a number of new initiatives: 1997: Set-up the Management Policy Office to oversee reform within the United Nations. 1999: Established the UN Fund for international Partnerships, which serves as the interface for media mogul Ted Turner's $1 billion contribution to the United Nations. 2005: Established the UN Democracy Fund, to strengthen democratic institutions and enhance democratic governance in new or restored democracies. 2006: Set-up the first ever Peacebuilding Support Office to help bridge development gaps in post-conflict countries. 2007: Created a Business Advisory Council for the Greater Tumen Region (the People’s Republic of China, Mongolia, Democratic People’s Republic of Korea, Republic of Korea and Russian Federation) to support the role of the private sector and attract new investments.

International Summit for Community Wireless Networks 2008

Digital Inclusion stories from San Francisco

KEHGray — Tue, 13 May 2008 12:50:58 -0500

International Summit for Community Wireless Networks 2008

Digital Inclusion and Digital Opportunity Programs

KEHGray — Tue, 13 May 2008 12:49:40 -0500

Is there only one opportunity to discuss digital inclusion and digital opportunity programs? I'd like to learn how we are increasing Internet adoption and use, not just Internet access. I see several colleagues who are attending who can share really useful examples and advice. Is there just one session where this will be appropriate?

International Summit for Community Wireless Networks 2008

Nicole Ozer

cecille — Tue, 13 May 2008 12:34:29 -0500

International Summit for Community Wireless Networks 2008

One Community

ChuckGirt — Tue, 06 May 2008 12:55:21 -0500

Formerly known as OneCleveland, OneCommunity is a nonprofit technology organization dedicated to transforming Northeast Ohio’s economy and quality of life. OneCommunity connects Northeast Ohio’s public and nonprofit institutions to each other, to the world, and to leading technology vendors via our fiber-optic network – one of the largest and fastest in the world. OneCommunity enables innovative connections and collaborative solutions with an emphasis on education, health care, government, and workforce development. Utilizing information technology, we will transform Northeast Ohio into a globally competitive region.

International Summit for Community Wireless Networks 2008

Stimulating discussion on community base wireless network

hotcitywireless — Tue, 06 May 2008 10:42:03 -0500

I would like to start off a discussion on what are the lessons or expereinces of the group in identifying the potential use of wireless broadband provided remotely in delivering services to enhance economic and creative opportunities to under served communities. HOW are some of the wireless community base network measuring its impact towards social enterprise and HOW are they trying to harness the enthusiasm and creativity of the community? WHAT are some of the ‘major, life-changing’ experiences that we can share among ourselves that can be found in existing/established wifi communities? HOW can we deeply develop engaging community broadband services and its impact on education, on jobs and inward investment – and as importantly, measured. Is there a strong need to establish a social enterprise to sustain itself in the long term by independent fund raising and sharing of costs amongst its members or...Is government involvement a main 'ingredient' to sustain such initiative?

International Summit for Community Wireless Networks 2008

2008 Summit Registration

jheretic — Mon, 05 May 2008 09:24:44 -0500

International Summit for Community Wireless Networks 2008

Wireless Sensor Networks blog

cecille — Thu, 01 May 2008 12:09:09 -0500

International Summit for Community Wireless Networks 2008

Project Sun Spot

cecille — Thu, 01 May 2008 12:08:07 -0500

International Summit for Community Wireless Networks 2008

Center for Embedded Network Sensing - UCLA

cecille — Thu, 01 May 2008 12:06:58 -0500

International Summit for Community Wireless Networks 2008

CitySense

cecille — Thu, 01 May 2008 12:06:15 -0500

International Summit for Community Wireless Networks 2008

Marco Zennaro

cecille — Tue, 29 Apr 2008 16:02:18 -0500

Marco Zennaro a researcher at the Abdus Salam International Centre for Theoretical Physics in Trieste, Italy, where he is part of the Aeronomy and Radiopropagation Laboratory. He is also a PhD student at the Royal Institute of Technology KTH in Stockholm, Sweden, where he studies Wireless Sensor Networks and their applications in Developing Countries.

International Summit for Community Wireless Networks 2008

Arshan Poursohi

cecille — Tue, 29 Apr 2008 15:58:17 -0500

International Summit for Community Wireless Networks 2008

Nicol Turner Lee

cecille — Tue, 29 Apr 2008 15:47:28 -0500

International Summit for Community Wireless Networks 2008

Article XIX

cecille — Fri, 25 Apr 2008 09:32:30 -0500

International Summit for Community Wireless Networks 2008

AAAS-Science and Human Rights

cecille — Fri, 25 Apr 2008 09:31:58 -0500

International Summit for Community Wireless Networks 2008

Wireless Ghana

cecille — Fri, 25 Apr 2008 09:30:06 -0500

International Summit for Community Wireless Networks 2008

AirJaldi

cecille — Fri, 25 Apr 2008 09:29:32 -0500

International Summit for Community Wireless Networks 2008

IRMA - India

cecille — Fri, 25 Apr 2008 09:28:43 -0500

International Summit for Community Wireless Networks 2008

Dillip Pattanaik

cecille — Fri, 25 Apr 2008 09:24:12 -0500

Dillip Pattanaik is the Director of Information Resource Management Association-India, a non-profit organization that promotes information technology in rural communities to assist in sustainable development.

International Summit for Community Wireless Networks 2008

Break

cecille — Fri, 25 Apr 2008 08:52:12 -0500

International Summit for Community Wireless Networks 2008

EsLaRed

cecille — Thu, 24 Apr 2008 13:54:33 -0500