Box 17: Internet and Radio in Mali
Mali is an extreme case, since local incomes are so low. However, it makes a good case about trade-offs for VSAT connectivity; while quite expensive, VSATs are really the only means of delivering reasonable bandwidth to isolated locations, but they are not an attractive solution when clients are very price sensitive or when the number of locations to be served increases.
Difficult though the Mali situation was, the model of using low-cost local redistribution to reduce the average cost per user and increase the scope of public access has tremendous potential. With the help of bandwidth management hardware and software, telecenters could become “community ISPs,” similar to a micro-telco in terms of providing telecom services to clients on their own premises, yet retaining the traditional features of a telecenter, such as shared access within the telecenter itself.(23) This option has become popular with many telecenters in Africa that have no connectivity option other than VSAT. However, to afford the recurring cost of the connection, they must resell some of their bandwidth.(24)
6.9. Case Study: Cost-Effective Connectivity Solution—n-Logue’s corDECT(25)
An often-cited example of a cost-effective connectivity solution adapted to developing countries is corDECT, a fixed wireless local loop (WLL) technology developed by the TeNet Group at IIT Madras in association with Analog Devices and sold by Midas Communications. The point-to-multipoint wireless frequency technology supports simultaneous voice and data channels of 25–70 kbps to subscribers within a 10-kilometer radius of its broadcast location. The technology has been exported to more than 20 countries, and the next generation, Broadband corDECT, offers broadband Internet access with speeds of 256 kbps or higher.(26) It has been used in India by n-Logue in its Chiraag Internet kiosks(27) and in other places around the world.
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