deployFRONT

Hero

2006-04-03T16:15:00.000-07:00

"In the end, it takes a federal judge to issue a restraining order...Until that point, if that point ever comes, we'll keep running it. It's a lifeline to these people."

-New Orleans technology chief Greg Meffert on his vow to keep the city's mesh network up-and-running despite its violation of state law.
Source

ITAFE

2006-03-27T10:43:00.000-08:00

I've been hired to co-write an article with Stuart Gannes from Stanford's Digital Vision Program. We'll be reporting on the the results of the ITAFE Project, which involved 11 major tech companies building a product to narrow the digi divide in Brazil together. hmmmmm Cisco, AMD, Cisco, Dell and Microsoft working together...should be interesting

GSMA Sponsors Fund to End Digital Divide

2006-03-23T23:09:00.000-08:00

The GSM Association (GSMA)'s global development fund explained here.

http://www.eetimes.com/showArticle.jhtml?articleID=180200500

"New Technologies and the Rise of Political Liberty"

2006-02-20T22:58:00.000-08:00

Ambassador David A. Gross, U.S. Coordinator for International Communications and Information Policy gives a talk before the Unoversity of Toronto's Law faculty on the role of ICT, specifically cell phones, in expanding global democracy.
http://www.scoop.co.nz/stories/WO0602/S00187.htm

Free Wireless Networking Guide

2006-02-12T14:25:00.000-08:00

Written by eight volunteers including community wireless activist Rob Flickenger and co-founders of the nonprofit organization wire.less.dk, Sebastian Büttrich and Tomas Krag, Wireless Networking in the Developing World is a free downloadable guide that instructs people from around the world on how to set up their own wireless networks.
http://dk.wndw.net/download.html

Wardriving in Jeddah

2006-02-11T10:38:00.000-08:00

http://www.arabnews.com

Boston Readies for Citywide WiFi

2006-02-10T10:58:00.000-08:00

Capacity Building | Community Technology | Wireless

Following in the footsteps of Philly....Early this week, Boston's Mayor, Thomas Menino announced the city's plan to form a 22 person task force to investigate citywide WiFi deployment. Local nonprofit The Boston Foundation is releasing its own report, "Boston Unplugged: Mapping a Wireless Future."

The report states that a Request for Information (RFI) should be issued right away and must include the following:
-An examination of needed technical facilities for a WiFi network
-The creation of a “realistic” timeline for the project
-A review of security and interference issues
-A plan to build off of existing WiFi pilot projects

It also suggests that corporate sponsors should bear the cost of building and maintaining network infrastructure, not taxpayers.

http://www.newsfactor.com/story.xhtml?story_id=41549

AOL and Yahoo! Begin Charging Corps. For Sending Email – At what cost?

2006-02-06T13:40:00.000-08:00

To ensure prompt and filter-free email delivery, companies that use AOL and Yahoo! mail will now be forced to pay 1/4 of a cent to a penny each time they send a message. Both companies justify the move as a means of cutting down spam and identity-theft. The concept, although not new, had yet to be put into practice. Whether this will open the doors for them to start charging for sending private individual emails is to be determined.

http://www.redherring.com/article.aspx?a=15603

Philly Seals the Deal

2006-02-03T14:46:00.000-08:00

Capacity Building | Community Technology | Wireless
After a seemingly endless battle with Verizon over citywide municipal WiFi provision, city officials have finally signed a contract that will offer low-cost internet service to Philadelphians. The 10 year deal with EarthLink will allow citizens to access high speed internet for a price of around $20 per month. Construction is set to begin immediately on the initial network of 15 square miles in the Northeast part of the city. If successful, EarthLink will bear the costs of expanding it over 135 square miles.
http://www.wral.com/aptechnologynews/6598138/detail.html

IFN 2006 Summit Coverage

2006-02-01T13:37:00.000-08:00

It’s all about social networking, colloaboration and knowledge management at this year’s summit.

Day 1 highlights: Harold Rheingold and Clotilde Fonesca's keynote talk on the role that networks play in driving innovation and social change as well as the Show and Tell round robin where eleven reps from various initiatives got to strut their stuff. Mark Graham, from APC (one of my favorite IT NGOs) was there, as were many other upstarts.

Ones to watch:
Peter Bladin, Grameen Technology Foundation USA
Jennifer Correrio, TakingITGlobal
Erin O’Malley, Youth Radio
Marnie Webb, Compumentor
Ben Rigby, Mobile Voter Campaign

Dinner last night at Palomino was fun and informative. Our host Tessie Topol clued us into MTV's latest and greatest socially conscious programming. Other discussion topics ranged from podcasting to youth voting initiatives in Penalon, Chile. Brian Newman of National Video Resources, Jennifer Correrio, Penalon’s Mayor Claudio Orrego, Ben Rigby, and Ruth Williams, founder of a cool hip hop in schools program, were in attendance as well. I had the King Louie Crab Salad.

Day 2, more of the same. Lots of coffee and buzzwords like open standards, collaboration, sustainability, and tagging (which to my surprise, many hadn’t heard of before) floated around. Content ownership was brought up, a significant topic that definitely needs to be explored further. Foundations seem to be making more of an effort to both learn and use technology to form relationships among their grantees. It’s a positive sign.

Advocates of Muni WiFi Learn Art of Politics

2006-01-19T09:24:00.000-08:00

"In the end, what all of us were trying to do was to change the way people thought about communications," he said. "The Internet wasn't something that you sat down at the computer to use, but that it was something that permeated our lives - it just didn't have the distribution to permeate our lives."

http://www.nytimes.com/2006/01/19/technology/circuits/19wifi.html

2005-10-17T16:00:00.000-07:00

Thanks for your patience. deployFRONT will be on hiatus indefinitely. Please check back for more updates.

Google Offers Free WiFi to San Francisco

2005-10-03T10:42:00.000-07:00

Capacity Building | Community Technology | Wireless

In response to Mayor Gavin Newsom’s proposal to bring low-cost or free WiFi access to San Francisco, Google offered to create a mesh wireless network for San Francisco with up to 30 access points per square mile that would cover about 49 square miles and serve 800,000 users. The plan suggests the network would cover 90 percent of the city indoors and 95 percent of the city outdoors with a connection speed of 300 kbps. The catch? The big potential for integrating advertising in the network. The company also mentioned in their 100 page proposal the possibility of higher speed services for a small monthly fee.
http://arstechnica.com/news.ars/post/20051001-5374.html

“Great Firewall” Erected By Chinese State Council

2005-09-27T16:04:00.000-07:00

Human Rights | International | Privacy
China’s State Council handed down its new restrictions this week aimed at regulating “unhealthy content” such as pornography and anti-government sites on the internet. According to the Beijing News, the new rules were issued directly in response to the rising number of citizens using the internet to protest government corruption, land requisition policies, police brutality and an assortment of civil rights issues. All ISPs and internet cafes must now re-register their news sites and monitor them for any content that may “endanger state security” and “social order.”
http://news.monstersandcritics.com/

Wikis Provide Help and Information for Hurricane Evacuees

2005-09-26T21:55:00.000-07:00

http://katrinahelp.info/wiki/index.php/Hurricane_Rita
http://katrinahelp.info/wiki/index.php/Main_Page

Webzine 2005

2005-09-24T18:27:00.000-07:00

It’s all about social networking at this year’s summit.

Day 1 highlights: Harold Rheingold and Clotilde Fonesca's keynote talk on the role that networks play in driving innovation and social change http://www.innovationfunders.org/forum/44 as well as the Show and Tell round robin where eleven reps from various initiatives got to strut their stuff. Mark Graham, from APC (one of my favorite IT NGOs) was there. As were many other upstarts.

Ones to watch:
Peter Bladin, Grameen Technology Foundation USA
Jennifer Correrio, TakingITGlobal
Erin O’Malley, Youth Radio
Marnie Webb, Compumentor/Net2Squared
Ben Rigby, Mobile Voter Campaign

Dinner last night at Palomino was fun and informative. Host Tessie Topol clued us into MTV's latest and greatest socially conscious programming. Other discussion topics ranged from podcasting to youth voting initiatives in Penalon, Chile. Brian Newman of National Video Resources, Jennifer Correrio, Penalon’s Mayor Claudio Orrego, Ben Rigby, and Ruth Williams, founder of a cool hip hop in schools program, were in attendance as well. I had the King Louie Crab Salad.

Day 2 was more of the same. Lots of coffee and buzzwords like open standards, collaboration, sustainability, and tagging (which to my surprise, many hadn’t heard of before) floated around. Content ownership was brought up as well, a significant topic that needs to be explored further. Foundations seem to be making more of an effort to both learn and use technology to form relationships among their grantees. It’s a positive sign.

Live News from the Gulf Coast

2005-09-23T17:56:00.000-07:00

Disaster Relief | Media | Website

Gulf Coast newspapers are taking steps to ensure continuous coverage of Hurricane Rita. Although paper delivery will be suspended for the weekend, most websites will be up and running throughout the storm and its aftermath. http://abcnews.go.com/Technology/HurricaneRita/

KHOU Live feed: http://www.khou.com/perl/common/video/yahooPlayer.pl

Houston Chronicle: http://www.houstonchronicle.com
Corpus Christi Caller-Times: http://www.caller-times.com
Galveston County Daily News: http://www.galvnews.com
The Baytown Sun: http://www.baytownsun.com
The Beaumont Enterprise: http://www.beaumontenterprise.com
The Orange Leader: http://www.orangeleader.com
Port Arthur News: http://www.panews.com
The Victoria Advocate: http://www.victoriaadvocate.com

Volunteers Set-Up Networks Reuniting Families

2005-09-21T12:48:00.000-07:00

Capacity Building | Disaster Relief | Wireless

Tech savvy volunteers from across the country have descended upon parts of Louisiana to offer their talent and equipment to stranded victims of Katrina. Through their tremendous efforts, tens of thousands of phone calls have been made to reunite families and establish relocation plans.
http://www.networkworld.com

Victims Remain Without Relief in the Astrodome

2005-09-20T22:56:00.000-07:00

Disaster Relief | Partnerships

Katrina refugees left stranded in the Houston Astrodome are struggling to maintain their faith given their less than perfect living conditions. Physical, psychological, and financial relief is slow to come or even nonexistent, especially for the thousands of Vietnamese immigrants with Green Cards who require translators and financial aid. Save the Boat People SOS, a small Asian American community organization in conjunction with a network of Buddhist temples, has set up alternative relief effort for them in Houston.
http://www.alternet.org/katrina/25564/

WiFi’s Advantages in the Midst of Catastrophe

2005-09-19T23:43:00.000-07:00

Capacity Building | Community Technology | Disaster Relief | Wireless

From NYTimes.com
Clive Thompson explains how WiFi is the most useful and reliable communication tool in the event of a catastrophe. During Katrina, for example, floodwaters invaded underground phone lines and cell phone antennas were destroyed in the storm. A WiFi mesh would have allowed victims to make local and national phone calls using VoIP (Voice Over Internet Protocol) technology, as well as have the ability to post their status on the FEMA website.
http://www.nytimes.com/2005/09/18/magazine/18idea.html

Private Citizens Do Their Part to Help Katrina Victims

2005-09-16T11:49:00.000-07:00

Community Technology | Disaster Relief | Website

Private citizens like Katrina.com owner, Katrina Blankenship, are helping to provide housing, unite family members, and find jobs for hurricane victims through online and offline efforts. Blankenship, for example, using a dial-up connection, turned her small business site into a portal for victims to reunite with family members.

http://www.katrina.com
http://www.openyourhome.com/
http://www.homeflood.org/
http://www.cleanupjobs.com/
http://www.petfinder.com/disaster

Massachusetts State Agency Offers IT Training to Low-Income Citizens

2005-09-15T13:11:00.000-07:00

Community Technology | Policy and Advocacy

The Massachusetts Association for Community Action (MASSCAP) is a statewide association of 25 Community Action Agencies (CAAs) that works with the MA Department of Housing and Community Development to promote self-sufficiency for low-income Massachusetts residents. In 1999, the organization launched its Information Technology (IT) Project, designed to bridge the digital divide for low-income Massachusetts residents. Eleven agencies have already developed their own programs to suit the IT needs of the people they serve. The Citizens for Citizens Senior Cyber Café, in particular, has met with great success.

MASSCAP
http://www.masscap.org/about.html

Citizens Senior Cyber Café
http://www.cfcinc.org/spire_cyber.html

Technology More Helpful than Aid in Developing Nations

2005-09-14T23:04:00.000-07:00

Capacity Building | Community Technology | Economic Empowerment

In this interview published in the UK version of The Register, Bangladeshi entrepreneur Iqbal Quadir shares her views on more effective means of bridging the digital divide in India. Quadir purports that local technological development would be more useful in decreasing developing nations’ poverty levels, instead of aid alone. Quadir argues that access to information would be just as valuable to rural areas than simply providing food and water. She offers the example of placing internet kiosks in rural areas to inform villagers of devastating weather patterns, potentially enabling the protection of homes and crops.
http://www.theregister.co.uk/2005/07/13/local_action_digital_divide/

Datamation Foundation Fights Inequality Through ICT

2005-09-14T11:07:00.000-07:00

Community Development | Economic Empowerment | Human Rights | Partnerships

Delhi-based Charitable Trust, Datamation Foundation is a nonprofit organization devoted to creating employment opportunities, ending hunger and extreme poverty, achieving universal primary education, improving public health, ensuring environmental sustainability and promoting gender equality in economically disadvantaged rural India through ICT solutions such as, Community Multi-Media Centers (CMCs) and Information Kiosks (IKs). Recent case studies have focused on technology’s impact on female feticide in India and gender equality.
http://www.datamationfoundation.org/aboutus.htm

Call for Entries - Second Seoul Conference on Mobile Communication

2005-09-13T23:05:00.000-07:00

Request for Proposals

The Korean Association of Broadcasting Studies (KABS), in cooperation with the Institute for Communications Arts and Technology (iCat) and SK Telecom, is hosting the Second Seoul Conference on Mobile Communication on November 1-2, 2005 in Seoul, Korea. Issues related to mobile media development and its impact on the future of the media environment will be covered. Researchers interested in presenting are required to submit a one-page abstract with a brief author’s bio by September 30, 2005. Presentation deadline is October 15, 2005.
http://www.hallym.ac.kr/~icat/

Victims and Emergency Personnel Find Relief in Wireless

2005-09-12T00:05:00.000-07:00

Disaster Relief | Partnerships | Technology

Groups of volunteers this week have banded together to provide wireless internet and Internet protocol (VoIP) phone services to shelters across South eastern Louisiana and Mississippi. Using radio transmitters and satellite dishes, the donated services have allowed victims and emergency personnel to contact loved ones as well as work towards unifying an emergency communications system. Registration required. http://www.washingtonpost.com

Volunteers Launch Katrina PeopleFinder Project

2005-09-09T09:05:00.000-07:00

Disaster Relief | Policy and Advocacy | Website

Built by volunteers in less than a week, the Katrina PeopleFinder Project, an integrated database of Craigslist posts and other internet message boards, has accumulated more than 100,000 searchable records of Katrina victims. Sponsored by the Social Software Foundation, the Salesforce.com Foundation, and CivicSpace Labs, the project utilizes a wiki, email list, and Internet relay chat, to help locate friends and family members displaced throughout the country.
http://www.redherring.com

Mac and Linux Users Denied Access to FEMA Relief Site

2005-09-07T14:33:00.000-07:00

Disaster Relief | Human Rights | Report | Technology

Already under major fire for its slow response to Katrina survivors, the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) suffered another blow today when reports revealed that the agency’s online federal disaster relief claim form services are available only to Windows and Internet Explorer 6 users.

“Windows XP hardware requirements, while not impressive by today’s standards, rule out using some donated hardware…Furthermore, legitimate copies of Windows also cost money, and relief workers are trying to stretch their dollars as far as they can go.”
http://www.macworld.co.uk/news/index.cfm?home&NewsID=12557

Crooks and Liars Offers News Media Roundup

2005-09-06T14:42:00.000-07:00

Disaster Relief | Human Rights | Media | Website

From Keith Olbermann’s scathing op-ed piece to Geraldo Rivera’s emotional on-air breakdown, this “On-Line Virtual Magazine,” delivers up-to-the-minute television news video covering the media’s response to Katrina.
http://crooksandliars.com/

Republicans Lash Out Against Bush

2005-09-02T17:21:00.000-07:00

"If we can't respond faster than this to an event we saw coming across the Gulf for days, then why do we think we're prepared to respond to a nuclear or biological attack?" asked former House Speaker Newt Gingrich, a Republican.
http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20050902/ap_on_go_pr_wh/katrina_bush

In Case of Emergency

2005-09-02T14:06:00.000-07:00

1. After the tsunami, I sent around an emergency supply kit list for use in the event of an earthquake. If you haven't done so already, please put one together for yourself immediately. I recommend you keep a backpack with these items in your hall closet or under your bed by your door. (visit http://www.fema.gov/rrr/talkdiz/kit.shtm for more details.)

2. Start an emergency contact ring with a couple of your friends in the Bay Area. In the event of a disaster, cell phone service might be jammed or down. If only one of you manages to get through via phone or email, all of your families can know where you are and if you are okay.

3. The ICE campaign has been extremely successful in spreading the word about contacting loved ones in case of emergency. Simply, program the phone number of your emergency contact under the letters ICE. Paramedics know what ICE means and they look for it immediately. You can put in ICE, ICE 1, ICE 2 for alternate numbers.

All of these measures can be applied to any kind of emergency (be it natural or otherwise). Please don't put this off. It could save your life and the lives of others.

Live Feeds from New Orleans

2005-09-02T11:14:00.000-07:00

Live audio, video, and photographic feeds from Bloggers and local news allow U.S. citizens an insider’s view of the destruction and chaos and erupting in New Orleans. Hit reload if connection does not appear to be going through. Ports are subject to change.

WWLTV - Local News

Interdictor

MSNBC (Free software download required)

NOLA

Bay Area Companies Donate Internet Services to Katrina Evacuees

2005-09-01T13:44:00.000-07:00

Disaster Relief | Funding | Technology
Bay Area companies such as Bank of America, Wachovia, and SBC Communications are making sizable cash and service donations to the Hurricane Katrina relief effort. Millions of dollars are being directed towards Houston chapters of the United Way and the Red Cross to support the tens of thousands of relocated evacuees residing in the Houston Astrodome. SBC has announced they will be providing free phone service, high-speed internet, and WiFi hot spots to Hurricane victims, members of the media, and public-service personnel.
http://biz.yahoo.com/bw/050901/15621.html?.v=1

Proposed Solutions on the Widening Digital Divide

2005-08-31T08:08:00.000-07:00

Capacity Building | Policy and Advocacy | Report | Technology

Community Technology Foundation of California Fellow Paul Lamb challenges studies claiming the digital divide has been bridged. Lamb offers potential solutions to bridging the “knowledge gap,” specifically on improving the quality, not quantity of technology data collection, developing a “technology road map,” utilizing benefits from the SBC merger, and recognizing the digital divide’s long history beyond the internet.
http://news.com.com/

Call for Proposals from the Open Society Institute

2005-08-30T08:05:00.000-07:00

International | Request for Proposals

The Open Society Institute’s International Policy Fellowship Program (IPF) is soliciting fellowship proposals regarding open information policy. Candidates from Central and Eastern Europe, the former Soviet Union, Mongolia, Africa, and South and Southeast Asia are encouraged to submit applications on topics involving the potential influence of open source technology on democracy and civil participation.

Deadline for applications: September 20, 2005

http://www.soros.org/initiatives/ipf

Sun Microsystems Launches Java Teaching Portal Aimed at Bridging Digital Divide

2005-08-24T21:58:00.000-07:00

Philanthropy | Software | Website | Youth

Sun Microsystems’ Java Teaching Innovations Portal is an online resource center designed to encourage students from underrepresented populations to take an interest in and increase participation in technology careers and education. The program provides educators with “pre-Java” course curricula as well as lesson plans that fully integrate the technology into classroom learning.
http://www.sun.com/aboutsun/comm_invest/jgp/index.html

Development and Human Rights Portal from Zimbabwe

2005-08-23T21:52:00.000-07:00

Human Rights | International | Policy and Advocacy | Website

The Kubatana Trust of Zimbabwe is a centralized development and human rights portal aimed at providing accessible information on human rights and civic education to the public, as well as strengthening the use of email and internet strategies among Zimbabwean NGOs and civil society organizations. Immediate objectives of Kubatana (“working together”) include, creating an NGO directory, linking to existing NGO and civil society websites and developing an e-activism page for on-line campaigns.
http://www.kubatana.net

African Private Company offers Low-Cost Internet Access Solutions

2005-08-22T12:17:00.000-07:00

Capacity Building | Innovation | International | Wireless

Arrow Network Systems provides low-speed, inexpensive, wireless narrowband networks that can be quickly deployed across Africa utilizing low frequency Morse MR25 radio technology. Ongoing projects include developing online banking networks in Ghana; offering banks the critical link between Data Centers and Disaster Recovery sites. In addition, the company has created low-cost internet access solutions for schools and corporations using Javelin™, their trademarked enhanced wireless narrowband technology.
http://www.arrownetworks.net/

Moodle

2005-08-19T11:36:00.000-07:00

Community Tech | Open Source | Software

Recent discussions on NTEN about open source code, course curricula, and academic publishing have led our attention to Moodle. Moodle, is a free Open Source, scalable, software course management system (CMS). The program is designed to help educators build effective online learning communities. For an example of Moodle’s features, check out the website (created with Moodle)
http://moodle.org/

San Francisco Moves Forward on Wi-Fi Plan

2005-08-16T19:57:00.000-07:00

Capacity Building | Community Tech | Proposals | Wireless

"Cities are starting to realize this is not a 'nice to have' anymore," said Paul Butcher, Intel's state and local government marketing manager. "To operate efficiently as a government, to enable business to compete and provide adequate resources to cities, you pretty much have to do this."

http://news.yahoo.com/

Bridging the Digital Divide in Rwanda

2005-08-16T14:10:00.000-07:00

Community Development | Economic Empowerment | International

NPR reports on Rwanda’s efforts to become the “internet hub” of Central Africa. Using high power wireless connections and solar power, citizens can access the internet and make inexpensive phone calls at government-sponsored telecenters. Transforming one of the poorest nations in the world into a “knowledge based economy” may take some time, though. Only one in every four hundred people in Sub-Saharan Africa (minus South Africa) currently has access to the internet.
http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=4800031

S. African NGO Launches Nonprofit Portal

2005-08-15T23:48:00.000-07:00

Collaboration | International | Policy and Advocacy | Website

Southern African Non-Governmental Organization Network (SANGONeT) has announced the launch of Phase One of PRODDER. PRODDER is an online version of South Africa’s Human Sciences Research Council (HSRC)’s directory of South African NGOs and development organizations. Goals of the portal are to improve networking, information sharing, public policy, decision-making and the allocation of resources.
http://www.prodder.org.za

Empowering Iranian Youth Through ICT

2005-08-15T23:46:00.000-07:00

Collaboration | Community Technology | International | Youth

Schoolnet, a project sponsored by the Science & Arts Foundation (SAF) in Iran, is designed to empower students utilizing ICT. In cooperation with iEARN (International Educational and Resource Network), European Schoolnet, UN CyberSchoolBus program, Alliance of Global School Networks, the program offers state-of-the-art ICT training, computer facilities, Internet access, and collaborative projects to model state Iranian schools.

http://www1.schoolnet.ir/en/

Drishtee Foundation Encourages ICT use in Rural Indian Villages

2005-08-10T12:02:00.000-07:00

The Drishtee Foundation utilizes ICT training to establish cultural and entrepreneurial links in India’s more remote and less developed rural areas. ICT Centers, in conjunction with onsite agencies, host Gram Sabhas (Village Gatherings) to explain the benefits of ICT to millions of rural villagers. The goal of these meetings is to encourage local entrepreneurs to incorporate technology into their daily business practices.
http://drishteefoundation.org/

Cowboy Country: WiFi leader of the pack

2005-08-09T11:35:00.000-07:00

From the NYTimes.com
Nicholas D. Kristof reports on the world’s seemingly largest WiFi hot spot located over 600 square miles in eastern rural Oregon and southern Washington. A local businessman in Hermiston, OR developed the program utilizing a unique public/private partnership with local police and fire agencies that allows citizens to piggyback their signal for free. Hermiston is already starting to introduce WiMax, offering much higher speeds and greater range.
http://www.nytimes.com/2005/08/07/opinion/07kristof.html

Intel Puts Its Money Where Its Mouth Is

2005-08-08T14:56:00.000-07:00

In keeping with their intense lobbying efforts to prevent bans on municipal wireless, Intel has dispatched advisers to cities across the country, assisting them with broadband wireless development. Their hope is to spur interest in WiMax and other wireless technologies, thereby creating demand for Intel's newest microprocessors. Intel has been a key figure in the fight against telecom and conservative lawmakers’ attempts to ban municipal wireless. Their involvement as a corporation challenged carriers’ argument that the matter was a public versus private issue.
http://www.oregonlive.com/business/oregonian/

Youth Radio

2005-08-08T13:07:00.000-07:00

Through broadcast production and journalism training, Youth Radio provides young people with the opportunity to improve their verbal expression, writing, computer technology, critical thinking, and conflict resolution skills. Hands-on experience and industry professional mentoring allow students to learn more about media-related careers and the steps required to attain them.
http://www.youthradio.org/index.shtml

Brazilian NGO Offers Participatory Community Development Programs

2005-08-04T22:13:00.000-07:00

Established in 1987, The Health & Happiness Project (Projeto Saúde & Alegria/PSA) works with “extractivist” communities along the Amazon to support “participatory and integrated processes of comprehensive and sustained community development, managed by the population itself.” Local residents have access to teacher training, workshops in health, environmental education, cultural revival, media literacy, and “Digital Inclusion.” Cultural tele-centers provide computer classes and internet access utilizing solar energy.
http://www.saudeealegria.org.br/index_english.html

Rural Bolivian Farmers Utilize ICT to Improve Local Agriculture

2005-08-03T23:07:00.000-07:00

“Fundación AGRECOL Andes works with Quechua-speaking farmers in rural areas of Bolivia. Utilizing digital cameras, laptop computers and multimedia projectors, participants document and exchange their local knowledge, particularly about organic agriculture and resource management. The process is managed by the farmers themselves, and the use of ICT tools which prioritize an oral and visual language is in keeping with their culture. CD-ROMs and an internet-based database are also used to share the experiences more widely, and the project has formed strategic alliances in the Andean region for the same purpose.” (en español)
http://www.agrecolandes.org/

Indian NGO Partnership Reducing Poverty via ICT

2005-08-02T23:17:00.000-07:00

VOICES, a Bangalore-based NGO, aims to utilize ICT and media for social change. It is the principal leader in advocating community supported radio legislation in India. VOICES recently partnered with MYRADA a grassroots NGO that has been working in integrated rural development in agrarian communities for 10 years. Funded by UNESCO, the partnership’s goals of disseminating information to rural communities about issues such as ownership and participation in legislation and ICT education as a means of reducing poverty, have been realized in the form of community radio and cable deployment.
http://www.voicesforall.org/communityradio/namma_dhwani.htm

Call for entries: "Reporting on the Information Society" Awards

2005-08-01T21:53:00.000-07:00

Global Knowledge Partnership (GDP) and Panos are inviting journalists by and from developing and transition nations to apply for the “Reporting on the Information Society” awards. The topic for this year is “Where is the money for bridging the digital divide?” Four candidates will be awarded $1000 each and will be invited to participate in the World Summit on the Information Society, in Tunis, in November 2005. Launched by GDP and Panos in 2003, the awards seek to, “encourage and bring to international recognition thoughtful and incisive reporting that goes beyond merely describing information projects or new investment initiatives, but also analyses their social and political impacts and policy implications.”
http://www.globalknowledge.org/gkps_portal/index.cfm?menuid=572

Community Information Center Provides Info and ICT Access Across Cambodia

2005-07-25T12:38:00.000-07:00

Cambodia’s Community Information Center (CIC) web portal offers news and information in the Khmer language for NGOs, government institutions, development-related organizations, political parties, and people throughout Cambodia. The goal of the site is to promote research, networking, and information exchange on a wide range of democracy and development-related topics. Twenty-two CICs across Cambodia provide access to the internet as well as CD-ROMs, hardcopy resources, and training for Cambodian citizens.
http://www.cambodiacic.org/about_project_en.asp

Internet Governance Project Assesses WGIG Report

2005-07-22T14:36:00.000-07:00

In a response to the UN Working Group on Internet Governance’s (WGIG) recently released report, the Internet Governance Project (IGP) offered its praise for the Report’s identification of two significant public policy issues requiring immediate attention.

First, the need to move beyond the United States’ unilateral control of the DNS and second, the need to include more balanced views of fair use, free expression, privacy, technical innovation and economic development in Internet-related treaties that address intellectual property protection.
The IGP suggested however, the Report provided “little guidance” when it came to defining the “roles and responsibilities” of government, civil society and business and indicated the WGIG lacked focus in identifying specific objectives in its call for equal status to citizens and governments through a new open global Internet policy forum.
The Internet Governance Project’s full response is available for download at:
http://dcc.syr.edu/miscarticles/IGP-quovadis.pdf

‘Everyday Philanthropy’ in the Czech Republic via Text Messaging

2005-07-21T15:33:00.000-07:00

From Mott Mosaic
The Czech Donors Fund’s (CDF) has provided an innovative way to make quick and easy donations through text messaging. Callers are charged $1.25 on their monthly bill for every text message sent to their charity of choice. One dollar is sent to the nonprofit, 25 cents goes toward overhead costs. The organization views the program as a successful teaching tool for average citizens unaccustomed to philanthropic activity. (pages 3-4)
http://mott.org/publications/pdf/MosaicV4N1.pdf

Hearing Paper by the Committee on Technology in New York City

2005-07-20T11:49:00.000-07:00

This 2004 briefing paper addresses the following questions regarding gaps in New York City’s underserved community broadband access:
-Is there a “broadband gap” for businesses?
-Does city government have a role in closing this gap, if it does indeed exist? If so, what role should city government play?
-What can incumbent wireline broadband providers do to close the gap?
-Is wireless broadband an affordable broadband alternative for small and medium-sized businesses?
http://webdocs.nyccouncil.info/attachments/64367.htm
Reso. No. 669 passes in response to the hearing, calls “upon all relevant City agencies to use their funding and regulatory power to support and encourage the provision of affordable high-speed Internet service and computer purchases for the benefit of residents of affordable housing.”
Article covering hearings: http://www.govtech.net/

Gender and ICTs for development: A global source book

2005-07-18T09:57:00.000-07:00

From KIT via genderIT.org
“Five case studies illustrate the different contexts facing gender and ICTs for development, including e-commerce in Bhutan, entrepreneurship by women workers in China, post-war communication using radio and ICTs in Sierra Leone, sustainable fisheries production in Ghana, and information exchange related to HIV/AIDS in the Caribbean.”

PDF available at:
http://www.kit.nl/

Global Voices Online

2005-07-15T11:03:00.000-07:00

Launched and sponsored by Harvard’s Berkman Center for Internet and Society, Global Voices Online is a non-profit global citizens’ media project aimed at resolving bias in the media by increasing the power of citizens’ media. GVO hopes to achieve its goals of facilitating the emergence of new citizens’ voices, advocating freedom of expression, and protecting the rights of citizen journalists through technologies such as weblogs, wikis, podcasts, tags, aggregators and online chats.
http://cyber.law.harvard.edu/globalvoices/

BROADBAND STRATEGY FOR MUNICIPALITIES: a white paper by Mike Nicosia

2005-07-13T10:07:00.000-07:00

From Muniwireless.com
Mike Nicosia, VP of Business Development for Gigahertz, discusses the pros and cons of various municipal network deployment strategies.

“The deployment of broadband in the ‘last mile’ of the telecomm infrastructure in the US and the rest of the world is the single most important accomplishment for the future of telecomms. To insure their own viability, munis must take the initiative in ensuring that they will have the kind of broadband needed for the future.”
http://www.muniwireless.com/archives/000758.html

Austin Wireless City Project

2005-07-12T11:16:00.000-07:00

The Austin Wireless City Project is an initiative of Austin Wireless to improve the availability and quality of public free WiFi in Austin. Volunteers donate their time by exploring potential hotspots, identifying appropriate venues for publicly-available free WiFi, and monitoring and maintaining service after WiFi installation. Austin recently ranked third in Intel’s “Most Unwired Cities” survey.
http://www.austinwirelesscity.org/

I.B.M. Testing Broadband via Power Lines

2005-07-11T08:08:00.000-07:00

I.B.M. in partnership with Houston-based utility CenterPoint Energy, announced today they will be developing broadband services to be delivered over electric power lines. The service would benefit utilities by cost-effectively reaching rural areas, generating new revenue, and allowing them to monitor power issues remotely. The FCC is endorsing the development of the technology to counterbalance the cable and phone industries’ hold on the market.
http://www.nytimes.com/2005/07/11/technology/11ibm.html?

Report Suggests Half of Municipal WiFi Projects Will Fail to Breakeven

2005-07-08T10:18:00.000-07:00

From Wi-Fi Planet
JupiterResearch released the results of its report on municipal broadband wireless entitled, “Municipal Wireless: Partner to Spread Risks and Costs While Maximizing Benefit Opportunities” yesterday. According to the study the average cost of building and maintaining a municipal wireless network is estimated at $150,000 per square mile over five years. The report goes onto to say that despite even a fee of $25 per user per month, approximately 50% of current initiatives will fail to breakeven.

Bert Williams, VP of marketing for Tropos Networks, a company that has successfully provided mesh-based Wi-Fi hardware for deployment in several locations around the world, suggested the estimate was excessive. He believes the number to be closer to $100,000 per square mile.
http://www.wi-fiplanet.com/news/article.php/3518071

Better Options for Rural Internet Users

2005-07-07T22:55:00.000-07:00

From NewsFactor Network via Yahoo! News
Florida based xG claims their patented “xMax” technology will provide greater coverage and less expense in rural areas than existing wireless technologies service providers such as WiFi and WiMax because it requires fewer wireless base stations and operates under a lower frequency. XMax operates over the 900 MHz band (as opposed to 2.4 GHz for WiFi /WiMax) and therefore only requires a narrow segment of unoccupied spectrum to place its carrier signal. Lower frequencies recycle valuable radio spectrum that allows signals to travel farther despite obstacles such as buildings. In contrast, other wireless broadband techniques, such as WiMax, that operate above the 1 GHz frequency, can experience problems transmitting through obstacles. A public trial of the technology will be conducted in September using a base station between Fort Lauderdale and Miami.
http://news.yahoo.com/news/

Florida Man Arrested for Stealing WiFi Signal

2005-07-07T10:37:00.000-07:00

From InfoWorld
Police have arrested a man for “hacking” into St. Petersburg resident Richard Dinon’s wireless internet network. In one of the first criminal cases involving this fairly common practice, Benjamin Smith III, 41, faces third-degree felony charges for admittedly using the Wi-Fi signal from the home of Dinon. The state law under which Smith was charged prohibits accessing a computer or network knowingly, willfully and without authorization. http://www.infoworld.com/article/05/07/07/HNwifiarrest_1.html

GenderIT.org - Global and Regional Highlights on Gender and ICT policy

2005-07-06T22:54:00.000-07:00

GenderIT.org researches, monitors, and interprets ICT policies that affect women around the world, focusing specifically on four regions – Africa, Asia-Pacific, Central Eastern Europe and Latin America. The site’s three main objectives are to develop an information resource/knowledge sharing site for gender and ICT advocates, civil society organizations, and policy makers. To raise awareness among civil society organizations, specifically in women’s movements, regarding gender and ICT policy issues. As well, as empower women’s organizations and networks in collaboration with other organizations to take action on ICT policy issues and develop ICT policy that meets their needs.
http://www.genderit.org/en/index.shtml

Rural Community Medical Facilities Benefit from PACS Medical Technology

2005-07-05T12:08:00.000-07:00

Clinics located on the Blackfoot Indian Reservation and underserved community hospitals across the continental divide currently have the capacity to receive 24/7 diagnostic imaging services through a web server at MT’s Kalispell Regional Medical Center. In the past, a part-time radiologist would travel one day a week to each community hospital, sometimes as far as 175 miles, to read exams. Now, images are available in less than an hour through the KRMC Web server. Extending radiology services to the outlying clinics and hospitals requires little additional investment by either KRMC or the remote facilities because access could be provided through a T-1 line using existing analog telephone infrastructure in areas not wired for broadband Internet service.
http://www.eeproductcenter.com/

Intel Lists Nation’s "Most Unwired Cities"

2005-06-30T09:09:00.000-07:00

The top 100 U.S. cities and regions for greatest wireless Internet accessibility were released last week in Intel’s 3rd Annual “Most Unwired Cities” survey. Seattle was rated number one, followed by the San Francisco Bay Area and Austin, TX. The report suggests that unconventional locations such as skate parks, pipe shops, gas stations, bowling alleys, and golf courses are becoming increasingly popular access points. A full list can be found at the link below. http://www.intel.com/personal/wireless/unwiredcities/index.htm

Freedom to Learn Project

2005-06-29T11:11:00.000-07:00

The Freedom to Learn (FTL) project is a statewide initiative aimed at improving student achievement and engagement in Michigan schools that creates a one-to-one learning environment for children by utilizing Individualized Education Plans (IEP) and access to each child’s own wireless laptop provided by the program. To qualify, school districts must qualify for federal funding and have to meet eligibility criteria approved by the Michigan State Board of Education, including high need (poverty), high priority (not meeting AYP), and technology readiness.
http://wireless.mivu.org/

High Court Internet Access Ruling Favors Cable Companies

2005-06-28T10:35:00.000-07:00

From the Associated Press
In a major blow to consumer groups, the Supreme Court ruled yesterday that cable companies do not have to share access to their systems with rival Internet Service Providers. In a 6-to-3 decision, the court stated the law on the matter was ambiguous and that the FCC, not the courts, had the authority to interpret it. A coalition of consumer groups who opposed the decision argued that consumers should have the right to choose their own ISP, instead of being forced to utilize cable. They contend that without regulation cable’s monopolization of the market is inevitable.
http://www.wired.com/news/politics/0,1283,68008,00.html