The project seeks to examine and assess the possibilities created by new wireless Internet access technologies for promoting Internet use and diffusion in developing nations. Anecdotal evidence is too often used to justify ICT projects, resulting in poor implementation designs and lack of long-term sustainability. We seek to construct and apply rigorous measurement techniques to evaluate the potential benefits of wireless access technologies for development goals. The project will investigate how these technologies are being appropriated and deployed, by whom, and with what results. The goal is to analyze a range of different settings and implementation strategies, from small rural telecenters funded by international donors to larger scale community networks established by local governments or business cooperatives. We plan to contrast these with wireless networks in advanced countries, and expect to find considerable differences in how the technology is deployed and used. Particular attention will be given to the cost-effectiveness of last-mile solutions such as Wi-Fi, and the dynamics of infrastructure development associated with them.

Is decentralized communication infrastructure a significant alternative to the traditional, centrally-driven systems that have historically prevailed? We often think of "infrastructures" as large-scale projects that are best attempted by large entities: Governments build roads and telecommunications companies provide phone networks. But historically, rural co-ops built roads as well, and farmers also strung phone lines along fences-although sometimes not very good ones. From the perspective of theories about the evolution of sociotechnical systems, rule-making, and social informatics, is it useful, reasonable, or even possible to think about the small, disjointed efforts of co-ops and individuals as "infrastructures"? This study examines this question using the case of "Wireless Ethernet" (specifically, 802.11, sometimes called "Wi-Fi") an important new technology for untethered data communication. Despite (or perhaps because of) the lack of central planning, Wi-Fi is fast reaching 'infrastructure' scale: Almost unknown two years ago, about 26.5 million Wi-Fi capable devices were sold in 2002 alone, and deployed by a multitude of individuals and organizations.
(This project is supported in part by a grant from the NSF)

NSF proposal [PDF-431K]
 

The Potential of Mobile Phones to Act as an Effective Tsunami Early Warning System
Jonathan Aronson, Arul Chib, Seungyoon Lee, Kavya Yadav

This project examines the role of information and communication technologies (ICT), specifically rural telecenters and low-cost telephony, in Tsunami affected regions of coastal India . The project will evaluate 1) the impact of the existing telecommunication infrastructure in acting as a warning signal, 2) the role of ICTs in assisting disaster relief, and 3) the potential of low-cost communication technologies as a disaster relief system. The research will include interviews with relief agencies and NGO's in the Tamil Nadu region, evaluation of the role of low-cost telecenter infrastructure in these regions, and a network analysis of communities for understanding the social ties and support networks.

Proposal [PDF-131K]