GBI Highlights – Integra LLC

GBI kicks off USF assistance in Ukraine, Moldova

Workshops held for over 60 officials

March 10, 2012/by actualize

GBI, Kenya to expand broadband and universal service

Mr. Francis Wangusi, Director General, CCK (Right) and Ms. Erna Kerst, Mission Director USAID Kenya during the signing of an MoU at CCK Centre, Nairobi

According to an agreement signed today between the Communications Commission of Kenya (CCK) and the United States Agency for International Development (USAID), the US Government shall assist CCK in developing strategies to stimulate universal access to ICT services in underserved and un-served areas of the country.
The technical assistance covers the development of a national broadband strategy to underpin the deployment of modern broadband infrastructure to meet the needs of businesses, government and the entire economy. The assistance, which shall be provided through the USAID’s Global Broadband and Innovations (GBI) initiative, will also assist CCK in developing capacity in universal service Fund management, and universal service.

Addressing the media during the signing of the agreement at the CCK Centre, USAID’s Mission Director, Ms. Erna Kerst, said the US Government was happy to partner with Kenya in facilitating enhanced access to ICT services.

She said Kenya was ahead of many sub-Saharan African countries in the level of development of ICTs, particularly in the area of mobile applications.

“Kenya is leading the way in ICT innovations and in the development of applications that are changing the lives of people in Kenya and elsewhere in the World,” she said.

In his address, Ag. CCK Director-General Mr. Francis W. Wangusi said the development of universal access and broadband strategies would invigorate the growth of the ICT sector and thus accelerate the development of other sectors of the economy, including provision of e- and m- government services.

Citing the ICT Access Gaps Study undertaken by CCK last year, Mr. Wangusi said close to 1,120 sub-locations out of the total of 7,149 in the country had no access to basic communication services. This situation, he added, called for urgent regulatory interventions to facilitate the transition of a sizeable number of Kenyans to the digital age.

The Director-General decried the prevailing low penetration of data/internet services in Kenya, saying the country had only 5.2 million Internet subscribers, of which 2.33% were broadband. He said the strategies to be developed through USAID’s technical assistance would play a key role in improving access to communications services in all parts of the country.

March 10, 2012/by actualize

GBI Highlights, Originally posted on the GBI Portal

GBI releases ICT Ag Value Chain database (beta)

In a complex system like the agricultural value chain, coordination of roles is key as the actors collaborate to exchange resources. Successful coordination calls for appropriate communication approaches and media for smooth flow of resources from one stage to another and from one actor to the other. The importance of communication within the value chain is becoming clear especially with the surge to develop new and innovative information and communication technologies (ICTs) for agriculture and food security.

Global Broadband and Innovations (GBI) has been exploring the role of the new technologies along the agricultural value chain for improved resource flow. Throughout our desk research, we have found that there are several discussions, and activities going on with the use of ICTs in agriculture and food security, and others specifically on value chain development. However, little is done to bring the two issues together.

The team has identified and selected over 125 ICT solutions (apps and projects) that apply to the various actors within the agricultural value chain, specifically for this initial stage of the project and has mapped out these tools along the chain. Our database is growing (please submit any apps or ICT solutions you think we’ve missed!), and we are constantly refining data. To browse the current database, download a pdf, or submit an entry, visit our ICTs Along the Ag Value Chain page.

March 9, 2012/by actualize

Agriculture, GBI Highlights, Originally posted on the GBI Portal

Tech Talk: Mapping ICTs Along the Ag Value Chain

New ICT solutions for agricultural development are being developed at break-neck speed, and its hard to keep track of what’s out there, what works, and how it best fits into your project. At this month’s Tech Talk, GBI will demonstrate how ICT applications can complement a value chain approach to agricultural development, and we will bring in users and developers of these apps to explain their tools and how they are implemented. We’ll also unveil a new and useful interactive tool “Ag Apps Along the Value Chain,” that maps a collected inventory of over 120 apps and ICT solutions along the agricultural value chain.

____________________________________________________________________________
Benjamin Addom is a knowledge management specialist with training and experience in the use of ICTs for development. He has over 9 years of experience in the field of agriculture, food security, ICT4D, teaching, training, capacity building, monitoring and evaluation. He holds a PhD in Information Science and Technology from Syracuse University School of Information Studies, masters in International Agriculture and Rural Development from Cornell University, and a bachelors in General Agriculture from the University of Cape Coast, Ghana.

With special presentations by

Stephen Sellers, CEO, Co-Founder SourceTrace
Jacob N. Maaga, CEO, Africa Commodities & Futures Exchange
Or Dashevsky, Solution Architect, Catholic Relief Services

Online event registration for Mapping ICTs Along the Agriculture Value Chain powered by Eventbrite

Make sure to check out our archives of previous GBI Tech Talks.

February 29, 2012/by actualize

GBI Highlights, Originally posted on the GBI Portal

GBI, Compartel to Take Colombia’s USF to the Next Level

Three men on a panel discussing telecommunications in Colombia

Sebastian Mendes from UNE at the Compartel workshop in Bogota

Representatives from GBI traveled to Bogota this month to participate in a stakeholder’s workshop, held by Compartel, the Colombian Ministry of Information and Communications Technology’s universal service administrator. The February 15th workshop was designed as a means of gathering stakeholder input to Compartel’s strategic planning process. Compartel is planning to restructure itself to effectively address the next generation of challenges for the use of ICTs in Colombia, and it invited GBI and key personnel from Intel Corporation’s World Ahead program to participate in the workshop.

Following the workshop, Compartel and GBI went into an intensive 2 day work planning session that laid out a six month plan of cooperation to define ICT sector goals and objectives, map strategic activities of Compartel, and to provide technical assistance on strategic plan implementation. David Townsend, Daniel Espitia, and Robert Otto represented the GBI team in Bogota.

Compartel, the Colombian Ministry of Information and Communications Technology’s universal service administrator, has already accomplished many important milestones with its Vive Digital program to connect most of Colombia to Internet and voice services. Among their accomplishments are completion of 2,000 kilometers of terrestrial fiber optic channels, 800 kilometers of undersea fiber optic cable to its offshore island of San Andres. Projects underway include an 18,000 kilometer national fiber optic network to serve some 753 municipalities, provision of broadband to 6,700 public schools, in-home broadband connections for 115,000 low income households, and seven projects designed to provide 10,000 more broadband connections for public schools, small villages, and community telecenters.

February 28, 2012/by actualize

GBI Highlights, Originally posted on the GBI Portal

Universal Service Forum held in Ukraine

GBI sponsored and participated in the Intel Corporation’s 2011 USF Leader’s Forum held in Ukraine from 7-9 December. The event, which focused on strategies for improving the operations of telecommunications universal service funds, and telecommunications regulation in general, was heavily attended by government officials from throughout the Europe and Eurasia region.

The program featured welcoming remarks from the Chairman of Ukraine’s National Commission for Communications Regulation (NCCR), Mr. Petro Yatsuk, and from the Acting Director of the USAID Regional Mission for Ukraine, Moldova and Belarus, Ms. Sarah Wines. Administrators of successful universal service and access fund from throughout the region were invited to discuss their portfolio of activities, and stimulating presentations were given from representatives from Turkey, Pakistan, and Colombia.

At a press conference held during the event Mr. Yatsuk of the NCCR described the ongoing process of creating a Universal Service Fund in Ukraine. The country plans to introduce authorizing legislation in parliament next year and is currently engaged in a consultative process that will shape the proposed fund. The NCCR found the Forum especially useful in this regard.

Following the Forum, GBI is engaging with Universal Service Funds and telecommunications ministries from across the region and beyond to determine how USAID can best assist them in expanding broadband access in their country. Visit our Universal Service and Access Fund page to find out more about GBI’s work in USAF.

January 4, 2012/by actualize

GBI Highlights, Originally posted on the GBI Portal

GBI Tech Series: “Bringing Telecomms to the Rural Edge”

GBI hosted its monthly Tech Series last Thursday, this time focusing on “Bringing Telecommunications to the Rural Edge.” Speakers shed light on the need, challenges and opportunities involved in the process of expanding connectivity to rural areas and promote development.

Ian Walter of Altobridge discussing low cost telecommunications solutions.

Photo credit: Laurie Moy

Ian Walter, Vice President of Technology at Altobridge, presented on “Low Energy, Low Cost Wireless Communications for Remote Communities,” an overview of the remote communities market and its size, key challenges and opportunities ensuring remote locations have access to affordable mobile and voice connectivity.

With the number of mobile subscribers set to exceed 6 billion by 2014, operators need to find innovative and cost-effective ways to expand connectivity to 2.1 billion living in rural areas, based on World Bank estimates.

“A combination of competition between the equipment vendors, government subsidies and initiatives such as the GSMA’s ultra-low cost handsets have combined to drive down the network and handset cost for service providers but site, backhaul and power costs remain high,” said Walter speaker on the key challenges of expanding connectivity in remote communities.

“None of the above initiatives address the operational costs that operators face when deploying sites in remote communities”, he added.

The solution is the solar powered Altobrige lite-site, which enables mobile network operators to bring mobile connectivity to remote communities at low cost. Meeting the needs of up to 1200 subscribers, the Altobridge lite-site has been specifically designed to optimize satellite bandwidth and minimize power consumption.

Troy Etulain speaking about USAID's connectivity project in the DRC

Photo credit: Laurie Moy

One project that will put these technologies into the field is headed up by Troy Etulain, Senior Advisor for Media Development at USAID. Mr. Etulain spoke about “Low-Cost Cellular Infrastructure in the Democratic Republic of the Congo: LRA Affected Areas”, a case study on expanding connectivity in remote conflict areas.

Etulain offered contextual background on the Lord’s Resistance Army (LRA), a militant group operating in Central Africa accused of widespread human rights violations, including murder, abduction, mutilation, sexual enslavement of women and children, to name but a few.

According to Etulain, the project’s goal is to empower civilians with the communications infrastructure to monitor and report LRA activity. This consist of partnering with public radio to report LRA incidents on a daily basis and installing on top of church buildings—for safety and higher access points—a base transceiver station (BTS) or cell site, a piece of equipment that facilitates wireless communication between user equipment and a network.

Eric White, ICT Sector Economist for GBI, showcased the “Broad Applicability of Low Cost and Low Power Telecoms Solutions,” that advance development such as mobile apps used in agriculture, health, and education.

The GBI Tech Seminar Series is hosted monthly at USAID headquarters and covers a range of topics from connectivity and telecommunications access to content and applications. A video of this months program will be available online shortly.

November 21, 2011/by actualize

GBI Highlights, Originally posted on the GBI Portal

Director of Connectivity Programs Sought

NetHope seeks an experienced development professional to serve as Director for Connectivity Programs for the USAID Global Broadband and Innovations (GBI) program. GBi is a broad-based initiative aimed at improvement of the Agency’s utilization of ICT – specifically the application of ICT across the Agency’s access and application agendas. The GBI Program’s focus is leveraging ICTs in several key areas including: enhancing access to broadband Internet, supporting telecommunications-related legal and regulatory reforms, improving universal service funds/universal access funds (USFs/UAFs) administration, leveraging public private partnerships, delivering program-focused value-added content and services, expansion and leveraging of mobile networks, and supporting ICT-related capacity building.

The Director for Connectivity Programs works under the direction of the Chief of Party (CoP) and provides oversight to all aspects of day-to-day implementation, personnel management, reporting, monitoring and evaluation, and representation to donors and government, especially with USAID representatives. S/he works closely with the CoP and other key staff to oversee and implement the program in line with donor and NetHope strategy.

For more information, please visit NetHope Director of Connectivity position page.

October 11, 2011/by actualize

GBI Highlights, Originally posted on the GBI Portal

Fall Internship Underway

GBI Fall 2011 Interns. L-R, Fabrice Musoni, Christy Gillmore, Benjamin Addom

GBI is pleased to welcome the 2011 class of Fall Interns! After a very competitive selection process, three interns have been selected for the GBI 2011 Fall Program, which began on September 19. The group represents Georgetown, Syracuse and Clark Universities.

Fabrice Musoni, a graduate student in the Master of Science in Foreign Service (MSFS) program at Georgetown University and was the 2010-2011 Yahoo! Junior Fellow at the Institute for the Study of Diplomacy. Fabrice previously worked as a consultant on another USAID project called Programme Paix et Gouvernance (PGP) implemented by AED in Senegal, for Search for Common Ground’s (SFCG) youth project in Burundi and as a researcher at the National Unity and Reconciliation Commission (NURC) in Rwanda. Musoni holds a B.A. with honors in Political Sciences and Communication Studies from Luther College in Decorah, Iowa. A Congolese-born Rwandan citizen, Musoni speaks fluently Kinyarwanda, Swahili, and French. Musoni’s focus is on International Development with a keen interest in sub-Saharan Africa. He will be writing for the ICT4Democracy and Governance and ICT4Cross Cutting sites.

Christy Gillmore recently received her MA in International Development and Social Change from Clark University with a concentration in human rights and peacebuilding. She has served as a Peace Corps volunteer in Mali working on health and environment development projects and has worked in refugee resettlement coordinating healthcare for clients. She served as a Peace Fellow for The Advocacy Project where she worked with a Kenyan NGO in Nairobi to develop an ICT strategy as well as blog about issues and projects within the slums of Kenya. Currently she works at Free the Slaves, managing the anti-slavery organization’s programs in Ghana. She will be writing for the ICT4Health, ICT4Democracy and Governance, and ICT4Cross Cutting sites.

Benjamin Addom is a knowledge management specialist with training and experience in the use of ICTs for development. He has a good knowledge of the history of rural development and agriculture; farming systems approaches; agricultural extension reforms; and approaches to food security and vulnerability mitigation. Ben has over 9 years of experience in the field of agriculture, food security, ICT4D, teaching, training, capacity building, monitoring and evaluation. He holds a PhD in Information Science and Technology from Syracuse University School of Information Studies, masters in International Agriculture and Rural Development from Cornell University, and a bachelors in General Agriculture from the University of Cape Coast, Ghana. Ben will be contributing to ICT4 Agricultural Development, Connectivity for Development, and ICT4 Environment sites.

October 4, 2011/by actualize

GBI Highlights, Originally posted on the GBI Portal

GBI to provide telecom training in Tanzania

GBI is pleased to announce it will deliver a comprehensive training workshop to representatives of African Universal Service and Access Funds, and other stakeholders in African rural communications, at the CTO’s 6th Annual Connecting Rural Communities (CRC) Africa Forum, due to take place in Dar Es Salaam, Tanzania from the 24th to 26th of August 2011.

The half-day workshop is being delivered as part of the Global Broadband Innovations (GBI) programme of USAID, which aims to catalyze the increased and equitable provision of broadband and related applications. The programme supports national governments to expand connectivity, as well as create and use development-related software applications and cloud services. It will initially focus on strengthening Universal Service and Access Funds (USAF), advising on appropriate ICT regulations and broadband strategies, as well as developing new business models that can incorporate low-cost technologies into existing mobile networks.

In addition to examining the latest trends in USAF, including issues of strategy, fund collection, expenditure as well as project evaluation, the workshop in Dar Es Salaam will also allow stakeholders to review various USAF development and assistance strategies.

Speaking following the confirmation of GBI’s participation in the 6th CRC Forum, GBI Program Manager, Joe Duncan, said “We know that access to telecommunications has enormous benefits, both socially and economically, to rural communities. This is a great opportunity to bring what we know about universal service to the men and women who are working so hard to provide rural connectivity in their countries.”

The 6th CRC Forum, which is organised by the Commonwealth Telecommunications Organisation (CTO), and hosted by the Tanzanian Ministry of Communications Science and Technology and the Tanzania Communications Regulatory Authority, will serve as a platform for in-depth interactive discussions on innovative strategies, business models, financing mechanisms and technologies for improving ICT access in rural areas and realizing their socio-economic benefits with the participation of policy makers, regulators and various market players.

August 16, 2011/by actualize

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