Comments on: Village Telco Workshop http://manypossibilities.net/2008/07/village-telco-workshop/ In the beginner's mind there are... Thu, 20 Nov 2008 07:52:44 +0000 http://wordpress.org/?v=2.6.3 By: Big Issues Of The Day » Blog Archive » Dabba Looks Set to Make Micro Low-Cost Voice Telco Operations a Reality - - 8 July 2008 http://manypossibilities.net/2008/07/village-telco-workshop/#comment-465 Big Issues Of The Day » Blog Archive » Dabba Looks Set to Make Micro Low-Cost Voice Telco Operations a Reality - - 8 July 2008 Sun, 19 Oct 2008 07:57:00 +0000 http://manypossibilities.net/?p=87#comment-465 [...] http://manypossibilities.net/2008/07/village-telco-workshop/ [...] [...] http://manypossibilities.net/2008/07/village-telco-workshop/ [...]

]]> By: Beer, Coffee, and a little DSP » Blog Archive » The Mesh Potato Part 1 http://manypossibilities.net/2008/07/village-telco-workshop/#comment-389 Beer, Coffee, and a little DSP » Blog Archive » The Mesh Potato Part 1 Tue, 09 Sep 2008 22:37:32 +0000 http://manypossibilities.net/?p=87#comment-389 [...] June 2008 I was invited to attend the Village Telco workshop in Cape Town. Cape Town in June was rainy and cold. However the people in South [...] [...] June 2008 I was invited to attend the Village Telco workshop in Cape Town. Cape Town in June was rainy and cold. However the people in South [...]

]]> By: Alex Weir http://manypossibilities.net/2008/07/village-telco-workshop/#comment-189 Alex Weir Sun, 06 Jul 2008 07:43:14 +0000 http://manypossibilities.net/?p=87#comment-189 Thanks for the positive vibes Steve. No one has tried SAM yet as far as I know - I would love to work on this or even on cd3wd.com/SPS - ultra low-cost, ultra-secure mobile banking. I think MNP's would regard it as a low-cost model and therefore against their interests... Maybe the network 3 (three.co.uk) if/when they expand to 3rd world... I think the stuff you guys are describing is great but it is dangerous to imagine that people in the 3rd world live in a restricted area and do not move - their mobility is amazingly high for their per capita income and any model or technology which does not take that into account may face challenges. Check out also my mobile voting project at cd3wd.com/SEEV/ - that is the reason I am now here in Syria for a few days. Salut, Alex Weir Thanks for the positive vibes Steve. No one has tried SAM yet as far as I know - I would love to work on this or even on cd3wd.com/SPS - ultra low-cost, ultra-secure mobile banking. I think MNP’s would regard it as a low-cost model and therefore against their interests… Maybe the network 3 (three.co.uk) if/when they expand to 3rd world… I think the stuff you guys are describing is great but it is dangerous to imagine that people in the 3rd world live in a restricted area and do not move - their mobility is amazingly high for their per capita income and any model or technology which does not take that into account may face challenges. Check out also my mobile voting project at cd3wd.com/SEEV/ - that is the reason I am now here in Syria for a few days. Salut, Alex Weir

]]> By: Steve Song http://manypossibilities.net/2008/07/village-telco-workshop/#comment-188 Steve Song Sun, 06 Jul 2008 06:59:56 +0000 http://manypossibilities.net/?p=87#comment-188 Hi Alex, Had a look at SAM. Great idea! Has anyone tried it out yet? I can see how you might interpret the Village Telco as largely technical based on the above but we have gone to some pains to ensure that the project is grounded in the crucible of everyday business reality. We have done this by partnering with a South African startup called Dabba (http://www.dabba.co.za). The Village Telco is designed to produce Open Source software and hardware that will be of direct use to Dabba who in return provide critical feedback and speed its evolution. We hope it is going to be a great example of how Open Source can speed the spread of a particular business model, in this case low-cost voice over meshed WiFi. You can read a little bit more about Dabba at http://manypossibilities.net/2008/03/dabba/ Happy to stay in touch on this. Cheers... Steve Song Hi Alex,

Had a look at SAM. Great idea! Has anyone tried it out yet?

I can see how you might interpret the Village Telco as largely technical based on the above but we have gone to some pains to ensure that the project is grounded in the crucible of everyday business reality. We have done this by partnering with a South African startup called Dabba (http://www.dabba.co.za). The Village Telco is designed to produce Open Source software and hardware that will be of direct use to Dabba who in return provide critical feedback and speed its evolution.

We hope it is going to be a great example of how Open Source can speed the spread of a particular business model, in this case low-cost voice over meshed WiFi. You can read a little bit more about Dabba at http://manypossibilities.net/2008/03/dabba/

Happy to stay in touch on this.

Cheers… Steve Song

]]> By: Mr Alex Weir http://manypossibilities.net/2008/07/village-telco-workshop/#comment-187 Mr Alex Weir Sat, 05 Jul 2008 05:45:57 +0000 http://manypossibilities.net/?p=87#comment-187 Dear Village Telco guys, this all sounds very very interesting, but what you guys are lacking is the business/non-geek end of things. Existing MNP's charge ridiculous rates for services, and of course ignore unprofitable or less profitable rural areas. Check my concept cd3wd.com/SAM/ which may also strike some sympathy among you guys. Please we should keep in touch. Mr Alex Weir, Harare, Aleppo, London etc.. Dear Village Telco guys, this all sounds very very interesting, but what you guys are lacking is the business/non-geek end of things. Existing MNP’s charge ridiculous rates for services, and of course ignore unprofitable or less profitable rural areas. Check my concept cd3wd.com/SAM/ which may also strike some sympathy among you guys. Please we should keep in touch. Mr Alex Weir, Harare, Aleppo, London etc..

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