About

I am something of a jack-of-all-trades in the world of affordable access to communication infrastructure. I am at various times a researcher, an entrepreneur, a community mobiliser, and an advocate for cheaper, more equitable, more pervasive access to communication infrastructure. Currently I am a half-time Policy Advisor with the Mozilla Corporation.  I also work on policy and regulation issues for the Association for Progressive Communications’  community network support project.  Lastly, I am also a research associate with the Network Startup Resource Center (NSRC). I have written extensively on African telecommunications infrastructure and Internet issues in general since 2008.  Since 2009, I’ve actively maintained public maps of undersea and terrestrial fibre optic infrastructure in Africa. Here is a more complete list of resources that I maintain or contribute to.

I am also the founder of Village Telco, a social enterprise (now defunct) that manufactured low-cost WiFi mesh VoIP technologies to deliver affordable voice and Internet service in under-serviced areas.

Prior to that I was lucky enough to have a fellowship for three years with the Shuttleworth Foundation to work on telecommunications and access issues in South Africa.  And before joining the Foundation, I spent 10 years at the International Development Research Centre in Ottawa funding and engaging in research into Information and Communication Technology for Development (ICT4D) issues, mostly in Africa.

If you’d like to get in touch with me, please use the contact form.