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Michigan State Professor Helps Bring Broadband Internet To Rural Africa (Video)
Roblimo writes "Assistant Professor Kurt DeMaagd, of Michigan State's Department of Telecommunication, Information Studies, and Media, runs a program that brings broadband Internet to villages in Tanzania that have never known connectivity better than what they get with non-smart cell phones. Lots of students are involved, and Kurt (who was one of Slashdot's co-founders many years ago) believes the students get as much out of the project as the people in Tanzania who are its primary beneficiaries. Setting up not only computer networks but also satellite communications and solar arrays in areas where you can't zip on down to the local computer or hardware store for parts you forgot teaches how to work under adverse conditions, and how to plan in advance instead of winging everything at the last minute. But we'll let Kurt DeMaagd, who is an engaging speaker, tell the story himself in this long (8:12) video."
Geez, we still don't have broadband in large parts of Michigan. Dialup is still a reality, not a bad memory (as it should be) for many people - some of whom are nestled within the populous southeastern quarter of the lower peninsula.
We are pretty open and aware of their actual use. We (try to) block porn and a lot of video stuff because it chews up the bandwidth. Still, a vast majority of their use is not educational. They use it a lot for email, and facebook has really taken off in the last year. In many cases, they are just happy to be able to randomly surf the Internet while they charge their cell phones for free from our solar system. We do our best to provide educational resources and guide them towards productive uses of the technology while they are also using it for their own personal benefits.
The TISM department at MSU has had a long-standing program to build out rural networks in Michigan. They've spawned a few companies (AllBand, to name one that I did some work with) that are CLECs or ILECs in the upper-lower peninsula. The biggest problem MSU/TISM runs into is that a lot of areas are already locked up by AT&T / Verizon / Centrytel / etc. who make sure that non-profits and psudo-government agencies can't provide internet access without a long, drawn-out legal fight.