I too am humbled. It really does take cohones to do all that.
Sooo, what does it tell you when two of the astronauts that came down at 10Gs and one of the ones who has the longest time in space than any other human being, do not, in fact, have cohones...
Sure, it's a problem, but in my experience it just makes things run slower, it doesn't stop them completely. Even in most countries where there's pretty serious monopolies, they know it's in their best interest to build out the infrastructure, so they do try.
Corruption is there, but it's not as rampant as the press would like you to believe. People and companies learn to deal with it one way or another. US-based multinational companies are very highly restricted by the FPA, meaning they don't touch those sorts of things, yet they get by just fine.
It happens - in the capital of Angola, Luanda, fiber is going into trenches as fast as they can be dug, even when it means pushing a squalid shack aside to do it (believe me, a very weird sight).
I work in Angola, in telecoms/networking. I've been working with the guys in various African countries for the past 10 years, but I've only been working in-country for the past 18 months.
I expected the worst when I got here, and I wasn't dissapointed. Everything they say in the article about lack of satellite capacity and high costs of SAT-3 is true. We're just about to pay a company $1MM Euros/yr. for 6Mb of bandwidth out of here - compare that to your home DSL line. The in-country infrastructure is a disaster, and it's unlikely to improve soon. Just imagine what would happen if you put Texas through 30 years of civil war, then gave it 6 years to rebuild infrastructure. It's unrealistic to think everything will change overnight.
I hear the "fix the society first" bit a lot, including from local government officials. I see it a little differently. I'd like people to look at Internet connectivity in the same way that they now look at mobile phone usage. The main reason that mobile phones have been so popular in Africa is that the infrastructure is such a mess. Now, putting wired infrastructure in the ground in many citys just isn't a big priority - everyone has a mobile phone.
I think the same thing is possible with Internet connectivity and leveraging projects like OLPC. The society can leap-frog over the issues of lack of school books, teachers, and maybe even brick-and-mortar schools. Wireless can work where DSL will never be. Books are delivered online, and maybe even teaching. Rechargeable, battery powered devices are mandatory.
Still, that means that the main issue of wider connectivity needs to be solved. Satellite capacity over Africa is extremely limited, but getting better. We're unlikely to have another SAT-3 for quite a while.
Probably your best bet would be to try to implement some sort of VSAT or other satellite based solution. You can check out Tachyon or Gilat for solutions where Internet connectivity is appropriate. Otherwise, you might beat the bushes for other satellite providers that that might give you point to point services.
For short messages, Orbcomm is pretty popular, but it's strictly an email message type of service. You can use it for short messages from things like pumps and other SCADA systems.
You probably already know that GlobalStar is about the only game in town for satellite phones, now that Iridium bit the dust. I wouldn't hang my hopes on them, it looks like they are having the same sort of problems that Iridium had.
Finally, the global WAN provider with about the best international coverage has got to be Equant. They seem to be able to get just about anywhere.
Have fun. Once you relax, international networking to remote locations can be a hoot.
What many of the posters here don't seem to know is that dedicated readers (such as the Rocket eBook) are alive and well, with tons of content already available. I wouldn't consider reading a book online, from a laptop, or even from my Handspring. I do, however, find the large font, backlit, ergonomic nature of the Rocket eBook to be more pleasurable to read from than a normal paper book, and it adds value, like telling me words I don't know, allowing me to add margin notes and bookmarks and holding lots of books!
The publishing business seems to be going through quite a transition right now. Small online publishers like Hardshell Word Factory and Treeless Press are nipping at the heels of traditional paper publishers. They are churning out low cost eBooks online, much faster and cheaper than the hardback -> paperback publishing route.
One of the best resources for eBook info is Knowbetter.com. They keep an ongoing list of epublishers, hints&tips, and general news on the ebook industry. Check 'em out - I think you will find what you are looking for.
Slashdot Mirror
OMG! That's 18.576051779935275080906148867314 times the size of Rhode Island!
I too am humbled. It really does take cohones to do all that.
Sooo, what does it tell you when two of the astronauts that came down at 10Gs and one of the ones who has the longest time in space than any other human being, do not, in fact, have cohones...
Sure, it's a problem, but in my experience it just makes things run slower, it doesn't stop them completely. Even in most countries where there's pretty serious monopolies, they know it's in their best interest to build out the infrastructure, so they do try.
Corruption is there, but it's not as rampant as the press would like you to believe. People and companies learn to deal with it one way or another. US-based multinational companies are very highly restricted by the FPA, meaning they don't touch those sorts of things, yet they get by just fine.
It happens - in the capital of Angola, Luanda, fiber is going into trenches as fast as they can be dug, even when it means pushing a squalid shack aside to do it (believe me, a very weird sight).
I work in Angola, in telecoms/networking. I've been working with the guys in various African countries for the past 10 years, but I've only been working in-country for the past 18 months.
I expected the worst when I got here, and I wasn't dissapointed. Everything they say in the article about lack of satellite capacity and high costs of SAT-3 is true. We're just about to pay a company $1MM Euros/yr. for 6Mb of bandwidth out of here - compare that to your home DSL line. The in-country infrastructure is a disaster, and it's unlikely to improve soon. Just imagine what would happen if you put Texas through 30 years of civil war, then gave it 6 years to rebuild infrastructure. It's unrealistic to think everything will change overnight.
I hear the "fix the society first" bit a lot, including from local government officials. I see it a little differently. I'd like people to look at Internet connectivity in the same way that they now look at mobile phone usage. The main reason that mobile phones have been so popular in Africa is that the infrastructure is such a mess. Now, putting wired infrastructure in the ground in many citys just isn't a big priority - everyone has a mobile phone.
I think the same thing is possible with Internet connectivity and leveraging projects like OLPC. The society can leap-frog over the issues of lack of school books, teachers, and maybe even brick-and-mortar schools. Wireless can work where DSL will never be. Books are delivered online, and maybe even teaching. Rechargeable, battery powered devices are mandatory.
Still, that means that the main issue of wider connectivity needs to be solved. Satellite capacity over Africa is extremely limited, but getting better. We're unlikely to have another SAT-3 for quite a while.
"Ahh, ahh, ahh CHOOO!"
"Look! A huge structure! Wait, it's moving down the screen..."
For short messages, Orbcomm is pretty popular, but it's strictly an email message type of service. You can use it for short messages from things like pumps and other SCADA systems.
You probably already know that GlobalStar is about the only game in town for satellite phones, now that Iridium bit the dust. I wouldn't hang my hopes on them, it looks like they are having the same sort of problems that Iridium had.
Finally, the global WAN provider with about the best international coverage has got to be Equant. They seem to be able to get just about anywhere.
Have fun. Once you relax, international networking to remote locations can be a hoot.
What many of the posters here don't seem to know is that dedicated readers (such as the Rocket eBook) are alive and well, with tons of content already available. I wouldn't consider reading a book online, from a laptop, or even from my Handspring. I do, however, find the large font, backlit, ergonomic nature of the Rocket eBook to be more pleasurable to read from than a normal paper book, and it adds value, like telling me words I don't know, allowing me to add margin notes and bookmarks and holding lots of books!
The publishing business seems to be going through quite a transition right now. Small online publishers like Hardshell Word Factory and Treeless Press are nipping at the heels of traditional paper publishers. They are churning out low cost eBooks online, much faster and cheaper than the hardback -> paperback publishing route.
One of the best resources for eBook info is Knowbetter.com. They keep an ongoing list of epublishers, hints&tips, and general news on the ebook industry. Check 'em out - I think you will find what you are looking for.
Good luck with your book.