Connectivity Providers Database

From: Jake Brunner <jakeb@wri.org> To: randy@psg.com Date: Sun, 01 Oct 1995 16:09:06 -0400 Here's some recent info from Ghana. Hope it helps. Jake ***************************************************************** Jake Brunner, World Resources Institute, 1709 New York Ave, NW Washington, DC 20006 Tel: +1 202 662 2553 Fax: +1 202 638 0036 Email: jbrunner@wri.org ***************************************************************** ------------------- NCS.TXT follows -------------------- MEMO To: Dan Tunstall, WRI and Jeff Cochrane, USAID/AFRICALINK From: Jake Brunner, WRI Re: Internet in Ghana Date: September 6, 1995 cc. Dr. Peter Acquah, EPA; Kwame Omari, EPA; Agnes Adjabeng, EPA; Sean Gordon, WRI; Jacob Gyamfi-Aidoo, RSAU; Dan Dworkin, USAID/Africa Bureau ================================================================= Please find below the findings and preliminary recommendations from yesterday's discussion with Dr. Nii Quaynor, General Manager of Network Computer Systems (NCS), and two of his staff on (a) Internet connectivity in Ghana, and (b) possible collaboration between WRI, NCS, the EPA, and other Ghanaian organizations under the auspices of USAID/Africa Bureau's AFRICALINK initiative. NCS is at: Network Computer Systems, 7 Sixth Ridge Ave, Ridge Private Mail Bag, Osu, Accra, Ghana Tel: +233 21 22 06 22 Fax: +233 21 77 22 79 Email: quaynor@ncs.com.gh FINDINGS 1. NCS is a 7-year old, 100% Ghanaian owned, private company that distributes SUN and DEC equipment, network solutions, and Internet access. NCS designed and maintains USAID/Ghana's LAN. NCS core staff have been trained abroad. The majority have been trained on the job in Accra. 2. Since January 1995, NCS has offered PPP Internet access to users in and around Accra. PPP allows users to dial up NCS and temporarily connect to the Internet. PPP supports email, file transfer protocol (FTP), Telnet, World Wide Web (WWW), and other TCP/IP applications. Ghana is the only Sub-Saharan country outside South Africa and Zambia where full Internet is publicly available. 3. International service is provided by a 14.4 Kb/s satellite connection to Pypex, an Internet provider in London. NCS has 82 subscribers who pay $100/month as well as a $100 one-off fee that covers registration, on-site set up, and Internet in a Box software. USAID/Ghana has recently subscribed. 4. Until January 1996, the monthly fee will cover unlimited use of email, FTP, WWW, etc. After January 1996, NCS may charge by volume. A larger international pipe may be required when the number of users reaches 150. NCS has discussed with British Telecom the possibility of leasing a 64 Kb/s channel. Because NCS offers data rather than voice communications, no fees are payable to the government-owned Ghana Telecom. NCS can therefore negotiate directly with international telecommunications companies. 5. International email is the most popular service with little use to date being made of WWW or other interactive (i.e., high bandwidth) applications. Most of the early subscribers have been individuals. As more organizations join, the ratio of local to international traffic has increased. However, NCS can only monitor international communications. 6. By the end of 1995, NCS will have established a point of presence in Kumasi, Takoradi, and Tamale - the three largest cities after Accra. Subscribers in these regions will be able to connect to the Internet at the cost of a local telephone call. Communications within Ghana are via a combination of SSB radio, microwave radio, and copper wire. These lines support a maximum data transfer rate of 9.6 Kb/s. 7. NCS is developing a WWW site on the NCS server in Accra on behalf of Taylor-Woodrow, a large British construction company with extensive interests in Ghana. Based on this experience they will develop a fee structure and offer WWW development and maintenance as one of their Internet services. 8. After consolidating their service in Ghana, NCS plans to expand to other West African countries through joint ventures with local entrepreneurs. Ivory Coast and Cameroon offer the greatest opportunity for expansion. A trainee from Ivory Coast will shortly be visiting NCS. Other countries of interest include Nigeria, Sierra Leone, and Liberia. 9. In terms of what AFRICALINK can do to support financially sustainable Internet access, NCS recommends that USAID's collaborators be encouraged and/or subsidized to purchase services from local Internet providers such as NCS. By expanding the demand, local providers can invest in the systems needed to support new and improved services. The February 1995 AFRICALINK concept paper reached the same conclusion. RECOMMENDATIONS 1. We have encouraged the EPA and its Ghana environmental Resource Management Project (GERMP) collaborators to connect to the Internet via NCS as soon as possible. Although slightly cheaper services are available (e.g., via Greennet in the UK), these are far slower, less reliable, and only offer email access. Given our need to exchange large GIS and formatted text files with the EPA for the preparation of the 1996 State of the Environment report, FTP access is particularly valuable. 2. I will encourage Jeff Cochrane, USAID's AFRICALINK Coordinator, to contact Dr. Quaynor to discuss the possibility of supporting a seminar in Accra on how to build local electronic communications businesses in West Africa. This seminar has been proposed by two government ministries who believe that electronic communications should make an essential contribution to Africa's commercial future. 3. Given the plans of the GERMP to develop GIS databases covering topography, roads, rivers, settlements, land use/land cover, etc. and NCS expertise in developing and marketing WWW applications, WRI should consider working with the GERMP collaborators and NCS to test the value of developing a local WWW server to facilitate and promote the exchange of environmental data, both nationally and internationally. I believe that establishing a central server at NCS is preferable to housing a server within any of the GERMP collaborators because of the costs involved in maintaining the databases and providing 24-hour access. Jacob Gyamfi-Aidoo supports this approach. This activity would be compatible with UNEP's support for electronic networking and information sharing among the EPA and its collaborators. 4. WRI's role would be two-fold: (a) working with these organizations to develop WWW pages and associated databases that integrate text, maps, diagrams, and statistics, and (b) providing internationally-comparable maps and data to facilitate international comparisons and assessments on the state of environment and natural resources.