Connectivity Providers Database

From: Jeff Cochrane <jeffc@INFO.USAID.GOV> To: Multiple recipients of list AFRIK-IT <AFRIK-IT@LISTSERV.HEA.IE> Date: Sat, 5 Oct 1996 01:44:55 -5 Greetings Afrik-Iters! This message comes to you from 30,000 feet over the Gulf of Benin -- well, it's being written there, but won't be delivered to the Internet until I arrive at my hotel in Abidjan. 8*) Uganda -- what can I say? Fascinating place. There was a four-page insert about Uganda in today's Herald Tribune that I read on the plane. Word's leaking out, it's a happening place. Starcom and Infomail are forging ahead full speed. I visited both offices, and both are full of busy technicians scurrying about. Starcom, which does public telephones, radio phones, office systems, and other stuff in addition to being an Internet service provider, recently moved into a new building, quite slick, nice carpet. I chatted with them about hooking up an important site in Entebbe to the Internet via their radiophone service. They'd tested it in the ASARECA office, and say it worked great at 9600. They've also recently moved a dish to Jinja, and hope to offer service there. Infomail, which has a companion computer sales and systems business in addition to being an Internet service provider, says they've about filled up their satellite dish and are about to add extra capacity. We chatted about possible ways to improve local content. I had an account with Infomail for the week I was there, and it was great to collect my mail for the price of a local call. They've also wired the Sheraton Hotel, and guests there can now reportedly open guest accounts for all their Internet needs. MUKLA at Makerere has its 9600 radio link to Starcom in place, and is in the process of wiring campus sites for full Internet access. We discussed ways the University might serve as a kind of information backbone for Uganda. The World Food Program sends email via 2400bps radio links to all kinds of remote places in Uganda and neighboring countries -- even as far as Dar es Salaam. I had some fascinating discussions with staff there, and they took me to a site outside Kampala where they've installed a high-power antenna to boost throughput beyond what they can get from their in-town antenna. Equipment (radio, modem, antenna) runs perhaps $8000. The WFP's special software, developed with a USAID grant, allows seamless passage of messages to and from the Internet using Pegasus Mail as the client. Fascinating stuff. I'm still trying to imagine all the things we might do with this technology. Cheers! Jeff (now descending through 25000 feet toward Lome) AfricaLink -- http://www.info.usaid.gov/alnk Tel 1-703-235-5415 Fax 1-703-235-3805