Non-profit organisation Connect Africa unveiled its mobile communication units yesterday, which will provide people in rural areas with weekly access to IT and communication services, education, technology maintenance and government services.
The initiative has received the support of Vodacom, HP, Iveco, Graffiti and the Shuttleworth Foundation. The mobile communication units are housed in Iveco vans, and contain four community telephone units, a computer, multipurpose printer, photocopier, scanner and fax machine and digital camera.
Because the units will be servicing areas on the periphery of the communication networks, Vodacom has supplied booster antenna. Vodacom is also supplying airtime.
Connect Africa`s proof of concept field trials were implemented in March, within the Mogalakwena Municipality in the Limpopo province. During this time, 10 communities between Rebone and Mokopane were serviced on a fixed weekly schedule, with the van returning to the same place at the same time every week.
Keeping promises
Dion Jerling, director of Connect Africa, explains why the regular timing of the visits is so important: "The most important people in all of this are the people in the rural areas. They have been let down so many times and the comment most received from the communities has been 'Please don`t make false promises`. As such, our services must be regular, predictable and dependable."
In addition to providing communication facilities, the mobile unit will distribute business facilities, including a banking and insurance service and education through rural computer lab maintenance and training.
Government services include those from the home affairs, social development, economic development and labour departments and Eskom. A partnership with the Shuttleworth Foundation`s "tuXlab" initiative will enable Connect Africa to test a rural maintenance and service function for education authorities.
Jerling revealed the initiative will be based on commercial viability providing multiple employment opportunities, both direct and indirect. Connect Africa will work with franchising specialists to identify community members who can expand the service delivery network on a franchise basis, he says. The successful franchisees will be trained and managed in the use of the equipment, vehicles and distribution network infrastructure by Connect Africa.
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