Tribes take to wireless web (fwd)

[phil cash cash]

Tribes take to wireless web
http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/technology/3489932.stm

Wireless technology is helping native Americans in California go online
and learn computing skills, reports Elizabeth Biddlecombe from San
Francisco.

Before the Tribal Digital Village project, Jack Ward could not get
online when it rained.

"The telephone lines are very old," explained the director of the
Digital Village. "In the heat of the desert it doesn't take long for
them to deteriorate."

Things are different now. Everybody has at least a broadband DSL
connection.

The Tribal Digital Village (TDV) is based in Southern California's San
Diego County. This mountainous and remote land is home to 18 native
American reservations - each one a sovereign nation - with an aggregate
population of 15,000.

As with other rural areas of the US, wiring Native American reservations
for telephony and internet access has never been an attractive
proposition for established phone companies.

The number of subscribers per mile makes recouping costs a tricky
proposition. Nor has deregulation of the telecoms market changed the
picture.

HP donations

Tribal governments have taken matters into their own hands. Three years
ago, the Southern California Tribal Chairmen's Association applied for
a $5m grant from Hewlett-Packard.

"With no basic economy, many of the young people have to leave the tribe
to work. Now they can stay," Jack Ward, Tribal Digital Village.

The technology giant had decided to set up three so-called digital
villages, but not just for philanthropic reasons.

"We really wanted to understand what it would take to be successful in
serving underserved and emerging markets," said Scott Bossinger of HP.

In addition to training and support, the company has donated, "pretty
much everything across the product portfolio", he said, including
handheld iPaqs, computers and wireless access points.

A wireless internet connection now spans an area 150 miles long by 75
miles wide. Bubbles of wi-fi networks cover local government offices,
libraries, schools and museums.

More than 900 computers are connected to the network.

More than 1,500 people use e-mail and access online tribal calendars.
Educational software is available to supplement high school courses.

There are 25 learning labs equipped with video, audio and digital
photography equipment.

The TDV offers a range of computing courses. One tribal chairman is
doing a Cisco Academy certification course in order to be able to
support his tribe of eight people.

But people have not gone on to get jobs with outside companies as yet.

"Everybody we've trained is busy doing it here at the moment," said Jack
Ward. Staunching the brain drain from these deprived communities was
another objective of the project.

Commercial expansion

This is where the HP 3000 printing press comes in. A new company, Hi-Rez
Digital Solutions, was inaugurated in October and hopes to break-even
by April by providing high-quality, short-run print services.

Not only will this cutting-edge technology enable a lucrative business,
said Mr Ward, but it will enable the tribes to train and employ their
own communities.

"With no basic economy, many of the young people have to leave the tribe
to work. Now they can stay," he enthused. "With technology support, the
tribes can become a true sovereign nation."

Having connectivity has made it easier for most tribes to provide local
services such as courts, fire and security departments as well as apply
for the many grants they use to run their nations.

A handful of reservations in the coverage area have no water, power or
phone lines. They therefore rely on the Tribal Digital Village resource
centres of their better connected neighbours.

The three-year HP project comes to an end this month and the Tribal
Digital Village will enter a new phase.

The network is currently being upgraded from its current bandwidth of
3Mbps to 45 Mbps. This will make it more possible to connect individual
homes.

Such an expansion will be funded by new commercial contracts. For
instance the directors are looking into providing internet connectivity
to neighbouring non-Indian communities that already fall under the
coverage of the wireless network.

Taking control

While they are learning a new hi-tech vocabulary, TDV also enables these
Americans to strengthen their knowledge of older tongues.

An online resource called First Voices allows archiving and instruction
in the four different native languages used in the region.

Jack Ward takes pleasure in another result of the award-winning project:
technical parity with other sectors of North American society.

"Technology is no longer something [the tribes] see on TV or in the
newspaper adverts," he said. "It has become real to them."

Other native communities are also taking control of their telecoms
infrastructure. Thirty received loans and grants totalling more than
US$42 million from the Rural Utilities Services, part of the Department
of Agriculture in 2003.

And as part of its Indian Initiatives, US regulator, the Federal
Communications Commission, recently announced an agreement with tribal
governments to improve communication between native Americans and the
companies who build mobile phone towers either on Indian-owned land or
places held by indigenous Americans to be sacred.



Story from BBC NEWS:
http://news.bbc.co.uk/go/pr/fr/-/2/hi/technology/3489932.stm

Published: 2004/03/03 09:37:08 GMT

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