John touches briefly on some main points in the history of Fantsuam Foundation as a provider of connectivity in this video which was recorded in London on November 26th (the day after Dadamac Day 2013).
When you've seen the video you may like to know more about some of the things he mentions.
The satellite dish
The first time I visted Fantsuam, in 2004, Cisco courses were running and there was Internet connectivity on site thanks to the VSAT that John mentions (more at Fantsuam takes the lonely road to rural wireless internet - By APCNews, GOA, INDIA, 24 October 2005.) There was a satellite dish in the main compound. It was in the fenced off area where the visitors huts were, and where there were goats, turkeys and chickens.
The tower
By 2008, when we made this short video about Fantsuam Foundation, the poultry and goats had gone. In their place, was a new building, constructed of compressed earth blocks. It is the home of Zittnet, an Internet Service Provider set up as a social business by Fantsuam Foundation. The building houses the server room, the office of Zittnet and the "KRC" - the Knowledge Resource Centre with its books and computer terminals. Behind that building the mast, or tower, that John mentions stood tall. Information about Zittnet and internet provision start at about 1 minute 45 seconds on the video about Fantsuam Foundation
This is the story behind the fall and rebuilding of the tower
- Fantsuam's tower collapses during heavy rain storm - report from ICT46 a Swedish-based IT consultancy company which has been working with "the first rural community wireless ISP in Nigeria" since 2006.
- Mast Falling - "When life knocks you down" - from Cicely's blog, with good photos.
- Mast is up - from Cicely's blog, with good photos.
You may wonder about insurance. John doubted if payments would be forthcoming. Several months previously the mast had been out of action for a few weeks due to a lightening strike, and he was still trying to get a response from the insurance company for that claim when the heavy storm damage occurred.
Broadband for Nigeria (BB4NG) Stakeholders Forum
John is working with other stakeholders to try to get better Broadband services for Nigeria. In 2010 he was a convenor, keynote speaker and chair of the Broadband for Nigeria (BB4NG) Stakeholders Forum
In his Keynote address, the Programme Director of Fantuam Foundation, Dr. John Dada the phenomenal growth in voice communication recorded by Nigerian in the recent past had not been reflected in broadband connectivity, hence the need for the forum.
For this reason, he noted that the broadband access gap between Nigeria and the rest of the world, including some African countries was getting wider. It is this concern however, he said that catalyzed the Broadband for Nigeria (BB4NG) project.
He explained that the goal of the project was to mobilize civil society organizations and the private sector to advocate for immediate steps to make bandwidth more affordable in Nigeria by proposing that Nigeria develops a national Broadband Strategy in consultation with stakeholders. For him, the goal should be getting broadband for something, for some purpose, not just broadband for broadband sake.
- See more at: http://www.vanguardngr.com/2010/08/campaign-mounts-on-special-status-for...
In his Keynote address, the Programme Director of Fantuam Foundation, Dr. John Dada the phenomenal growth in voice communication recorded by Nigerian in the recent past had not been reflected in broadband connectivity, hence the need for the forum.
For this reason, he noted that the broadband access gap between Nigeria and the rest of the world, including some African countries was getting wider. It is this concern however, he said that catalyzed the Broadband for Nigeria (BB4NG) project.
He explained that the goal of the project was to mobilize civil society organizations and the private sector to advocate for immediate steps to make bandwidth more affordable in Nigeria by proposing that Nigeria develops a national Broadband Strategy in consultation with stakeholders. For him, the goal should be getting broadband for something, for some purpose, not just broadband for broadband sake.
- See more at: http://www.vanguardngr.com/2010/08/campaign-mounts-on-special-status-for...
Kafanchan Bandwidth Consortium
John mentions problems of affordability and working with a consortium of tertiary education providers to improve Internet access. These blogs tell more of the story
- 5 September 2011 - Last Mile Connectivity
- 26 February 2012 - The PATH ahead!
- 31 January 2013 - Witchcraft, Microfinance, Sulabh Toilets, Kafanchan Bandwidth Consortium
- 12 May 2013 - Affordable Internet Access
Commonwealth Telecommunications Organisation
John is encouraged by the work of Professor Tim Unwin, a long time friend of Dadamac, who is Secretary General of the Commonwealth Telecommunications Organisation and an advocate for better provision in rural areas - see ICTs Will Accelearate Inequalities Unless Concerted Action is Taken
Sharing rural realities with policy makers a others with influence
Dadamac aims to raise the visibility of Fantsuam Foundation and to get its voice heard more widely so that rural realities are better recognised and addressed. There is still a long way to go, but John mentions how he is currentely representing Fantsuam Foundation regarding the Internet:
- Nigerian IT Regulator invites Fantsuam to stakeholders meeting
- Fantsuam Foundation is a local partner in the Alliance for Affordable Internet
It is thanks to the Intenet connection at Fantsuam Foundation that Dadamac (the collaboration between John Dada and Pamela McLean) came into being. Without the Internet our ongoing collaboration would have been impossible. That is why Dadamac could not have emerged as an organisation in an earlier century, and it is what makes us such an unusual entity. It is why we describe ourselves as being based in three locations - the UK, Nigria and on the Internet.
(In case you read before you watched John - here is the video link again)