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Fiber Technology Improves Rwanda
Terracom’s infrastructure assists country development
Terracom “is laying a fiber and high-speed wireless infrastructure through Rwanda’s 11,000 square miles that will soon deliver a level of Internet connectivity only recently rolled out in the United States” reports Josh Ruxin from the San Francisco Chronicle. The widespread use of modern technology could help developing countries such as Rwanda to develop with more rapidity and safety than ever before. Disease surveillance, agricultural advancements and educational improvements are all possible as part of the new system.
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wifi4milez
Big Russ, 1918 to 2008. Rest in Peace
join:2004-08-07
New York, NY

1 edit

1 recommendation

wifi4milez

Member

Whats the point?

I think that people in Rwanda have a lot more to worry about than fiber connections. That area is one of the most war torn and messed up places on earth, and they are just starting to recover from genocide that killed almost a million people. Fiber?? What a joke! Those people need food, jobs, and physical safety from rebels and invading armies, NOT high speed internet.

EDIT: I cant wait for all the morons to start chiming in about "if Rwanda can do it (wire with fiber) why cant the US", and "The US is even behind Rwanda now!". For those who will inevitably give us their "two cents", get a grip on reality!

Mchart
First There.
join:2004-01-21
Kaneohe, HI

Mchart

Member

Re: Whats the point?

Hey Ma! Can I go use the internets after the local warlords come and take our food, water, and medicine?!
bogey7806
join:2004-03-19
Here

1 recommendation

bogey7806

Member

great...

They can get great tips on how to avoid being hacked to death by a machete weilding xenophobe faster than ever.

FFH5
Premium Member
join:2002-03-03
Tavistock NJ

1 edit

FFH5

Premium Member

Fantasyland

The same technology that has transformed the way Americans live and work during the past 50 years may soon propel the economies of the poorest countries from pre-industrial directly into the 21st century -- in a fraction of the time. And the potential of technology for enabling these countries to cope with famine, poverty and disease are enormous.

FantasyLand
In Kigali, Rwanda's capital the price has plummeted to only $70. Mobile broadband, the same technology offered by Verizon and Sprint in the United States, is also available, and, for an additional $70 per month, you can get a card for a laptop delivering between 400 and 700 kbps.
»www.nationsencyclopedia. ··· OME.html
The World Bank reports that in 2001 per capita household consumption (in constant 1995 US dollars) was $212.
That is $212/year folks. They sure aren't going to be able to pay $70/mo for broadband.

And 90% of the population are subsistence farmers( »www.cia.gov/cia/publicat ··· tml#Econ ). Broadband isn't going to do anything for Rwanda.

Except for the very small percentage of the population that controls the export of their coffee, tea, & tin, nobody but the Gov't and the Army have any money.

I want some of the funny stuff the writer of that news story is smoking: Josh Ruxin, assistant clinical professor of public health at Columbia University, is director of the Access Project in Rwanda.
Hellrazor
Bah Humbug
join:2002-02-02
Abyss, PA

1 recommendation

Hellrazor

Member

Next years news:

More people are starving in Rwanda then before. Instead of farming, farmers are viewing anime p0rn and other unsound materials on highspeed internet access.

Netbum
join:2002-04-08
Oakley, CA

Netbum

Member

Re: Next years news:

yeah,not too many have Net access in Rwanda (older chart)

»globalis.gvu.unu.edu/ind ··· torID=44

antwanp
Lovably Pompous
Premium Member
join:2002-05-14
Cedar Hill, TX

1 edit

1 recommendation

antwanp

Premium Member

I'm weary of this...

What's going to stop what's going on in Nigeria from happening in Rwanda? I'm tired of getting 50+ e-mails from Africa stating that a descendant of mine died and left me and only me (not my father or other uncles/aunts/family members older than me and still alive) a sum of, I think 11 or so million dollars was the last one I got on my Blackberry about 20 minutes ago...

-Antwan L.
53059959 (banned)
Temp banned from BBR more then anyone
join:2002-10-02
PwnZone

53059959 (banned)

Member

Re: I'm weary of this...

lol its always a sum of

DownTheShore
Pray for Ukraine
Premium Member
join:2003-12-02
Beautiful NJ

1 edit

DownTheShore

Premium Member

At Least Someone Is Taking Some Interest There

No question that more basic help should be provided to Rwanda and other countries in Africa, but I'm glad to see someone investing for the future there. There are myriad ways that an infrastructure like that could help the country, not the least of which is educationally. Also, perhaps, widening the world to more people will help increase social stability by giving them more options.

How many of us have personally contributed anything but words to help those people?
nasadude
join:2001-10-05
Rockville, MD

nasadude

Member

gee, you guys must be right

the same crap was trotted out on another thread.

you guys are right, there is no reason poor or impoverished people should enjoy any benefit of modern life until:

they have running water
sewage removal services
trash pickup
ample food
per capita income on par with developed countries
at least 1 McDonald's per 1000 people
TV
anything else? malls maybe?

this is probably why rural areas in the U.S. don't have broadband - they haven't met their "well being" requirement.

Broadband really should just be for those that have everything else.
retsam6
join:2004-09-02
Red Bank, NJ

retsam6

Member

Re: gee, you guys must be right

ya thats a smart move....give them desert but forget the meal...now your talking here.

Evergreener
Sent By Grocery Clerks
join:2001-02-20
Evergreen, CO

Evergreener

Member

Re: gee, you guys must be right

I appreciate the value of building infrastructure in a country that has no infrastructure, however, somehow comparing Rwanda to western countries and drawing the conclusion that somehow Rwanda is more advanced than the US is absolutely ludicrous.

The fiber network they are building isn't meant for the PC in the basement of your house so you can yank your crank 24x7.

If it costs someone in Rwanda $840/year for broadband when their per capita income is $212... what kind of broadband connectivity can you get for $120,000 per year in the US where the per capita income is $30,000 per year?
retsam6
join:2004-09-02
Red Bank, NJ

retsam6

Member

Re: gee, you guys must be right

oc192!!!ftw!!
gucci9
join:2007-01-07

gucci9 to nasadude

Member

to nasadude
For your information guys, even if per capita income is $250 per year, it still does make lots of sens for Rwanda to invest in high-speed broadband fiber optic networks. Why? Because as a landlocked country Rwanda which does not have many natural resources is capitalising on its people, on a knowledge based economy. Now of course poor people in Rwanda can certainly not afford $70 per month individually but remember that for a businessman running a cyber cafe where hundreds of people pay $5 per hour can share the connection it does make a lot of sens. Now i think that someone mentioned cheap labor, i think that with quality high speed fiber optic networks in Rwanda, there will be a time when businesses in some parts of the world will begin to subcontract techs in africa like they are doing in India and elsewhere which will benefit Rwandans. Now that is one benefit, lets talk about education, health and other areas and you will begin to see why Rwanda is investing in fiber optic networks. Let me also remind you that Rwanda will soon be energy efficient as soon as the Methane gas power extracted from the Kivu lake (billions cubic meters in reserves) is linked to the national power grid, then you will begin to see that even in the remote areas of Rwanda there will be electricity and therefore they will be able to benefit from the many benefits of modern life including the internet. Now of course you are wondering how poor africans can benefit from modern life benefits while there is no running water etc. Plans are being made to improve infrastructures, of course all this costs money, lots of money. For those who have traveled in Rwanda i think one can say that the past regimes lived in slums including their president, now things are different, officials live in decent housing complexes and the city is cleaner. That is even why they think about fiber optics because the people who are running the country now have a vision, they are educated, why do you think they have decided to put in the constitution that not less than $30 of the parliament has to be run by women? why do you think primary education is free in Rwanda? Do you not see their objectif or are you not willing to see where they are heading? You guys were talking about malls, i dont think that malls are a priority although they have those in new suburbs in Rwanda. I also think that healthwise Rwanda is even better off with mutuelle de sante a mandatory health insurance that covers everybody in the country, we are just seeing the tip of the iceberg here. so let's meet again and see what Rwanda is all about in 10 years from now.
Okman5
join:2001-10-01
92714

Okman5

Member

oh ok, so now we bash Rwanda's internet speed

stfu people

APLUSR
@sbcglobal.net

APLUSR

Anon

Interesting...

Here's the question you all ought to be asking yourself: Who benefits from this? In the USA, we like to chime in our 2 cents about something like this, but it's true, we have no real stake in this. OR... do we? Who is going to get rich off this? What COMPANIES profit from this? Do you honestly think the Rwandan people are going to benefit from this?

Eventually, and by that I mean MANY MANY years down the line, the Rwandan people might have an economy where everyone can afford a computer and a good internet connection. But until then, what could this fiber be used for? Levelling the playing field (no 1st and 3rd world countries, but a whole bunch of 2nd world countries)? It's a plan already in the works by the North American Union to combine Canada, the US and Mexico.

After all, if everyone provides the fiber, the computers et all, we can get even cheaper foreign labor! Companies around the world can hire once 3rd world labor for pennies on the dollar... and more American jobs are lost.

But what do I know? Maybe there is an impending NEED in Rwanda for fiber...

Evergreener
Sent By Grocery Clerks
join:2001-02-20
Evergreen, CO

Evergreener

Member

Re: Interesting...

Why does DSLR bother allowing anon posters?

Quake110
Premium Member
join:2003-12-20
Ottawa, ON

Quake110

Premium Member

For those who bashes Rwanda? What's your point?

This will be great for their economy. Sure, some might have nutritional problems but let see this saying "It's better to teach the person how to catch the fish than to give him the fish".
patcat88
join:2002-04-05
Jamaica, NY

patcat88

Member

stolen

Its going to be taken off the poles and sold.
wev567
join:2006-02-25
Pittsburgh, PA

wev567

Member

Re: stolen

said by patcat88:

Its going to be taken off the poles and sold.
What kind of scrap value do you think fiber optic cable as? Answer: None.
patcat88
join:2002-04-05
Jamaica, NY

patcat88

Member

Re: stolen

$1 per foot.

Basket Man
@196.12.137.x

Basket Man

Anon

What good is having internet in Rwanda, you ask?

Here, check this out! One thing it's making possible is an export business for Rwandan handcrafts that are being sold by Macy's. Money earned from basket sales goes directly into the hands of the some of the poorest rural women in Rwanda (who also just happen to make some of the finest hand-woven baskets in the world). And it's all possible because the business can be closely managed over a quality high-speed internet connection. I know because I'm in Rwanda now managing this business, and this post is coming to you to over Rwanda's fiber optic network.

Now go buy some baskets you knuckleheads!

Dean Ericson,
Kigali
piekiz
join:2006-11-25
Manchester, NH

piekiz

Member

Re: What good is having internet in Rwanda, you ask?

Thanks Dean E.

The rest of y'all are nothing but a good bunch of idiots (with useless boradband you can't even take advantage of and look up Rwanda's progress since 2000 alone).

This amount of ignorance only increases my already great contempt for gutter rats like you.

Racist pigs.
piekiz

1 edit

piekiz

Member

Rwanda Redux Print Mai

»www.aei.org/publications ··· tail.asp

Rwanda Redux Print Mail

By Mauro De Lorenzo
Posted: Tuesday, November 21, 2006

ARTICLES
The American (November/December)
Publication Date: November 21, 2006

A decade after the genocide, Rwanda, with help from two Chicago
financiers, has been spreading the idea that it's a good place to do
business, not just a place for do-gooders to come help. Now, it's the
most improved country in Africa.

Resident Fellow Mauro De Lorenzo
When Arthur Karuletwa left Rwanda in 1995 to study in the United
States, there was not much to lure him back. The year before, the
country had endured such terrible destruction that it took more than a
year of sustained effort just to bury the dead. Gérard Prunier, the
best historian of the genocide, was so cynical about Rwanda's
prospects that he thought a return to killing inevitable, to "be
covered by an eager media, for the benefit of a conventionally
horrified public opinion which will finance another round of
humanitarian aid."

A startling array of top American business leaders has been visiting
Rwanda at the president's invitation.

But today, for those in the know, Rwanda is hot. After fighting two
wars in neighboring Congo, resettling more than a million refugees,
and designing a system of justice for several hundred thousand
imprisoned genocide suspects, Rwanda's leaders are now turning their
energy to making the country hospitable to business. Rwanda's
president, Paul Kagame, a charismatic former guerrilla leader who
earned a diploma in business studies by correspondence after he took
office (his exams were proctored by the British ambassador), has a
vision of Rwanda as a service economy integrated into the global
marketplace through information technology--a sort of Dubai in the
highlands of Central Africa.

This year, the Heritage Foundation/Wall Street Journal Index of
Economic Freedom recognized Rwanda as the most improved country in
Africa over the past ten years (and seventh most improved in the
world) in terms of economic freedom. The World Bank's annual Doing
Business survey, which measures regulation around the world, notes
Rwanda's impressive gains in contract enforcement, tax administration,
and ease of starting a business. Both indices, however, show that
Rwanda is still mired in the lower third of countries in terms of
global competitiveness. It is particularly hard for domestic
entrepreneurs to get credit, and import-export procedures can be a
hassle.

Yet a startling array of top American business leaders has been
visiting Rwanda at the president's invitation, and hosting the
president on his trips to the U.S. The list includes Microsoft's Bill
Gates, Riley Bechtel of the private infrastructure giant Bechtel,
Steve Forbes of the eponymous magazine, and CEOs and senior executives
from Google, Merrill Lynch, Starbucks, Columbia Sportswear, Morgan
Stanley, and General Electric. None has yet invested in Rwanda, but
according to Zac Nsenga, Rwanda's ambassador to the U.S., a hard sell
is not part of the strategy behind the meetings. Rwanda is looking to
build a network of friends and advisers that can help it chart a
sensible long-term economic course. Business-friendly reforms are a
balm to entrepreneurs, but what Rwanda really needs is a strategy for
overcoming the main infrastructure bottlenecks to its prosperity:
electricity, transportation, and communications. Kagame is betting
that savvy executives can give him better advice than international
aid agencies.

Much of the credit for spreading the idea that Rwanda is a good place
to do business, and not just a place for do-gooders to come help, goes
to Joe Ritchie and Dan Cooper of Chicago-based Fox River Investments.
They have no financial interests in Rwanda, but have done more than
any aid agency to introduce Rwanda to movers and shakers in American
business, setting up the first meetings between Kagame and U.S. CEOs.
Joe Ritchie became familiar with Rwanda when his daughter volunteered
there. As Ritchie and Cooper got to know the country and its leaders
for themselves, they became convinced that Rwanda is a "misvalued
stock," and set out to change perceptions of the nation among their
colleagues.

All of a sudden, Rwanda's problem is to make sure the country has
enough high-quality coffee to meet demand.

The first deal to result from Ritchie's and Cooper's networking
involves Costco, the retailing giant. Working with Karuletwa, who
returned to Rwanda in 2002 to found Inzozi Coffee Traders, Costco will
soon have branded Rwandan coffee on its shelves. This follows a
specially-packaged Rwandan coffee that was sold in Starbucks stores
earlier this year--another linkage created by Ritchie and Cooper.
Starbucks was satisfied enough with the quality of that coffee that it
now plans to buy processed beans directly from Rwanda for its regular
blends. All of a sudden, Rwanda's problem is to make sure the country
has enough high-quality coffee to meet demand. Thanks to USAID, which
funded washing stations and farmers' cooperatives, Rwandan farmers are
also retaining more of the value of their crop.

Quietly, Rwanda has been adopted by a different kind of do-gooder. The
deal with Costco may become the harbinger of many more deals--deals
whose sustainability is guaranteed by their profitability, not by
sentimentality or charity. What this web of relationships suggests,
above all, is that "development" and "poverty-reduction" are not just
about UN bodies, NGOs, and an endless carousel of handouts.

Mauro De Lorenzo is a resident fellow at AEI.