SPIDERWEB WIFI PROJECT
Moving more ideas per second
Code Sync
Project Team:
Odongo Duke Daniel
Senyonga Salym
Odur Gerald Anickton
Remo Samuel Paul
Muhatsi Shaffic
Concept Paper
September 3rd, 2010
Code Sync, a team of BSc. Software Engineering students, has identified the potential
of wireless broadband to provide remote and mobile access to online catalogues, chat
platforms and to deliver services to enhance economic and creative opportunities in
Residential Areas. The Pilot area identified to implement this innovation is the
Makerere University- Kikoni and neighbouring Wandegeya Suburbs. After success of
this, the Project can be extended to other Kampala suburbs. The team has gone one
step further and identified the potential for social enterprise to provide the mechanism
for delivering a local wireless network service, harnessing the enthusiasm and
creativity of the community. This proposal seeks to evaluate both the technical and
social enterprise aspects of a new Wireless Network Project in Kampala.
The ultimate aim of the project is to create an area of standards based modern
network infrastructure that will enable the delivery of free WiFi services within the
residential hostels and houses in scope of this project area.
The aims of the SpiderWeb WiFi project are to:
1.
Report on ways in which providing a wireless broadband access network
in suburbs can contribute to meeting the strategic social objectives of the
community, SMEs and new start-ups.
2.
Develop a technical specification for community-based WiFi broadband
hotspots.
3.
Put together a costed and timed project plan, which will identify all the
key deliverables, list contractors capable of installing the necessary
hardware, service providers who can supply necessary connections,
identify customer support suppliers. It will also propose a project
management and evaluation team who would be responsible for
delivering the project and reporting on progress.
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4.
Examine the feasibility of setting up a local social enterprise to deliver the
wireless broadband service, including model rules, processes of
formation, management and business opportunities.
5.
Demonstrate how a social enterprise approach to wireless broadband can
succeed and to examine issues of long-term sustainability as well as ways
of generating activities, addressing the digital divide and community
cohesion.
6.
Identify key actors who can form an expert reference group who will
advise on the implementation of the project.
A Broadband Social Enterprise for the Project Pilot area
Social enterprises are increasingly seen as a mechanism for communities to
aggregate demand and organize local broadband services. Initially focused on the
problems of broadband access, particularly in rural areas, some of the better
established community broadband initiatives are now leading the way in developing
new broadband services, technology and training to create tangible social and
economic benefits. Most of these projects have used a combination of wireless and
satellite technology to deliver broadband services in these communities.
The SpiderWeb WiFi project differs from most other broadband social enterprise
initiatives in that we intend to provide free wireless services to meet specific local
goals – the market and advertise commodities and to support the development of a
creative community chat platform. However the SpiderWeb WiFi project can benefit
from social enterprise by taking an inclusive, community-orientated approach that
harnesses the skills and enthusiasm of local people to provide creative, affordable
services over a WiFi platform. Without doubt it is an innovative project whose
success will be regarded as a beacon for other communities.
As a community broadband Initiatives, we intend to aggregate demand for service
provision, offer access to friends and neighbors, and offer flexible access to academic
material once the local exchange has been enabled. Further as we examine our
success, we intend to continue working to provide free wireless broadband to
outlying areas.
Measure of Benefit Vs. Cost?
SpiderWeb WiFi will provide this service as a promotional tool. By routing network
users directly to defined web pages first, we have the opportunity to expose the user
to all the amenities and services the city offers. By developing this content and
tracking the traffic to these web sites, we will be in a better position to assess the
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benefit of the Wi-Fi Project. Additionally, each mesh node could have its own entry
portal that specifically advertises the businesses within that node's coverage area.
The ability to target content to very specific geographic areas could be used to sell
advertising that would offset some of the operational expenses.
The Code Sync Team
Odongo Duke Daniel is a second-year BSc. Software Engineering student at
Makerere University. He brings a wealth of organizational and managerial
leadership. He is passionate about technology and social entrepreneurship in
developing countries. He is leading the development of the SpiderWeb WiFi project
and spearheading the possibility of realization of a city-scale user-extensible wireless
mesh in Kampala.
Email: odongo.daniel@cit.mak.ac.ug
Odur Gerald Anickton is a second-year BSc. Software Engineering student at
Makerere University. Prior to joining the team, Gerald has been observing Uganda
Internet users tastes and preferences. He is a firm believer in "Africa's promise" and
is extremely excited about the prospects of Uganda as the Africa’s I.T frontier.
Currently, Gerald is partnering with Duke to develop our business plan and
deployments for SpiderWeb WiFi.
Email: godur@cit.mak.ac.ug
Muhatsi Shaffic is a second-year BSc. Software Engineering student at Makerere
University. He will lead development of the low-cost wireless network infrastructure.
Shaffic will be considering the effects of system design on user access and long-term
growth.
Email: smuhatsi@cit.mak.ac.ug
Remo Samuel Paul is a second-year BSc. Software Engineering student at Makerere
University. He has worked on a number of freelance projects prior to joining the
team. Paul will lead the initial bandwidth shaping experiments and deployments for
SpiderWeb WiFi.
Email: remo.samuel@cit.mak.ac.ug
Senyonga Salym is a second-year BSc. Software Engineering student at Makerere
University. He is particularly interested enacting change and innovation amid the
complexity of multiple constituencies and challenging dynamics. Salym will be
working on developing our business plan to achieve scale and sustainability.
Email: ssenyonga@cit.mak.ac.ug
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