Nepal wireless networking project

Nepal Wireless Networking Project (NWNP) was conceived and initiated by Mahabir Pun. This project is a social entrepreneurial venture that provides Internet access to a number of villages in Nepal. It also supports electronic commerce, education, telemedicine, and job creation opportunities.

Development of the wireless network infrastructure

In 1993, the Himanchal High School came into existence. By 1996, it started using its Web site to attract volunteers and collect materials for the school to function properly. There were two small hydro-generators in the nearby streams that powered the assembled computers accessories that were donated by people in Australia, Singapore, Malaysia and collected by Mahabir. In 1998, Nangi got its first telephone, but its operational quality was poor. People had to walk a full day, about once a month, to the nearest city to communicate. The story of Mahabir and his village that was published online on the BBC attracted volunteers and some equipment from around the world. In 2002, the first test of Wi-Fi-based wireless connectivity between two villages, Nangi and Ramche, was a success. After five years of hard work, the team was finally able to connect Nangi to Pokhara, the closest city that had the Internet facility. Numerous institutions and technology firms such as the Donald Strauss Foundation, the International Center for Applied Studies in Information Technology at George Mason University, the World Bank, the International Telecommunication Union (ITU), smartBridges, Pacific Wireless, and others provided support in this endeavor. Apart from the international support, local institutions, namely, the E-Networking Research and Development, Gandaki College of Engineering and Sciences, and Prime College were also instrumental in the success of the project.[5 By 2008, altogether forty two villages in Myagdi, Kaski, Parbat, Makawanpur, Dolakha, Palpa, Bajhang, and Khumbu region have Internet access through the project. In the near future, nineteen more villages in Rasuwa, Nuwakot, Gorakha, Tanahun, Myagdi, and Baglung districts will be connected to the Internet.

Achievements

NWNP provides (1) communications, (2) education, (3) electronic commerce, and (4) telemedicine services as well as (5) job opportunities.

Using the Wi-Fi technology, many villages within the reach of the project have been connected to the Public-switched Telephone Network (PSTN). Earlier, most of them did not have telephone. The communications centers in the villages provide call services, Internet access, and video conferencing facilities. These centers are also capable of providing photocopy, document processing, and photography services. The high school students are using the Internet for educational purposes. Instead of relying on the snail-mail, they are using emails to communicate with their pen-pals abroad. The project is also working together with the Open Learning Exchange, a non-governmental organization, to develop interactive educational materials that are based on the government curricula. While the live, distance education programs have already been tested, due to poor video quality, the project is seeking technical assistance to make the system functional. If this becomes successful, it will help to address the problem of teaching manpower in the remote areas of Nepal.

Three villages, Nangi, Ramche, and Tikot, are connected to the city hospital in Pokhara. In order to treat the patients, the health workers in the villages use video-conferencing facilities to share information with the doctors in the city hospital. The project also helped to launch a telemedicine service between Kathmandu Model Hospital and Dolakha General Hospital, and plans to expand services in the rural areas of Makawanpur. Since the inception of the wireless network, yak farmers have been using it to buy and sell livestock as well as exchange vetinerary tips. In 2007, with the help of student volunteers of Gandaki College of Engineering and Sciences of Pokhara, the project launched a Web site for local electronic commerce. People use this Web site to trade supplies such as grain, poultry, and cattle. Virtual credit card transaction is also being tested from 2008. There is a plant nursery, a carpentry facility, paper-making and sewing machine workshops, a camping ground for trekkers, a fish farm, and a yak farm that support local economy and employment. The success of these achievements have been attributed to the implementation of a comprehensive, agreed-upon plan, enthusiastic participation and favorable publicity, appropriate information technology interventions, sustained follow-on projects, and skilled leadership of the home-grown talent.

Future and long term goals

The future and long term goals of NWNP includes (1) acquiring additional resources for improving and extending distance education and telemedicine programs, (2) running electronic commerce training programs in the villages, (3) improving the quality of Internet connectivity, (4) extending the existing network and services, (5) starting remittance and credit card transaction services in the villages and tourist towns, (6) organizing training programs to help others replicate the network in other parts of the country, (7) developing a formal Web application dedicated to the purposes of telemedicine, (8) adding redundancy and backup to the existing network services, and (9) developing a limited liability company with multiple stakeholders.

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