http://www.sfgate.com/business/technology/article/Internet-rolls-into-Bangladesh-villages-on-a-bike-3998827.php
"JHARABARSHA, Bangladesh (AP) — Amina Begum
had never seen a computer until a few years ago, but now she's on Skype
regularly with her husband. A woman on a bicycle brings the Internet
to her.
Dozens of "Info Ladies"
bike into remote Bangladeshi villages with laptops and Internet
connections, helping tens of thousands of people — especially women —
get everything from government services to chats with distant loved
ones. It's a vital service in a country where only 5 million of 152
million people have Internet access.
The
Info Ladies project, created in 2008 by local development group D.Net
and other community organizations, is modeled after a program that
helped make cellphones widespread in Bangladesh. It intends to enlist
thousands more workers in the next few years with startup funds from the
South Asian country's central bank and expatriates working around
the world.
D.Net
recruits the women and trains them for three months to use a computer,
the Internet, a printer and a camera. It arranges bank loans for the
women to buy bicycles and equipment."
I read about the cell phone ladies previously. Hardly anyone in Bangladesh had a cell phone, so women were trained how to use and maintain one, then they set up shop in a viillage and charged a small fee for people to come use the phone. It was very successful, though now there are millions of cell phones in Bangladesh so their service is less needed. This new Internet service will no doubt go the same way, providing Internet access to remote areas until they can get hooked in themselves.
Friday, November 2, 2012
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