ICTs and Rural Women  Operates a telecenter  Provides the communications access  Her telecenter becomes:  Link to communicate  Teachers, farmers, health workers, artisans  New business plan

Women Owned/Operated  CAMEROON  GCNet  Woman owned and operated ISP  Business customers  University, schools  Women’s groups  Rural co-ops  TANZANIA  Telecom, ISP  Women’s organizations  Professional associations  Refugee centers remote

Strategy  Rural networks go to scale  Shared networks, multi-sector and user  Take the Internet...  Multipoint networks peri-urban, rural  Cluster of villages, communities, sites  Remote stand-alone, satellite access

Models  POWER  Off - grid  On - grid  BANDWIDTH  Off - net  On - net

Equipment  Laptop computer  Speakers, microphone, CD-ROM, DVD  Printer  terminal, Internet device  Phone or data connection  Modem  Antenna

Enhanced Equipment  Web Camera, video conferencing  Wireless LAN b, laptops, PDA  Radio broadcast unit, radio  Distance learning tools  Telemedicine tools  e-Government and e-commerce tools

Connectivity  Wireless point to multipoint IP  5, 15, 25 km ranges, plus repeaters  VSAT and WLL  LEO satellite  Cell phone/sat phone  SkyDSL two-way access to satellite

Solar Power  Winrock manual for ITU rural technologies  Canadian radio broadcast system unit  Solar Energy Light Fund Engineer Deploy Support

Team  Management  Technology  Finance  Regional Directors Latin America and Caribbean Africa, Middle East, Europe Asia/Pacific

Contacts  Inc   Lynne Gallagher   fax

is a startup company developing ICT solutions for the environmental and social conditions of rural and peri-urban areas.  Prepaid & internet access  Voice communications  Financial transactions  Public information access  Telemedicine Wiya Solutions

The Wiya Consortium  An umbrella for developing countries and other participants to pool their technical resources  Joint development of a royalty-free software and hardware platform for community-based rural and peri-urban communications  Formation began October 2001  Initial participants: Wiya Solutions, Inc. Indian Institute of Technology – Madras Popular Computer Project – University of Minas Gerais, Brazil

Wiya Approach to End User Interface Design  Gender, culture, language are critical considerations in human-computer interaction  Within any group learning styles differ: visual, aural, kinesthetic, interactive  Example: Audio instructions to assist the illiterate Some users are disoriented by « disembodied voice »  User interface design must address motivation, level of computer experience, even motor skills  Question: Do women of different cultures relate to computers in similar ways?

Integrating Voice Response & Web Services

Contact Wiya Rebecca Mayer T: (703) 234 – 5308 F: (309) 213 – 0486