TRIP REPORT
Uganda Remote Wireless Email Experiment
ASARECA Secretariat Networking
February 14, 1999
Jeffrey A. Cochrane
March 1, 1997
Kampala, 14 February 1999, 9:30am: ASARECA (by telephone)
Dr. Geoffrey Mrema
A brief conversation was held by telephone as Dr. Mrema was departing the country that afternoon. He advised that his finance officer would be prepared to receive a visit on Monday or Tuesday, and that discussions should focus on both the accounting system of ASARECA and a regional network of research station accountants.
Kampala, 14 February 1999, 10:00am: Namulonge Animal and Agricultural Research Institute (NAARI) (at the Sheraton Hotel)
Dr. Sengooba, Director of NAARI
Innocent Rugambwa, NAARI Librarian
Esther Lwanga-Semakula, Director of the Agricultural Research Information Service
David Mutazindwa, USAID Leland Coordinator
Dr. Sengooba summarized the report previously circulated to USAID and others describing progress, problems, and requirements for further networking support at NAARI offices outside of Kampala. She stressed that the High Frequency (HF) radio email service furnished by Bushnet, a local vendor, had significantly improved telecommunications and information sharing between NAARI and its partners. The principal problem has been cost.
Bushnet meters messages by the kilobyte, charging 300 Ugandan shillings (about 30 US cents). This is due largely to the nature of the technology. See the explanation in the annex to this report.
Monthly bills at NAARI are presently averaging about $1000, representing a flow of perhaps 3000 kilobytes (3MB). Internal cost accounting has been problematic. The seven programs within NAARI are expected to pay for individual usage of the service, requiring the librarian to take the monthly statement from Bushnet and sort messages by subject lines to the different program accounts. One program in particular seems to account for most mail traffic, and has balked at the large amount of its bill. Many messages not attributable to a particular program must be paid by central management, which each month is apportioned the highest bill. Many large messages arrive unsolicited but must be paid nonetheless.
Cost management proposals have been circulated, but have generally not been implemented. Under one proposal, large messages received by Bushnet and intended for NAARI would be diverted to ARIS for review. Unsolicited and other low priority mail would be saved for periodic delivery to NAARI on diskette by staff courier. Important messages would be forwarded immediately by ARIS staff to NAARI via the radio system. NAARI staff rejected this proposal, feeling it to be too cumbersome and inconvenient. They have instead asked for donor assistance to subsidize their email system on an ongoing basis.
In fact, many other cost management solutions are available, and reports suggest that Bushnet is willing and ready to implement them on request. These include:
- Denying delivery by email address (eliminate unsolicited mailing list messages).
- Allowing even large messages by email address (no filtering of mail from privileged correspondents).
- Multiple email addresses at NAARI for more effective cost accounting (forces each program at NAARI to manage its own traffic flow, pay corresponding costs, or lose service).
These various options were discussed with NAARI, and the improbability of securing a USAID subsidy for their present email flow was also brought to their attention.
An additional option was discussed. Bushnet is proposing to convert the NAARI radio email system from HF radio to much higher speed Very High or Ultra High Frequency (VHF or UHF) radio. This higher speed technology requires direct line-of-sight between NAARI’s antenna and that of Bushnet. This is indeed feasible, though until recently, no Internet provider offered the service. The cost of the equipment should be on the order of $3000 (compare $8000 for HF). Bushnet is also proposing that this service be provided on a dedicated-connection basis (as opposed to the periodic-connection basis of the present system) and for a flat monthly fee (as opposed to the fee plus kilobyte usage charge of the present system).
If NAARI converts to the new system, then the existing HF system will be transferred to a more remote station in Uganda where line-of-sight transmission is not feasible. The concern is that NAARI has thus far been unable to manage costs. The likelihood of a remote station being able to succeed where NAARI has thus far failed will have to be considered carefully. Ideally, NAARI should achieve cost manageability before the system is transferred elsewhere.
The matter of the new, higher speed system as well as cost control measures under the current system was to have been discussed with Bushnet on Monday. A report was then to have been provided to Dr. Sengooba at NAARI. As a result of a terrorist incident in Kampala, these further discussions were not held. The following correspondence was delivered instead:
To: naari@naro.bushnet.net
Subject: Wireless Email at NAARI
Copies to: Christopher.Wilson/Bushnet@bushnet.net, dmutazindwa@usaid.gov, gfarino@usaid.gov, <nadic@imul.com>, m.hailu@cgiar.org
Date sent: Mon, 1 Mar 1999 08:52:24
Greetings Dr. Sengooba,
It was a pleasure meeting with you in Kampala, and I am quite sorry I was unable to follow up as promised with a visit to Namulonge. I do hope to make a return visit in the near future.
Here is my assessment of the present situation in Uganda with regard to our experiment with low-speed, long-distance HF radio email for remote connectivity, and my suggestion of steps that should now be taken.
1. Your observation that radio email has significantly improved telecommunications and information sharing between NAARI and its partners is received with pleasure. Your further comment about the problem of cost is noted with much concern. You indicate that monthly bills at NAARI are presently averaging about $1000.
2. The problem of cost was anticipated prior to the inception of this experiment. Clear and precise measures have been available to you for the control of these costs. The vendor, Bushnet, has indicated a willingness to implement these measures. You express concern that these cost control measures would also entail a cutback in the quality of your connectivity, hence your reticence to implement them.
3. Since the decision to maintain high quality service at a high cost was essentially NAARI's, I am prepared to pronounce our experiment at NAARI with HF radio email technology a success. Basic and reliable email connectivity can be provided to remote ag research stations at a reasonable cost, provided cost-control measures are implemented.
4. I greatly sympathize with your desire to secure the highest quality connectivity for your center. I concur in your recommendation and that of Bushnet that your technology for connectivity be modified to accomodate a high-speed, line-of-sight radio link. This would greatly improve your connectivity, and lower your unit costs for messages, though it will perhaps not lower your overall costs.
5. I recommend that you maintain the operation of your existing low-speed long-distance radio link, implementing full cost-control measures immediately, until such time as you can secure funds (approximately $3000 for equipment, plus running costs) to implement the high-speed line-of-sight link. Once your new system is implemented, the low-speed long-distance radio equipment should be moved to a more remote research station in Uganda.
6. My office or that of Mr. Hailu may be able to provide funding for a second experiment at NAARI, this time with high-speed, line-of-sight connectivity. We would consider providing equipment on the condition that NAARI investigate expected running costs and present to us clear and credible evidence of NAARI's capacity to pay those running costs.
7. In the meantime, the cost-control measures that should be immediately implemented on your existing low-speed, long-distance system are as follows:
* Denying delivery by email address (eliminate unsolicited mailing list messages)
* Allowing privileged messages (even large ones) by email address (no filtering of mail from privileged correspondents).
* Multiple email addresses at NAARI, and billing by address from Bushnet, for more effective cost accounting (forces each program manager at NAARI to manage her/his own traffic flow, pay corresponding costs, or risk loss of service).
My understanding is that Bushnet would be pleased to help you implement all of these measures.
8. As for your payment arrears, I do not have an easy answer for you. The arrears frankly should never have been incurred. If memory serves me correctly, Bushnet agreed to allow you one or two months service on a trial basis so that you could see the magnitude of costs and implement cost-control measures accordingly. This was reportedly done. These cost-control measures were then offered but not implemented. My understanding is that it was NAARI's decision not to implement cost-control measures, therefore presumably NAARI is willing to pay the arrears or face a cutoff of its service. My office and that of Mr. Hailu at ICRAF stipulated from the outset that we would not pay usage charges.
A difficult situation indeed.
9. You may wish to consider asking Bushnet to discontinue your service immediately and until cost-control measures can be put in place. You may then wish to enter into discussions with Bushnet to see if perhaps, in the spirit of experimentation, an accomodation can be reached on your arrears.
I look forward to your response. If I have misconstrued events or have failed to understand circumstances, please do set me on the right path. Circumstances precluded my making the investigation that I had intended, and so the points above are certainly based on inadequate evidence. I welcome your corrections.
Cheers!
Jeff @ Washington
ANNEX: The Economics of Radio Email
A more standard small Internet service provider will typically operate a single computer server to which a dozen or more modems are connected. Each modem will typically have a separate telephone line. An Internet service provider will typically obtain one modem/telephone line for each 8 to 16 customers, depending upon the subscription type.
Bushnet operates without telephone lines, substituting radio signals. A radio plus radio "modem" must be provided to substitute for each telephone line. The cost of this equipment is roughly $6000 with no real cost for the use of the radio waves, whereas the cost of a telephone modem and line is perhaps $150 plus $30 per month.
The radio can transmit perhaps a page of information (2 kilobytes) in perhaps 10 seconds, whereas a conventional modem and telephone line can transmit the same information in 1 or 2 seconds. A customer using a radio system will therefore require the use of the service provider’s equipment as much as ten times longer than a customer using a telephonic system. Given that the equipment is also some 40 times more costly, the radio service provider will typically charge a fee for usage volume.
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