Linux WiFi Router brings in Subscribers for Ghana's Largest ISP

An independent technical trainer and
consultant since 1997, Dan DiNicolo has worked on a variety of
training, consulting and authoring projects for enterprise-level
clients in Canada, Germany and the United States. His past projects
covered a variety of different environments, including corporate,
government, military and non-profit sectors. Dan has authored many
technical articles and currently runs the system administration
resource web site
www.2000Trainers.com.Dan was selected as a
Geekcorps volunteer
for the fourth group traveling to Accra, Ghana in September 2001,
and he was matched with Intercom
Data Networks (IDN), the third largest Ghanaian ISP. Dan
was assigned to work with IDN engineers to secure their VPN and WAN
network systems and to train IDN junior staff in networking
fundamentals in preparation for the Cisco CCNA exam. Michael
Odonkor, a network administrator, was matched with Dan, and the two
worked together to prepare the IDN staff for the upcoming
exam."I really had no idea what to expect of Michael before we
met", Dan said. "Little did I know what a great team we'd end up
making; he taught me just as much as I taught him. We had great
synergy right from the start. I couldn't have hoped for a better
person to work with."Ghana is rapidly moving to wireless networks as the only
realistic solution to high-quality data access in a country where
connectivity is hampered by slow, unreliable landlines. The cost of
implementing wireless networks, however, has been prohibitive to
most small businesses. Many IDN clients couldn't afford the
hardware necessary to access IDN's radio networks. Early in his
tour at IDN, Dan proposed building the necessary client hardware
from locally available parts.The result has been IDN's Sava Series, which rolled onto the
market in early 2002. Dan and the IDN team devised a Linux box that
replicates the functions of three pieces of software and is nearly
75% cheaper than the alternatives found in Accra. It is a
single-box system with rigorous network security and
customizability for specific client demands. Sava Series is the
first integrated broadband system designed in Africa to
specifically provide high-speed wireless access at a competitive
price. It has revolutionized IDN's business.Francis Quartey, CEO, comments that IDN cannot keep up with
the orders for the Sava Series. Since it became available, IDN has
had a 30% increase in its number of high-speed subscribers, and he
expects this number to rise again once production is able to match
demand. Mr. Quartey referred to the Sava Series as a "HIPC solution
for a HIPC country", referring to Ghana's status as a Highly
Indebted Poor Country with the International Monetary Fund and the
World Bank."If someone offered me $100,000 or our experiences with Dan,
I wouldn't hesitate to choose Dan", Mr. Quartey stated. In addition
to having critical input on the Sava Series, Dan was also an
effective technical trainer. "It is not an exaggeration", he said,
"to say that IDN staff are doing things now that they couldn't
before. I don't think I am lying when I say we have the highest
level of technical expertise in Ghana right now." IDN management
estimates that there has been a nearly 100% increase in the
productivity and effectiveness of the technical team that worked
with Dan.Dan, who has been back in Toronto since late December 2001,
is equally enthusiastic about his Geekcorps experience. "There
weren't too many dull moments working at IDN. One day I'd be doing
research with the engineers, the next I'd be teaching short
classes, and later in the week I'd be standing on a roof somewhere
in Accra helping to install an antenna. I was encouraged to get
involved with anything I was interested in, which ended up being
just about everything."Geekcorps' central mission is to reduce the international
digital divide by building technical capacity in developing
nations. Dan's work at IDN is an excellent example of the type of
innovation, resourcefulness and skills that Geekcorps volunteers
bring to their projects. Volunteers often develop secondary
projects and discover that they conclude their tours in a very
different spot than where they began.The beauty of the Sava Series is that it not only provides a
low-cost wireless access solution for small African businesses,
corporations and individual users; it is also a means to address
rural communication and telephony needs. Dan's work extends far
beyond current IDN profitability. The Sava System, and the
competitive market that it will create, will eventually bring
access to the disenfranchised rural population of Ghana and help
level the global economic playing field."Certainly Ghana has challenges to face outside the scope of
IT", DiNicolo noted. "If the country can remain politically stable
and continues to support business development, there's no reason
why Ghana can't become the IT hub of West Africa within the next
five years. Certainly they have a great deal of talent; the next
step is ensuring that it is cultivated. Programs like Geekcorps are
helping Ghanaian businesses take those first key strides."

email: ellen@geekcorps.org