Global Reproductive Health IT Support list

["Jim Fennessey" <jfennessey AT jhpiego.net>]

Tim ... Thanks for that helpful reply to Sam.  Your idea about getting a
couple of agencies together and seeing what we can arrange with a
provider sounds like a real attractive one.  And, the CelTel CEO sounds
like the kind of person who might be ready for something a little
unorthodox but "noble".  And, your point about the US carriers basically
just having arrangements with the locals is a good one.  Has anyone used
Roadpost or similar integrators?

One related idea that could help a lot towards collective negotiations
with vendors might be to put together an informal grouping of
locally-based telecom and IT admins, based in each major city such as
Nairobi, or Addis Ababa, or Dar Es Salaam, etc, and ask them to join
together and share their costs and service experience, plus their
experience with services like Skype and managed VoIP.   I suspect having
that kind of a foundation of shared information could really empower the
negotiations with a provider.

I'd really welcome any comments on this idea, or things related.

Thanks!

Jim


Jhpiego-Innovating to Save Lives
Jim Fennessey

Director, Management Information Systems Office
Jhpiego-an affiliate of Johns Hopkins University
1615 Thames Street, Suite 301
Baltimore, Maryland 21231
Phone: 410.537.1836
Cell: 410.262.1634
Fax: 410.537.1476
E-mail: jfennessey AT jhpiego.net
Skype: jimfennessey

www.jhpiego.org


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Today's Topics:

   1. African cellular data (Manchester, Tim [Constella Futures])


----------------------------------------------------------------------

Message: 1
Date: Wed, 26 Mar 2008 04:08:32 -0400
From: "Manchester, Tim [Constella Futures]"
        <TManchester AT constellagroup.com>
Subject: [grhits] African cellular data
To: "Sam Wagner" <swagner AT jhpiego.net>, <grhits AT lists.ibiblio.org>
Message-ID:
        
<B8DA88082607D1409ADF8D45E32C4E0AADDF69 AT ROC-EXCHANGE.corp.constellagroup
.com>
        
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Sam,

I get the feeling that you do not want to go country by country and work
out what service does best in each African country, but to the extent
possible, work with one provider.

Cel Tel has the best 'coverage' (if you call it that). It has good rural
coverage for the networks and the best coordination between countries.
My Cel Tel number in Tanzania call Uganda and Congo, SMS works, and I
should be able to recharge my Tanzania number in Congo with local units.
And Cel Tel seems to have the largest interest in data. Your Blackberry
will work where they do and their tech folks seem to be a cut above
Vodacom (support from SA) and the plethora of local service providers.
At last count, they had 10 countries and working on others.

and the Cel Tel CEO is the same lad who is offering a multi million
dollar prize to the Head of State who transitions out of power in a
peaceful way. 

Might be interesting to get a couple of agencies who travel a great deal
and need access to data in some wild places, to go in collectively and
see what we can work out.

Tim Manchester
Director of Program Development/East Africa Constella Futures Dar es
Salaam, Tanzania
mob: +255 (0)753 251 849, 0783 352 914 (GMT +3)
 
TManchester AT ConstellaGroup.com
www.constellafutures.com <http://www.constellafutures.com/> 
 
TGManchester AT GMail.com
 
 
 

Date: Tue, 25 Mar 2008 17:43:33 -0400

From: "Sam Wagner" <swagner AT jhpiego.net>

Subject: [grhits] International cellular data coverage?

To: "Global Reproductive Health IT Support list"
<grhits AT lists.ibiblio.org>

I just wanted to have a sense of what people use for International
travelers as far as cellular data goes. 

We are currently using some Windows Mobile systems on AT&T but have had
limited data support mainly in African countries (voice seems to be
doing ok). Verizon and other major US carriers don't seem to offer
better data support.

Thanks for any input,

Sam 

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