ICTlogy

Reading the Progressive ICT Review I find Relief Web, an

on-line gateway to information (documents and maps) on humanitarian emergencies and disasters. An independent vehicle of information, designed specifically to assist the international humanitarian community in effective delivery of emergency assistance, it provides timely, reliable and relevant information as events unfold, while emphasizing the coverage of “forgotten emergencies” at the same time.

ReliefWeb was launched in October 1996 and is administered by the UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA).

Their Map Centre is impressive and fool of good and brand new information, everything in the shape of a Map. You can even subscribe (mail or RSS) to the updates.

Adding up, Development Maps:

• ReliefWeb Map Centre
• Maplecrof Maps

A free book (can also pay and purchase traditional format) about wireless solutions for developing countries.

The massive popularity of wireless networking has caused equipment costs to continually plummet, while equipment capabilities continue to increase. By applying this technology in areas that are badly in need of critical communications infrastructure, more people can be brought online than ever before, in less time, for very little cost.

Authored and edited by quite a numerous team lead by Rod Flickenger, it provides information from ground physics and telecommunications (Radio Physics, Networks, Transmissions, etc.) to five detailed case studies. It has the shape of a primer, a handbook and a DIY course.

Last but not least, the way it was written – collaborative, in a networked way – looks like the authors had fun in doing it.

• Home page of the book: Wireless Networking in the Developing World
• The Book to download: Wireless Networking in the Developing World (1.92 Mb) (there’s a heavier “to print” version in their site)
• Wiki about the book
• Post in Beth’s Blog (first seen here)
• Post in Boing Boing

The term last mile is used in telecommunications to mean the last place an infrastructure is set because of being difficult, expensive, not profitable, etc. to implement. It is usually associated with rural communities, where the concept of living in the last mile is even more graphic.

Titus Moetsabi is said to be the father of the term First Mile as a matter to raise awareness on digital inclusion issues for rural communities.

I’ve written before about this subject and even about First Mile Solutions in the framework of a post about the IV Conference on Technology for Human Development.

Now I read a post about USAID’s Last Mile Initiative. The good news is not the project itself — I mean, not the only ones ;) — but that a good bunch of pages have been published about the whole project, including the complete baseline report and all the research instruments.

• Overview of Last Mile Initiative Activities Managed by dot-ORG
• Impact Assessment Baseline Study in Peru Yields Interesting Findings
• Complete Baseline Report (845 Kb)
• Research Instruments (736 Kb)

BTW, The DOT-COM Alliance is a USAID-funded program to promote the use of information and communications technology (ICT) across all development sectors.