ENHANCED SERVICE DELIVERY REACH AND ACCESS

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1 ENHANCED SERVICE DELIVERY REACH AND ACCESS Introduction The vital contribution that enhanced communication and access make to socioeconomic development as result of improved information and communications technology (ICT) is now well established. This was clearly articulated in 2003 in Tunis, Tunisia where world leaders signed the World Summit on the Information Society Declaration of Principles in which they declared their common desire and commitment to build a people centred, inclusive and development oriented information society, where everyone can create, access, utilise and share information and knowledge, enabling individuals, communities and people to achieve their full potential in promoting their sustainable development and improving their quality of life. For South Africa as a whole to achieve full benefit from the potential that ICT and the information society represents barriers to access need to be removed. Much of the CSIR s research and development is directed towards this objective of enabling ICT readiness. The CSIR focuses on extending infrastructure and access through researching, developing, demonstrating and building broadband infrastructure and on ensuring inclusive access to overcome the barriers of technical skills, literacy, disability, language or financial means. In this way, a meaningful contribution is made to addressing societal challenges in the fields of health, education, job creation, as well as other service delivery sectors. The CSIR also aims to exploit the general use of mobile phones by a large section of our communities to improve access to service delivery by the municipalities. Examples of projects that underpin enhanced communication include the Infopreneur network, the mobile for development (Mobi4D) platform, the Digital Doorway TM initiative, the Lwazi information system and the broadband for all (BB4All) project. All are covered in the stories listed in the publication. 26

2 Making a digital difference through mobile phones Increased mobile penetration is well correlated with economic development. The benefits that these now almost ubiquitous devices have for improved quality of life are becoming clearer by the day. In Africa, mobile phones are being used in unexpected and surprising ways as more and more channels, products and services are created. They have become a valuable tool to support government s service delivery aims. The CSIR s mobile for development (Mobi4D) platform aims to stimulate the development of even more applications and services by making it easier to develop such applications and services. Mobi4D provides an easy to use, cost effective and extendible mobile service delivery platform. Examples include cell phone top up payments through unstructured supplementary service data (USSD), using cell phones for banking, to request transport services in remote rural areas and to provide communication and information exchanges between municipalities and citizens who are not able to visit municipal offices in person. The generic Mobi4D platform will make more value added mobile services available to users of feature and smart phones, as well as low-end phones. Thomas Fogwill Tel: tfogwill@csir.co.za 27

3 ENHANCED SERVICE DELIVERY REACH AND ACCESS Logistics brokering system eases transportation constraints in rural areas Transportation constraints in rural environments due to high transport costs and irregular service supply cause serious accessibility problems for the communities living there, far removed from services, facilities and employment opportunities. The CSIR initiated a project using information and communications technology (ICT) and involving the community to address these accessibility challenges. The project focused on the development of a logistics brokering system which makes use of a session oriented service technology known as unstructured supplementary service data (USSD) to improve transportation services. The project was piloted in Kgautswane, located in the Sekhukhune district of Limpopo and comprising a series of villages with an approximate population of more than residents. Formal and substantial economic activities in Kgautswane are almost nonexistent and the main service and employment centres are located outside the area. The villages are served by mainly bus and taxi transport services, which operate during morning and evening peak times when the demand is high and predictable. Surveys conducted among the residents confirmed that there was a real need for transport during the late morning and early afternoon periods, while a further review of available technologies revealed that cell phones were used widely in the communities. The aim of the proposed service system was to lessen the disparity between the demand and supply of public transport. In essence, taxi operators did not know the extent of demand during off-peak periods. The intended logistics brokering system had to be simple to use, affordable and based largely on existing ways and familiar technology. Although cell phones were the preferred communication medium in the community and the short message service (SMS) was a widely used data application, it has cost implications and was not seen as an affordable system to use within impoverished communities. Of the various communications options considered, USSD was found to be the most suitable, given the kind of cell phones used and because it has an established technology with several local service providers being able to support and assist in development. USSD allows for transmission via a global system for a mobile communication network and, in contrast to SMS, offers real-time and cost effective connection. Messages are simple to compose and easy to send. Users access the USSD service through a service number, stating their need. Requests are then combined and grouped by a local service broker on an online database. Confirmation of a trip is sent to both the requester and the taxi association, who arranges for a taxi to do the relevant trip. By using this technology, residents in the research area are able to achieve access to services and increase their mobility significantly. The CSIR plans to replicate the project in other areas. Johan Maritz Tel: jmaritz@csir.co.za 28

4 As a self-contained unit, the container Digital Doorway can operate in rural areas with no access to electricity. The system operates 14 hours a day and has a zero-sun capacity of approximately five days. Solar-powered Digital Doorways TM for remote rural areas provide ACCESS TO information and communications technology Digital inclusion for people in remote rural areas without access to electricity is becoming a reality through the deployment of solar powered container Digital Doorways developed by the CSIR. Two are now in operation: one at the Seidet Centre in Siyabuswa, Mpumalanga and the second at the Nophungwe Primary School at Vumbu, KwaZulu-Natal. The Digital Doorway initiative is funded by the Department of Science and Technology (DST). It is a rugged computer system used to promote self-learning of computer and information skills in remote areas where no computer infrastructure exists. As a self-contained unit, the container Digital Doorway can operate in deep rural areas with no access to the electricity grid. It has identical functionality to that of other traditional three-terminal Digital Doorways of which over 200 have now been deployed across South Africa in areas with access to electricity. The container Digital Doorway system operates off 12 Vdc (Volts of continuous current). Roughly 3x3 m, the container stands 3.8 m at its highest point and has seven stick-on 68-Watt solar panels on its sloping roof. The solar panels charge Ah deep-cycle marine batteries within the container, which supply power to the Digital Doorway systems. The system operates 14 hours a day and has a zero-sun capacity of approximately five days. The Digital Doorway initiative is proving to be very popular and is expanding internationally. In partnership with the United Nations Children s Fund (UNICEF), the CSIR has embarked on a three-year plan to supply three-seater Digital Doorways to UNICEF and assist in developing a capability to produce them locally in Uganda. Digital Doorways have been installed in Ethiopia, the Solomon Islands, Lesotho and Australia. Ronel Smith Tel: rsmith2@csir.co.za 29

5 ENHANCED SERVICE DELIVERY REACH AND ACCESS A high site is essential for the wireless mesh network to connect to the backbone. Putting broadband into the hands of rural communities Broadband connectivity is viewed as a critical enabler of socioeconomic development. Conventional approaches to deploying broadband technology are generally not viable in rural areas due to the high cost involved. The CSIR has been researching wireless mesh networks as a technology to enable sustainable deployment of broadband networks in rural areas. The multiyear wireless mesh network (WMN) project is building on the results of this research to provide Internet access to rural schools and other government centres, such as clinics, Thusong Centres, community libraries and tribal offices in the vicinity of Dinaledi schools (schools participating in a South African Department of Education initiative to make science and mathematics more accessible at higher-grade level in disadvantaged schools). The project is funded by the Department of Science and Technology (DST) through the Sector Budget Support of the European Union. The WMN project has achieved significant milestones in the Nkangala district of Mpumalanga through the installation of wireless equipment at 180 sites, which has connected schools and other government institutions in the Dr JS Moroka and Thembisile Hani local municipalities for service delivery. Preparatory work has started on replicating the project in the Sekhukhune district in Limpopo and in the JT Gaetsewe district in the Northern Cape. To ensure sustainable business models and maximum benefit for local communities, 19 young local entrepreneurs have been trained in business and marketing, as well as in information technology and the installation of hardware. Envisaged businesses for these entrepreneurs range from computer training to providing communities with multimedia services. The entrepreneurs are participating in the installation phase of the broadband technology and are being prepared to take over maintenance and support of the project beyond the installation phase. An additional two entrepreneurs are involved in fulltime mentoring and support of the young entrepreneurs. In addition to achieving affordable broadband connectivity, the project will serve to enhance local industry and government services and contribute directly to the local economy through job creation. Kobus Roux Tel: kroux@csir.co.za 30

6 Enhanced service delivery by obtaining government information in one s own language Information about government services to communities in an official language of choice is becoming a reality as benefits of the CSIR s work in human language technology (HLT) are deployed. By using a telephone and selecting a language, South African citizens can access information with ease even if they do not own a computer and without the need for travel or other costly endeavours. With large numbers of South Africans living in remote rural areas and lacking the financial means to travel to government offices to obtain information, this service has obvious benefits. The Lwazi information system funded by the Department of Arts and Culture provides South Africans with the opportunity to access government information and services in any of the country s 11 official languages using either landline telephones or mobile telephones, free of charge. The Lwazi information system is underpinned by scientific and technical innovations, notably automatic speech recognition (ASR) and text to speech (TTS) systems for all 11 official languages of South Africa. The integration of these language technologies into a telephony platform allows individuals to interact with the system by voice over a standard telephone line. Lwazi was successfully piloted at six locations (both urban and rural) around the country, which covered testing for the resources developed for all the official languages. The next phase of the project aims to improve on the naturalness of TTS systems, the accuracy of ASR systems and the implementation of sustainable applications utilising the Lwazi system and technologies. Dr Karen Calteaux Tel: KCalteaux@csir.co.za 31

7 ENHANCED SERVICE DELIVERY REACH AND ACCESS Mathematics made easy via mobile phones FACT FILE learners actively use Dr Math South African schools to benefit from the mobile tutoring system A novel mathematics tutoring system developed by the CSIR is helping South African learners to take up the challenge of science, engineering and technology (SET) and promotes learning through the use of information and communications technology. Dr Math is a mobile mathematics tutoring system that runs on MXit, a popular instant messaging service available via cell phones. A total of learners have registered for Dr Math since its inception; each learner has sent at least one message, demonstrating his or her motivation to learn. Dr Math aims to assist learners to improve their mathematical understanding and skills, particularly in cases where adequate tuition is not readily available. The system provides a call-centre-like functionality and provides answers to the questions of learners struggling with school mathematics. The learner sends in a query via MXit and receives a response on MXit as well. Other chat systems will later also be used. As mathematics or mathematics literacy have become compulsory secondary school subjects, learners can be helped to improve their understanding and to pass mathematics or mathematics literacy in their final examinations. A longer-term benefit would thus be better prepared first-year students at tertiary level, who may have a better chance of success in courses where mathematics is a compulsory subject. Tutors have been drawn from the University of Pretoria, the African Institute for Mathematical Sciences and the CSIR to assist learners free of charge by logging on remotely to Dr Math. Queries are channelled to available tutors via a flow management model. The system offers real time mathematics support at a fraction of the cost of an SMS and contributes significantly to enhanced education in remote areas. The project has received support from the Department of Education and will ultimately benefit more than schools throughout South Africa, particularly those previously disadvantaged through lack of adequate teaching resources. New developments include drill-andpractice competitions and text-based mathematics adventure games. Merryl Ford Tel: mford@csir.co.za 32