Satellite for Afghanistan = Fondue Pots For Namibia?
The
UK based Guardian reported on April 9, 2012: “Afghanistan announces satellite
tender” (see http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/2012/apr/09/afghanistan-satellite which is
also the photo source). The article describes how the Afghani government is
looking for a partner to help them bring television and the Internet to all
parts of Afghanistan. The article also talks about the open and competitive
nature of Afghan television and the scrambling for frequencies by broadcasters.
When
I saw the article I was reminded of the Saturday Night Life Eddie Murphy skit
series centered on providing fondue pots for the African Nation of Namibia (see
http://snl.jt.org/comm.php?i=F). The
implication to me is that the last thing an African developing nation probably
needed was the luxury cooking item used for melting cheese or chocolate and
dipping items into the resulting gelatinous mass.
The
population of Afghanistan is overwhelmingly – say 75% or more rural (one source
is: http://foodsecurityatlas.org/afg/country/socioeconomic-profile/introduction). While
having the signal is fine and dandy, you also need a few other components such
as: receiving instruments, electric power for the receiving instruments and, oh
yes, a population willing and able to use these new devices and the content for
them to experience.
Of
course such an effort would not happen for quite some time, but it seems to me
that MISO in particular should not count on this medium in the near future.
A
counterpoint could be made that the leaders and more educated population lives
in cities and that perhaps there has been a stimulation of migration from rural
areas to cities in Afghanistan just has there has been in China and Africa. If
so, then beefing up the electronic media profile makes a great deal of sense.
My
gut however, believes this is a Quixotic effort destined to fail due in part to
the fact that investment partners are looking for a return on their investment.
What
do you think?
CJSOTF was putting wireless internet up around the ARV, and using it as a "hey look, we're bringing development" "message" to the mostly rural farmers whose primary mode of transportation was donkey, and whose only source of electricity were the solar panels they'd taken from the laughable 'solar lights' project from a few months earlier.
ReplyDeleteIt was something the locals neither wanted, nor needed, and was in no way tied to a behavior change. Clear, Hold, Build. Why is that such a hard doctrine to *follow*?