Mark Zuckerburg, the 14th richest person in the world and founder of Facebook, was recently in Chandauli a tiny town in rural India about a four hour drive southwest of New Delhi. He was there to look at a computer center but also to experience a world that was not internet connected.
Zuckerberg along with Ericsson, Mediatek, Opera, Samsung, Facebook, Nokia and Qualcomm have formed Internet.org a global partnership dedicated to making affordable internet access available to the two thirds of the world not yet connected. This conglomeration hopes to remove barriers such as networks not supporting large amounts of data, content being unavailable in local languages, service plans being too expensive, inconsistent electricity, lack of mobile networks, devices too expensive, etc.
The business model used is that internet.org develops apps and determines appropriate content for potential users. The next step is to engage local cell phone providers and convince them to offer the content in the app for free with no data charges. (Eventually the cell phone providers generate revenues as users want more and more data for other apps). Anybody with a data capable mobile can then download the app and use its content. This is being tested in both Zambia and Tanzania. The apps offerings includes AccuWeather, Wikipedia, Google Search, Mobile Alliance for Maternal Action-there's a special emphasis on women's rights and health, some job sites
For those of us regularly online we know the power of the internet. It's not just about facebooking or social media but about an opening to everything happening in the world, to being connected to a wealth of information. It's about Arab Spring, Tiananmen Square, bringing justice, keeping track of our governments, finding information about health care, looking for jobs, staying in touch with family and friends no matter where they might live.
According to a report titled The State of Broadband 2014 published by the UN Broadband Commission, Nepal has been ranked 146th among 191 countries in terms of the percentage of population having access to internet service. The report states that 13.3 percent of Nepalis use the internet. Similarly, the country is in the 100th position among 132 developing countries with 4.9 percent of households having an internet connection. (According to the 2011 census only 3.33 % of households had internet access; telephone reach-7.37 %; mobile phone reach-64.4%; computer reach-7.28% and cable television reach-19.33%).
When reviewing Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) examples in Nepal we find possibilities for continuing the upward trend of users. N-Cell provides a good amount of CSR work in the education field. Phul Kumari Mahato Memorial Trust (PKMMT) has provided infrastructure improvements to a school in Bandipur, Siraha, as well as providing funding to help marginalized students attending Samata Siksha Niketan, “Bamboo Schools". Chaudhary Group has a CSR program, as well as, many other corporates. The Government might partner with these corporates, the numerous District Education Offices (DEOs) and VDCs throughout the country, NGOs, INGOs and a company like Internet.org to bring internet to all VDCs and the younger generation. Inexpensive tablets, as in India, could be donated or a fund established to purchase these for schools and VDCs. Internet cafes could be established in school libraries or established by older school children as business ventures located in their schools.
If a number of Nepali corporates collaborated there might not be the need to team with, e.g. internet.org. A homegrown solution could be developed and taken further through a larger collaboration. When I lived in Kathmandu I met with a number of corporates for CSR reasons and I know that the potential to bring all of Nepal on-line exists. I can imagine the advances that the education, health and agricultural systems could make if the 87% of people not on-line, were.
The entire idea of a connected Nepal, i.e. world, isn't that far fetched. Just imagine how different life will be for all when this comes to pass.
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