Initial Benefits

<body topmargin=0 leftmargin=0 marginheight=0 marginwidth=0> <table cellpadding=0 cellspacing=0 border=0><tr> <td valign="top" colspan=3 height=65 BGCOLOR="#990000" TEXT="#F7F7FF" bgproperties="fixed" background="00f00410dvldzz.gif"> <div> Initial Benefits</div> <div> </div> </td> </tr><tr> <td valign="top" rowspan="2" width=162 BGCOLOR="#999966" TEXT="#080000"> <div> <A HREF="id49.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="Background"><U>Background</U></A></div> <div> <A HREF="id51.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="Information Empowerment"><U>Information Empowerment</U></A></div> <div> <A HREF="id52.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="Conventional Personal Computers"><U>Conventional Personal Computers</U></A></div> <div> <A HREF="id53.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="The History of Personal Computing"><U>The History of Personal Computing</U></A></div> <div> <A HREF="id54.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="analysis"><U>analysis</U></A></div> <div> <A HREF="id55.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="what weve got"><U>what we've got</U></A></div> <div> <A HREF="id56.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="Telecom Solution"><U>Telecom Solution</U></A></div> <div> <A HREF="id57.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="obsolete cellular technology"><U>obsolete cellular technology</U></A></div> <div> <A HREF="id58.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="Heres how it could work:"><U>Here's how it could work:</U></A></div> <div> <A HREF="id59.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="Off Line Readers"><U>Off Line Readers</U></A></div> <div> <A HREF="id60.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="TMM"><U>TMM</U></A></div> <div> <B>Initial Benefits</B></div> <div> <A HREF="id62.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="Virtuous Circle"><U>Virtuous Circle</U></A></div> <div> <A HREF="id63.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="Conclusions"><U>Conclusions</U></A></div> <div> <A HREF="id67.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="Update"><U>Update</U></A></div> <div> <A HREF="id68.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="Useful Links"><U>Useful Links</U></A></div> <bR> <div> <A HREF="http://www.telepathic.com" TARGET="_top" TITLE="http://www.telepathic.com"><U><B><IMG SRC="0d264190.gif" border=0 width="100" height="25" ALIGN="BOTTOM" HSPACE="0" VSPACE="0"></B></U></A></div> </td> <td valign="top" height=385 colspan=2 BGCOLOR="#FFFFFF" TEXT="#080000"> <div> It is hard to overestimate the benefits which are likely to flow from the basic workstation - Community cellular network. The first change would be that <FONT SIZE="2" COLOR="#0033FF" FACE="Arial" >everyone would have an e-mail address.</FONT> No longer would communities be isolated since it would be possible to send messages from anywhere in the world - an instant <I>near-free</I> global mail service. A person who travelled away from their home would be able to send and receive e-mail from local workstations along the way- keeping in touch with home.</div> <bR> <div> The second change would arise from the timely information which would be available. Every workstation would have a free feed of local information - weather reports, latest prices for agricultural produce from all the major markets, News (regional, political, social), medical alerts etc. And, unlike radio or television, the information would be printable and reviewable.</div> <bR> <div> A person with a workstation would be able to enter into contracts to sell, buy or barter with anyone else. So, for example, if a person wanted to sell his green mangos he could agree a price with a dealer 100 miles away (basing their negotiations on the published daily prices) secure in the knowledge that the contract details are recorded by the network system as evidence of the agreement between the parties. A genuine accurate knowledge of market prices should rapidly increase incomes for rural people.</div> <bR> <div> A person could participate in off-line discussions and get advice and help. So if a child or a cow was unwell a question posted to the appropriate conference on the network would elicit replies and advice. If medical problems were serious, advice could be obtained from anywhere in the world.</div> <bR> <div> In poor communities villagers could discuss and prepare proposals for funding development - and get loans and help from anyone on the Internet with the various aid agencies able to act as honest brokers in the deals. Micro Lenders based around the principles of the <A HREF="http://www.grameen.org" TARGET="_top" TITLE="http://www.grameen.org"><U>Grameen Bank</U></A> could be active throughout the world.</div> <bR> <div> <FONT SIZE="2" COLOR="#000000" FACE="Arial" >Just because people are poor does not mean that they are stupid. Once a person realises the benefits which would flow from using his workstation, a firestorm of interest would develop as people would teach each other how to benefit from the new networked communication technology. I call this the </FONT><A HREF="id62.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="Virtuous Circle"><U><B>Virtuous Circle</B></U></A></div> </td> </tr><tr> <td valign="top" colspan=2 height=30 BGCOLOR="#FFFFFF" TEXT="#080000"> <div> <A HREF="id60.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="TMM"><U><B><IMG SRC="0021f150.gif" border=0 width="31" height="21" ALT="previous" ALIGN="BOTTOM" HSPACE="0" VSPACE="0"></B></U></A><B> </B><A HREF="id62.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="Virtuous Circle"><U><B><IMG SRC="0041f150.gif" border=0 width="31" height="21" ALT="next" ALIGN="BOTTOM" HSPACE="0" VSPACE="0"></B></U></A><B>    </B><A HREF="id48.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="Smart Communities on Diminished Budgets"><U><B><IMG SRC="0031f150.gif" border=0 width="31" height="21" ALT="up" ALIGN="BOTTOM" HSPACE="0" VSPACE="0"></B></U></A><B> </B><IMG BORDER="0" SRC="1x1.gif" HEIGHT="21" ALIGN="BOTTOM" HSPACE="0" VSPACE="0" WIDTH="31"></div> <bR> </td> </tr></table></body>