This is an important point and why I say we have an economic rather than a technical problem.

 

I’m working on a talk now and am going to start by asking why we don’t worry about consuming sidewalks (or, perhaps, in these cases dirt paths) nor our quota of steps. But when it comes to communicating – speech – we worry about using up our quota of words? Very strange. If we simply paid for those radios as common infrastructure “access” would be assumed.

 

The other issue is the word “access”? Where is this Internet we are accessing. We are really trying to interconnect with each other and some of the “others” are information sources. But people can also be supplying knowledge and sharing.

 

As to “mile”. The problem with “first” and “last” mile is that it is based on the legacy model of telecommunications as a series of pipes rather than peer connectivity that is about interconnecting locally as well as global. The term “first square mile” is a play on that that emphasizes this interconnectivity.

 

From: dc3-bounces@listas.altermundi.net [mailto:dc3-bounces@listas.altermundi.net] On Behalf Of Carlos Rey-Moreno
Sent: Wednesday, October 26, 2016 00:21

To: Dynamic Coalition on Community Connectivity <dc3@listas.altermundi.net>
Subject: Re: [DC3] RES: RES: Declaration on Community Connectivity v.1.0

 

Hi all, apologies for jumping in late. The declaration reads very well, congratulations to everyone for the work!

I have one major concern, though:

Concern: The beginning of the document is not entirely true: "Over three billion people do not have access to communication infrastructure". While there is common agreement that there are only 3 billion people connected to (using) the Internet, that does not mean that they do not have access to communications.  For instance, the ITU shows that coverage for both GSM and 3G networks is way beyond that number [1]. Other reasons may explain this gap, affordability, lack of relevant content, confidence/skills, etc, but not lack of access. Thus, we may need to rephrase that sentence if we don't want people to criticize the Declaration right from the start. I suggest:
"Over four billion people remain unconnected to the Internet, including around a billion who do not have access to basic telephony services".

I hope this can be included despite arriving slightly late.

 

By the way, in Community Informatics and other academic circles "first mile" is widely used, and I think we should use it here. Specially, because it was conceptualized within K-net [2], a successful example of providing connectivity to communities by communities in the First Nations in Northern Canada [3]. It would be interesting to know if they would subscribe the Declaration.

Best,

carlos

 

[1] http://www.itu.int/en/ITU-D/Statistics/Pages/facts/default.aspx
[2] http://firstmile.ca/
[3] http://knet.ca/

 

On 26 October 2016 at 00:27, <dc3@bob.ma> wrote:

Just as a reminder about idioms. Making some flight reservations - the points are called "miles" even on Air France

 

 

-----Original Message-----
From: dc3-bounces@listas.altermundi.net [mailto:dc3-bounces@listas.altermundi.net] On Behalf Of Nicolás Echániz
Sent: Thursday, October 20, 2016 19:53
To: Dynamic Coalition on Community Connectivity <dc3@listas.altermundi.net>

Subject: Re: [DC3] RES: RES: Declaration on Community Connectivity v.1.0

 

On 10/20/2016 12:00 PM, dc3@bob.ma wrote:

> This is a question I sometimes ask – are terms like “last mile”

> idiomatic rather than referring to an actual mile? Even worse is when

> you have a naïve translator writing about the last 1.6 km. If indeed

> “last mile” is idiomatic then “first square mile” works and “first

> km^2 ” isn’t quite the same play on meme.

 

I also think of "last mile" as not referring to an actual mile nowadays.

 

The "distance" from "last mile" to "first square kilometer" takes out the fun in the expression :P

 

I prefer "first square mile" or even "first mile" when it's written and "first square mile" when we are talking and can explain the concept a bit.

 

I've found the coincidence of many people with an alternative view on the Internet using the expression "first mile"; it's sort of "already out there".

 

 

Cheers!

Nico

 

 

 

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--

Carlos Rey-Moreno, PhD
PostDoctoral Fellow University of the Western Cape
Zenzeleni Networks: zenzeleni.net
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YxTPSWMX26M
Cel: +27 (0) 76 986 3633
Skype: carlos.reymoreno Twitter: Creym

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