By Anastacia Villis
Look at a photo of the Earth at night. You can immediately locate the developed, industrialized nations. You just have to follow the large clumps of light that signify civilization, modern technology, and basic electricity. But what about the vast stretches of land that are completely dark? Are there no people living in these seemingly deserted spaces? In fact, the largest populations of people live in the darkness — without electricity, without being able to put a speck of light on picture of the globe, and without many basic privileges that those living in the light take for granted.
Townships and rural, impoverished communities — those most often left in the dark, often lack access to clean water and proper sanitation, and have limited to no access to electricity. Many social initiatives have attempted to solve these problems, but one major problem still remains under the radar — lack of connection. Historically, rural areas have been restricted from access to cellular and internet connection due to high costs of maintaining networks in these areas. Not only are the people living in these areas isolated as a result their difficult circumstances, but are also cut off from the main source of communication to the global community.
In a rapidly progressing technological world, it is becoming increasingly important to have access to some type of cellular network or internet connection if there is any of hope of being a functioning and contributing member of society. Vanu, Inc. is creating a potential solution for this problem of developing countries being both physically and socially isolated in this way. A company that has combined “technology and business innovation to reduce the total cost of ownership of wireless networks”, they have made it possible for the dark areas of the world to gain access to cellular service and internet — something that was too expensive for providers before.
Vanu has revolutionized the wireless network sector by changing the vertically integrated infrastructure into one where operators can choose which vendors they want to work with at every step of the way. Decisions can now be made based off which works best with their business, or the cheapest options. Before, every step of the process of providing wireless networks for an area was under one provider: BTS, BSC, baseband, RF head and antenna subsystems. High operating costs created a barrier for coverage, leaving difficult to reach areas in the dark.
While on the Social Enterprise and Business Consulting Dialogue in South Africa, students have the opportunity to work with a micro-entrepreneurs from the townships around Cape Town. A common struggle that many businesses face is difficulty with advertising and establishing a social media presence. Many micro-entrepreneurs utilize Facebook, but are not able to use it effectively because of lack of Internet access. Vanu’s approach to wireless coverage can provide hundreds of millions of people including micro-entrepreneurs, with cell phone service in order to facilitate the growth and sustainability of budding businesses. With these new capabilities, micro-entrepreneurs can access new markets, advertise any micro-business initiatives they may have, and eventually be able to employ others in their communities.
Vanu has revolutionized the idea of wireless coverage in a way that can improve thousands of lives. Adding one speck of light to that photo of the Earth, sets off a chain reaction. Soon maybe we will see a more equitable diffusion of light in the darkness.
