Having returned from Lahore in Pakistan and The Pakistan Software House Association (P@SHA) conference on "Rural Wireless Connectivity" and now finding myself in the Province of Fryslân in the Netherlands, you might be forgiven for thinking that they had little in common and that I must be suffering from culture shock - not to mention jet lag.
You could not be more mistaken. Fryslân is home to those lovely Friesian cows and horses - not to mention 600,000 friendly and welcoming humans.  Fryslân is one of the Netherlands' northern provinces and the only province of the Netherlands to retain its own language. Like the other low-lying parts of the Netherlands, the province struggles to protect its land from flooding and owes its existence to dikes (artificially constructed mounds of earth) extending the length of the coastline, and to windmills - the most famous of Dutch symbols - that drain the land.  Not much like rural Pakistan?  

Fryslân, from its leading town, Leeurwarden, is a pioneering rural area when it comes to open access connectivity and the innovative use of ICT.  The Conference, entitled, "Digital Services - The Economic Challenge for Rural Areas" at which I had been invited to speak has been organised by the Province and the links from the event website give ample evidence of this commitment to being adventurous in using the new digital technologies to support and enhance the existing socio-economic life of this quiet rural area of northern Europe.

Indeed, it took a 45 minute ferry ride over the Wad on the second day of the Conference to take us all to another world....Ameland.  No wonder they call this island the Wadden diamond - peace and quiet and fresh air in abundance.  Workshops had been arranged on Ameland addressing such diverse issues as e-learning; e-government and e-democracy; virtual marketing and health care.  The latter was an impressive example of how the particular problems of island-life requiring a long trip to and from the hospital by ferry and bus can be replaced by visual and audio contact as patients can 'converse' with a specialist at the Talma Sionsberg Hospital in far off Dokkum, the other side of Fryslân.  The citizens of Ameland are showing something which I constantly stress about the OPLAN principle - namely that access to the internet is but one application.  Listening to our politicians and the media, one might be forgiven for thinking that there is nothing more than the 'internet' when it comes to broadband connectivity.  Walter Lipman), the influential US writer, journalist, and political commentator once wrote, "The role of a press is to keep a community in conversation with itself".  I say, "The role of an open public local access network is to keep a community in conversation with itself".   Fryslân is already proving this to be the case - and the same will no doubt soon be demonstrated in Pakistan.  And maybe, it will indeed be the rural areas of the world - developed and developing - that will prove to be the most energetic and innovative deployers of OPLAN networks and discoverers of their value.  Why?  Because rural areas tend to enjoy a more pronounced sense of physical 'community' than do the more anonymous environments of our cities and urban areas.  If you 'know' your neighbour, then the desire to explore new richer ways of conversing with them by using these digital technologies may be greater than if you are an isolated island in a giant city.  And Ameland has plans to add a a big 'G' at the front of its name - turning the island into a digital gamers paradise during the summer season and beyond.

Another reason that puts Leeurwarden on the map is the fact that this OPLAN Foundation website is housed there.  Thanks to the generous support and unrivalled competence of FR-IX, the Fryslân ICT Center located in the futuristic Crystalic building in Leeurwarden, you are able to access this blog.  So, in my book, Fryslân is a world class host - whether for you and your family looking for a rural retreat or for your web-server seeking global connectivity.


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The Pakistan Software House Association (P@SHA) was formed in 1992 by just nine software firms.  Since then membership has grown to over 260 which reflects the enormous pace at which the Pakistani software and services industry is growing.  Under the inspiring leadership of its current President, Jehan Ara, P@SHA is not simply confining itself to strict software issues but rather is widening its horizons to engage with emerging issues of relevance that impact the development of the ICT sector.  Hence the decision to organise the "Rural Wireless Connectivity Conference" here in Lahore, Pakistan which has been taking place for the past two days and to which I have had the privilege of contributing, along with old colleagues like Jim Forster (employee #30 at Cisco Systems - one of the events sponsors of the event along with Intel and the Pakistani Ministry of IT & Telecoms) and my good friend Vickram Crishna who is a staunch supporter of the OPLAN Foundation. So that's where I am, and as always at such events, there are encouraging surprises.
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I am starting to write this blog entry while waiting in Dubai International Airport  for my delayed Emirates flight to Lahore where I will be speaking at an event and workshops organised by the Pakistan Software Houses Association. 

Back in August, the Dubai Department of Civil Aviation (DCA) launched a wireless internet service at this extremely modern and well designed shopping mall (as most airports now seem to have become).  It affords passengers and visitors free and open access to the Internet on their laptops, PDA’s, and smart phones, in most parts of both the Arrival and Departure areas.  The service is currently being expanded throughout all of Dubai airport under the second phase of this wireless connectivity project and is expected to be completed before the end of the year.

 “The launch of the free of charge wireless Internet service at Dubai International Airport is a milestone for the DCA, and is indicative of our keenness to keep abreast of technology which improves the services we provide to the passengers,” claimed Jamal Al Hai, Chairman DCA Executive board and Director, Strategy and Management Excellence at DCA, at the time of the August launch.  He rightly noted that the service would be a great convenience for passengers, who will now be able to stay connected and online.  “With Dubai fast emerging as a global trade and tourism hub, the wireless Internet service acquires a new meaning.  Millions of passengers pass through Dubai International Airport each year, and a rising number of them depend on such a service for business, information and entertainment,” said Al Hai.  He added that passengers transiting through Dubai International Airport would derive immense benefit from the free service adding,  “Telecommunication has shrunk the world, and there is an increasing need for services that keep people connected to their business and work, and to have access to information on the go.  We at DCA attach great importance to this need of the passengers.”
So, well done Mr Al Hai and Dubai airport - you get it!   Indeed, your open access WiFi stance is a far cry from the pathetic policy of the likes of British Airports Authority (BAA) in the UK and most other international airports, based on making a few additional dollars from their retail real estate -  sorry, I mean 'airport' real estate - by selling their passenger/customers into ransom for a few extra dollars so the telcos can operate an archaic 'paid-for-hot-spot' strategy. 

So give me Dubai airport anyday!   But, hold on a minute!  Having been using my laptop for much of today, my battery is alarmingly low and hence in order to use the 'free-WiFi' amenity here to retrieve my emails, I need to access a 13 amp power socket.   Also my laptop, once booted, quickly achieves the temperature of an inverted frying pan, so I also need a table on which to rest it - and having ageing bones, a chair to sit on.  Simple requirements, eh?
Don't you believe it!  Let me tell you, " table + chair + adjacent 13amp mains socket" does not exist anywhere in the public area of Dubai International Airport.  Not nowhere, and  I know as I have scoured every inch of this airport.  There is no such thing as a power socket adjacent to a table and chair.  I have finally managed to get access to this simple "triple play"  by finding a remote corner in the business centre of the Dubai International Hotel off Terminal 1 and ... would you believe it, my flight to Lahore has finally be called.  Shut down the laptop.

Re-booting in the Leaders Inn Hotel in Lahore where I have finally arrived at 6am in the morning having spent 2 hours battling with the Pakistani immigration service which clearly regards 'selling visas' at $110 a go, as a major export industry and source of valuable foreign currency.   But here in the Leaders Inn Hotel I have excellent wired connectivity - and again it is "free" - plus a comfortable desk and chair to work from.  But guess what - the light bulb in the bathroom is bust!   Still, I suppose soaping in the dark is a small price to pay for connectivity. 
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Yesterday, history was made in Stockholm, Sweden.  I was privileged to make the keynote speech at the 'Broadband Cities Conference 2006' organised by The International Network of E-Communities (INEC) - but there was nothing earth shattering about that although it is always encouraging to speak before a gracious and grateful audience.  No, it was what took place immediately following my presentation that is worthy of note.  I refer to the signing of the "Declaration on Open Networks".

This is a remarkable document in itself in that it clearly sets out in simple language many of what the OPLAN Foundation regards as the defining characteristics of an 'open public local access network'.  If nothing else, I do encourage you to take the time to read this short ten clause document. I have no doubt that it will grow in significance and notoriety as the democratically elected leaders of more and more cities and municipalities around the world, embrace its sentiments and aims and put their own signature to it in the months and years ahead.
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I have just returned from spending a stimulating ten days with an international group of OPLAN 'grass routers'.  I have been in Macleod Ganj, Dharamsala in northern Indian in the foothills of the Himalayas speaking and sharing at the annual WSFII Summit gathering.  I regard this informal network of enlightened geeks and social activists as one of the key change agents pioneering the promotion of local deployment of wireless open access networks in the developing world.  I may have been the only Brit amongst this inspiring group of over a hundred individuals from around the globe (inc.  Germany, Holland, Ghana, Colombia, Canada, USA, India, Afghanistan, Pakistan, Nepal, Philippines, New Zealand, Denmark, Austria, Tibet, Taiwan) but English was the undoubted lingua franca of this WSFI summit.

The Dharamsala Mesh Wireless OPLAN network which acted as host to the first few days of the WSFII summit is registered on the OPLAN website and although there is nothing particularly ground breaking in itself about this mesh network, the fact that it deploys 30 nodes to connect over 2,000 PCs over the most rugged and mountainous terrain at an altitude of around 2,000 metres, makes it a worthy example of just how flexible and powerful WiFi can be in the hands of a few enthusiastic techies and community activists who know what they are doing.  The network can be considered as one of the largest mesh networks in the world and covers over a hundred kilometers of rough terrain, situated as it is in the foothills of the western Himalayan ranges.
Dharamsala, originally occupied by the nomadic Gaddi tribe is now most famous as being the 'temporary' Indian home of the Dali Lama and a large Budhist community of Tibetan exiles many of whom have displayed huge courage and endurance to flee their Chinese occupied homeland by walking across the Himalayas.  The Air Jaldi network is maintained through the TibTech (Tibetan Technology Centre), located in the Tibetan Childrens' Village (TCV).  This community of 2,000plus children, many of whom are orphaned but many living in TCV because their parents, enslaved in Chinese occupied Tibet, have willingly sent their children into this Tibetan encalve in India in order to secure a better future and preserve the 'next generation' of Tibetans.  A more happy and self-disciplined 'big family' is hard to imagine ... and many of these gracious children are already digitally dextrous and thriving on being able to connect to the world via the internet-connected AirJaldo network. 
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