Collaborating with other organizations that share your goals can help you expand your reach and increase your visibility within your field. By working together, you can leverage each other’s strengths and expertise to create something new and valuable.
This principle is central to why WOUGNET, through its regional office in Northern Uganda, called Kubere Information Centre (KIC), is collaborating with netLabs! UG, a research centre at Makerere University, to strengthen research on telecommunication and networking technologies. Consequently, communities in Apac have greatly benefited from this partnership and collaboration, specifically through the piloting of the Rural Connectivity Broadband Connectivity (RCBN) and the Rural Voices project. These initiatives target rural schools, health facilities, government offices, women-led farmer groups, and business communities in Apac district, Northern Uganda..
WOUGNET and the School of Engineering, Design, Art, and Technology (CEDAT) at Makerere University researched the Rural Broadband Connectivity Model in Apac District. This collaboration facilitated the deployment of the Rural Connectivity Broadband Network at ten different sites within Apac Municipality. The internet network connects up to a 45-kilometre radius, with Radio Apac, a community radio station and long-time partner of WOUGNET, serving as the key installation site. The radio station provides a central location for the gateway, offering a radio tower for the sector antenna deployment.
Caption: Community members using the RBCN internet at Apac FM
WOUGNET envisions an inclusive and just society where women and girls can use ICTs for sustainable development. Apac, being the host district for RCBN research, has benefited significantly from the services, leading to increased uptake of internet services and socio-economic gains. The main objective of the project is to pilot a Rural Broadband Connectivity Model that supports a knowledge-based economy focusing on education, health, entrepreneurship, and agricultural sectors. The RCBN is deployed to host organisations within the community based on their involvement in socio-economic activities and service delivery, such as agriculture, entrepreneurship, health, education, women, and youth. Host organisations play a crucial management role in maintaining the RCBN equipment at the various established centres, as they own the buildings.
The broadband innovation is the only network in Apac District offering high-speed WiFi within a 50-90 metre range at no cost. It has evolved into a community network embraced by communities to learn and share information on ecological challenges, education, agriculture, health, and entrepreneurial opportunities, particularly benefiting women and youth. The network is connected to 12 sites in the three divisions of Akere, Arocha, and Atik, all within Apac Municipality.
Key achievements of the project include a successful field survey of proposed network sites for deployment, meetings with intended project beneficiaries to introduce the project officially, and identifying partners to ensure each area is considered for deployment. The RCBN network covers ten sites in Apac Municipality, including Apac District Headquarters, Apac General Hospital, women farmer groups, one primary and three secondary schools, a technical institute, and other socio-economic centres like Nicho Photo Studio. The population in Apac District continues to benefit from and use the community network.
Due to increased internet engagement, usage, and demand from targeted rural communities in Apac, WOUGNET received support from the Association for Progressive Communications (APC) and WACC to strengthen the RCBN research and expand the network from 10 to 12 sites. This support enabled the installation of new network sites at Atopi Market and WOUGNET’s field project office, the Kubere Information Centre.
Caption: Two more network sites being installed at Atopi Market and the Kubere Information Centre, supported by APC and WACC.
This project is exceptional in that it not only provides internet access to rural communities in Apac but also conducts research on the gender responsiveness of the Rural Broadband Connectivity Model using the feminist principles of internet methodology. This research aims to analyse the issues or gaps impacting communities’ use of the RCBN and find possible solutions to encourage access and usage, especially for women and youth in rural areas. As the saying goes, broadband coverage in Uganda is minimal, with a 70% urban-rural gap in internet usage.
Supported by the Government of Uganda through the Research and Innovation Fund at Makerere University, APC, and WACC, this project has enabled the implementation of Rural Voices Project activities in Apac District, Northern Uganda. WOUGNET continues to engage communities in various project activities through partnerships to ensure an inclusive and just society where women and girls can use ICTs for sustainable development. WOUGNET also has a resource base of community-identified individuals who conduct training sessions within the communities, with an aim of increasing the uptake and utilisation of ICTs within the region…
By Apio Lillian Mercy, Project Officer, Kubere Information Centre, Apac
