Rural Development

This summary is part of a research project carried out between March and October 2006 in support of the International Institute for Communication and Development (IICD), one of The Communication Initiative (The CI)'s partners.

The purpose of this study was to examine the effects of internet access on economically poor rural people living in the South Pacific. A specific project called PFnet (People First Network) was implemented to improve the flow of information to rural people and peacekeepers in remote communities throughout the Solomon Islands. Community-based, the PFnet project is managed by the Rural Development Volunteer Association (RDVA), which is a registered non-governmental organisation (NGO) associated with the Ministry of Rural Development of Solomon Islands. With the goal of establishing email stations that can be accessed by the majority of Solomon Islands residents (which number around 500,000 people), PFnet was structured into three parts: PFnet Management operating out of Honiara, PFnet Committees set up in each of the email/internet stations, and two operators per email station.

According to this study, each email station is set up in a public facility, such as a provincial health clinic or school. One laptop computer per station transmits to a high frequency short wave radio via a modem. The main radio receiver located in Honiara receives the email messages and sends them on to the appropriate addresses. News is also transmitted; local news is compiled and sent to Honiara where management forward it on to various media, while international news is sent to the base station for access by customers.

Through PFnet, individuals are able to go to their nearest email station and, for a fee of $S2.00 (or $US 0.26), send an email message. Receiving messages is free, largely to encourage large numbers of people to use the service. Operators at each email station type and send (for $S5.00 or $US 0.65 per page) messages handwritten or dictated by the customer. Literacy is therefore not a deterrent to the use of these email stations. Customers who are literate in English and can afford the fee often have their own private email accounts.

Awareness of the existence of these email stations is high, although men are more frequent users than women. This disparity is attributed to the lower rates of education for females, less access to transportation, and societal shyness that make many women feel apprehensive about asking male operators to type their messages. As a result, many women have expressed a strong desire to be trained and have access to extra computers so they can type messages themselves.

The authors assert that PFnet has assisted in reducing the “digital divide,” or the disparity between people who have access to information communication technology (ICT) and those who do not. They feel that PFnet has helped farmers connect with agricultural authorities and NGOs to improve their farming practices and successes. It has helped rural businesspeople expand their customer base by allowing them the opportunity to make contacts and land contracts in Honiara and other towns, and expedite their banking transactions. Locals can expand their knowledge thanks to the educational benefits of internet access, while health professionals can use PFnet's services to order medicine and receive and confirm medical results, diagnoses, and treatment options.

On a broader scale, the PFnet service has aided regional efforts toward peace building, security and political reconciliation by facilitating the relaying of accurate news, and reducing the incidences of false information being accepted as fact.

Physical proximity to an email station was a key factor in people using them, with statistics from the project showing that most users live within a few kilometers of a station. This is attributed to the remoteness of some villages with very limited access to roads to get to a station.

For the continued success of this ICT service, PFnet management is needed for ongoing training of station operators as well as for the monitoring of existing stations to ensure they are delivering their services in the most efficient way possible.

PFnet management and station operators should keep their lines of communication open to troubleshoot any problems or potential issues as soon as they come up.

Because of the enormous benefit to local entrepreneurs, PFnet services should be actively
promoted to this group. This helps indigenous people make a better livelihood, and will facilitate the exchange of goods and services between remote communities.

Before any new email stations are established, extensive consultations with village leaders, elders and stakeholders should be conducted.

It has been determined that this project should be expanded throughout the Solomon Islands and to other South Pacific Island countries as well.

Rural Development Volunteer Association (RDVA)
University of the South Pacific (USP)
Japan International Cooperation Agency (JICA)

Title: The Impact of ICT on Rural Development in Solomon Islands: the PFnet (People First Network) Case
Year: 2005
Publication: ICT Capacity Building at USP


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