London — African data networks have improved immeasurably in the last 3 years. There are still many problems like under-provisioning and vandalism but they are beginning to start to work. However, go only a short distance from the core networks and it's a very different picture. This week we talk to Brian Longwe, Programme Manager, Internet Now! about the forgotten Internet users of Gulu.
If there's connectivity and power, an e-mail can take a matter of seconds to get from Uganda's capital Kampala to the Northern region capital of Gulu. However, it can take 6 hours to do the drive. Despite the region being the focus of a nasty conflict with the Lord's Resistance Army, money has not been poured into infrastructure after it ended.
...