Africa goes cellular 9

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1. 

   jdhlax Posted 5:13 pm
   25 Aug 2005

   Great!More bird killing and radiation emitting cell phone towers; yahoo!  Maybe they won't be as obnoxious as Americans when they brey into their cell phones, but that's the only possible positive point here.

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2. 

   CowsEatGrass Posted 5:30 am
   26 Aug 2005

   HypocrisyDamn Africans trying to do what we do.  Where do they get off?
   Amazing statistic though...

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3. 

   jdhlax Posted 1:32 pm
   26 Aug 2005

   Maybe What YOU Do ...I don't own or use a cell phone.  I hate them for every reason you've ever heard, beginning with the environmental ones.

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4. 

   odograph Posted 3:49 am
   27 Aug 2005

   cell-phone worldAs an aside, it is amazing the degree to which cell phones have become part of our world.  I've shown a few people this picture (circa 1900) and we all see people talking on cell phones:
   old dc
   zoom in to the gents by the lamp post in the foreground.

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5. 

   amazingdrx Posted 3:03 am
   28 Aug 2005

   well jd.Installing land phone lines probably creates even more destruction than wireless.
   The advent of universal, inexpensive, broadband digital wireless internet as a medium for all information traffic (video, audio, phone, internet, TV, radio)would quickly dismantle cable, broadcasting, and telephone monopolies.
   And it would actually produce far less radiation because of increased efficiency.
   Japan is 5 years ahead in this effort mainly due to bushco inc administration monopoly friendly regulation in return for bribes.  Wimax is already replacing wifi there. Wimax has the bandwidth to carry everything to and from even a small handheld portable device.
   Bushco inc is still fighting the rollout of wifi here.

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6. 

   jdhlax Posted 5:14 pm
   29 Aug 2005

   WE Are Fighting ...WiFi in SF, "we" being those of us who are opposed to environmentally harmful technologies.  I want to question, not necessarily disagree with, two of your comments:
   
   
   How could land phone lines, which can be installed underground, possibly cause more harm than bird killing, radiation emitting cell phone towers, even if they're above ground; and
   
   How could WiFi possibly produce less radiation than land lines?
   
   
   Please only use scientific facts, not conjectures, rumors, or theories.

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7. 

   Shalini Ramanathan Posted 10:52 pm
   29 Aug 2005

   a very good thingin east africa, farmers use mobile phones to find out where they can get the best prices for their crops -- this results in more money in farmers' pockets, which is a good thing.
   it's fine (wonderful, even) to be an eccentric without a cell phone in a country with well-developed infrastructure. it's quite another to be without communications capacity in an isolated african village. cell phones are wildly popular here for a reason: they make life easier and sometimes put prosperity within reach.

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8. 

   amazingdrx Posted 11:37 pm
   29 Aug 2005

   Dig it jd.Well digging in all those phonelines does cause a lot of disruption of flora and fauna.
   As far as amount of radiation and bird killing towers, replacing all those extremely powerful analog broadcast towers for radio, tv, cell phones,all the radio dispatch sevices...with extremely low powered wimax systems mounted on existing buildings fed by fiber optics, it's clear which system wins from an environmental standard.
   The public air waves are filled to the brim right now with all kinds of powerful junk signals that many of us never bother to receive.  A more selective wireless broadband system would only supply signal on demand.  
   For instance,instead of 360 kw of tv signal beamed out over a huge area from each tv station, that signal would be transported digitally on the wireless network, only to those who request it.
   I am talking about a new wireless information technology built out on the net and extended using wimax.   It would bring the very latest education, news, entertainment even to the remotest regions.
   And reduce the human produced electronmagnetic radiation by magnitudes.  Not to mention, make all those broadcast towers candidates for recycling.

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9. 

   amazingdrx Posted 12:17 am
   30 Aug 2005

   Actually jd.I envision renewable energy cooperatives that will also use wind electric towers to supply their customers with wimax wireless broadband.  That can  take care of cable tv, radio, phone, internet...as well as power needs for coop members.
   All bundled into one low cost structure.  
   Then power consuming coop members will pay power producing coop members who have wind, solar, and biofuel installations..or in the case of internet access, those members paying for landline internet access that take it wireless on their wind towers will be paid by members using the coop's wireless broadband network.
   This scheme cuts most of the old line utility monopoly participation right out of the loop.  We still use their powrer lines and internet lines to some extent, but very minimally.  Eventually capital will acumulate in the cooperative utility company and the old utility's lines and powerplants can be bought out lock, stock, and barrel.
   Voila!  A local, homegrown  energy re-evolution!
   Add in micro-nedia replacement of mass delusional, mass media....and we may even be able to rejuvenate our lost democracy.
   Too ambitious?  Hehehey.  It will take plenty of grass roots political power as well, to overcome government regulations favoring old line monopolies.
   
   

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