Optimising Internet Bandwidth in Developing Country Higher Education.
Abstract
This report was commissioned in 2003 in response to the concerns of partner organisations in Africa, Asia and Latin America that their use of costly Internet bandwidth was not as effective as it could be. The report was prepared with input from eight countries (from Africa, Asia and Europe), and has been written for three main audiences - senior management, librarians, and IT managers. It first identifies access problems in university environments, and then explains why access is frequently slow and costly, and how it can be affected by government policies as well as by other regulatory and economic restrictions. Finally, the report identifies how each stakeholder group can influence and improve online access within their institution.
This report is summarized in INASP Infobrief 1, accessible on this output.
The chapters and appendices of this book are presented in separate PDF files. The chapter contents are as follows:
- Executive summary and recommendations
- The need for bandwidth optimization
- Recommendations for librarians
- Network optimization review
- Charging and quotas
- Bandwidth
- Network design
- Usage policies
- Authentication
- Managing the IT department
- Using free software
- Connection options
- Glossary
The first 3 appendices deal with Practical technical implementation, Connection options and Usage policy, while later appendices report on a number of individual institutions in Africa.
Citation
Venter, G. Optimising Internet Bandwidth in Developing Country Higher Education. (2003) 165 pp.