There have been many text message based initiatives in developing countries recently to achieve health, agriculture, education and economic development goals. Most initiatives use bulk text messaging to broadcast information such as crop reports and health advisories to the general population. In countries where the infrastructure is under developed this can be the most effective way of communicating. Often this is one way communications (broadcast) but where two way communications is provided the cost of the communications relative to local incomes is high and the cost and availability of staff to respond remain a challenge. More local support and a collaborative sharing of skills and resources locally is a more viable solution but the cost of using the existing telecommunication infrastructure remains an issue. Creating a local mesh network for peer to peer communications between individuals in small under served communities is a way of facilitating that communications.
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P2P Local Mesh Communications Network for Developing Countries Rev April 30 2017 C.doc