Communications Question

For work in the Serengeti and other parts of East Africa, is radio still the
most economical, effective means for communications between vehicles and
with bases, or have cell/SAT phones started to make cost-effective inroads.
Which technology do most field researchers use today? What are the trends?
Thanks in advance for any help.
Steve

On Fri, 09 Jan 2004 21:26:21 -0800, Steve Finegan wrote:
For work in the Serengeti and other parts of East Africa, is radio still the
most economical, effective means for communications between vehicles and
with bases, or have cell/SAT phones started to make cost-effective inroads.
Which technology do most field researchers use today? What are the trends?
Thanks in advance for any help.

At least one safari operator, Safari Makers, has switched entirely to
cell phones.

--
Photos and travelogues from Africa and Southeast Asia: http://www.exile.org

Steve Finegan wrote:

For work in the Serengeti and other parts of East Africa, is radio still the
most economical, effective means for communications between vehicles and
with bases, or have cell/SAT phones started to make cost-effective inroads.
Which technology do most field researchers use today? What are the trends?

Steve,

short wave radio is the classic way. They come as car-based
boxes and as walkie-talkies. Range is perhaps 10 kilometers,
depending on terrain structure and weather.

In some areas cell phones work, but for example in Maasai Mara,
Kenya, the transmitters in the lodges are throttled to limit
their range to very few kilometers. (I think this is very
stupid, particularly since it costs more to install many
throttled transmitters and since it can cost lives.) Other
places, like even the popular Amboseli in Kenya, are not yet
covered at all.

The other way is the satellite phone. Thuraya is the cheapest
choice. They use one geostationary satellite, soon to be
augmented by a second one. The other more expensive and not
necessarily better choice is Iridium. Their advantage is
worldwide coverage. Thuraya is an Asian-African thing.

Whoever can afford it, has one of these, because it's a security
measure. But they are not normally used for everyday
communications because of the still relatively high
per-minute-price (like around $1.50 per minute for Iridium, I
think). I see people use them for the Internet connection
though, usually at below 10 Kbit/s data rates, good enough for a
few small, but important emails.

Hans-Georg

--
No mail, please.

On Fri, 09 Jan 2004 21:26:21 -0800, Steve Finegan
wrote:

For work in the Serengeti and other parts of East Africa, is radio still the
most economical, effective means for communications between vehicles and
with bases, or have cell/SAT phones started to make cost-effective inroads.
Which technology do most field researchers use today? What are the trends?
Thanks in advance for any help.
Steve

Probably it depends most on whatever is most available in the area
you'll be, and how remote you are. Most of the researchers I know of
working in Ethiopia and northern Kenya use satellite phones.
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Hans-Georg Michna wrote:

Steve Finegan wrote:

For work in the Serengeti and other parts of East Africa, is radio still the
most economical, effective means for communications between vehicles and
with bases, or have cell/SAT phones started to make cost-effective inroads.
Which technology do most field researchers use today? What are the trends?

Steve,

short wave radio is the classic way. They come as car-based
boxes and as walkie-talkies. Range is perhaps 10 kilometers,
depending on terrain structure and weather.

That applies to walkie-talkie, but certainly not to the built-in radio
sets that most minibuses in Kenya use nowadays. The range of these
things is *much* larger and they can easily talk from Masai Mara to
their head office in Nairobi or to a collegue in Nakuru. The annoying
thing is that they are doing that all the time.


--
Johan W. Elzenga johanatjohanfoto.nl
Editor / Photographer http://www.johanfoto.nl/

lid (Johan W. Elzenga) wrote:

Hans-Georg Michna wrote:

short wave radio is the classic way. They come as car-based
boxes and as walkie-talkies. Range is perhaps 10 kilometers,
depending on terrain structure and weather.

That applies to walkie-talkie, but certainly not to the built-in radio
sets that most minibuses in Kenya use nowadays. The range of these
things is *much* larger and they can easily talk from Masai Mara to
their head office in Nairobi or to a collegue in Nakuru. The annoying
thing is that they are doing that all the time.

Johan,

thanks for the good information. Yes, you probably mean the ones
with the looong whipping antennas on the minibusses.

Hans-Georg

--
No mail, please.

Hans-Georg Michna wrote:

lid (Johan W. Elzenga) wrote:

Hans-Georg Michna wrote:

short wave radio is the classic way. They come as car-based
boxes and as walkie-talkies. Range is perhaps 10 kilometers,
depending on terrain structure and weather.

That applies to walkie-talkie, but certainly not to the built-in radio
sets that most minibuses in Kenya use nowadays. The range of these
things is *much* larger and they can easily talk from Masai Mara to
their head office in Nairobi or to a collegue in Nakuru. The annoying
thing is that they are doing that all the time.

Johan,

thanks for the good information. Yes, you probably mean the ones
with the looong whipping antennas on the minibusses.

Yes, those are the ones. In Kenya it seems there is hardly a company
without them anymore.


--
Johan W. Elzenga johanatjohanfoto.nl
Editor / Photographer http://www.johanfoto.nl/

In message
lid (Johan W. Elzenga) wrote:

Hans-Georg Michna wrote:

thanks for the good information. Yes, you probably mean the ones
with the looong whipping antennas on the minibusses.

Yes, those are the ones. In Kenya it seems there is hardly a company
without them anymore.

They were generally using them in Tanzania when we were there in '98; the
following year only a very few companies seemed to be using them in Kenya,
but we were told the drivers were campaigning for them. Most/all were using
them by last July.

Liz
--
Virtual Liz at http://www.v-liz.co.uk
Kenya; Tanzania; India; Seychelles; Namibia
"I speak of Africa and golden joys"

Liz wrote:

They were generally using them in Tanzania when we were there in '98; the
following year only a very few companies seemed to be using them in Kenya,
but we were told the drivers were campaigning for them. Most/all were using
them by last July.

Liz,

that's probably because with them they believe they can now take
even higher risks of getting stuck. :-)

Hans-Georg

--
No mail, please.

In message
Hans-Georg Michna wrote:

Liz wrote:

They were generally using them in Tanzania when we were there in '98; the
following year only a very few companies seemed to be using them in Kenya,
but we were told the drivers were campaigning for them. Most/all were using
them by last July.

that's probably because with them they believe they can now take
even higher risks of getting stuck. :-)

Oh, you cynic ;-)

Slainte,

Liz
--
Virtual Liz at http://www.v-liz.co.uk
Kenya; Tanzania; India; Seychelles; Namibia
"I speak of Africa and golden joys"