Village Computer and Internet Programme (VCIP) - Bangladesh

The Madhupur centre offers:

• access to information, including local data on fisheries, livestock, health, education, agriculture, environment, and the job market. These data are entered into a village database, which also provides information about government programmes, NGOs, and other social and business organisations;
• e-mail facilities for communication with friends and family as well as with local and international organisations;
• basic computer training in typing, operating systems, and programmes like MS Word and Excel. Also offered are higher-level courses in Visual Basic, web design and development, graphic design, and hardware troubleshooting;
• word processing and printing for writing letters, preparing resumes and applications, and putting together documents like newsletters, advertisements, and announcements. GC staff members assist villagers with more difficult word processing work, including the production of small newspapers and magazines; and
• computer lab facilities for schools and colleges in Madhupur, none of which has a computer.

The Sharishabari centre, in Jamalpur district, opened its doors in October, 2000; it provides services similar to Madhupur's. However, while the Madhupur center connects to the internet via a landline link, this centre connects via cell phone.

The Mirzapur centre, also known as the Grameen Digital Center (GDC), accesses the internet by connecting to the GC main office through a microwave line. This centre hosts a number of research projects. For instance, one project examines the socioeconomic changes that the GDC is expected to effect. Ongoing research on poverty alleviation through technology intervention involves surveys of market demand and the degree to which VCIP's services meet this demand. The GC also operates out of the GDC to provide local Internet Service Provider (ISP) access in Mirzapur. Seven local providers were to be connected by March, 2002.

Education, Technology.

GC started VCIP in June, 1999, in Madhupur, which is about 160 kilometers from Dhaka, the capital of Bangladesh. The idea was to reduce this distance "virtually," helping to bring the kinds of opportunities available in the capital to those in rural areas. People who previously relied on the postal service for their communication needs - often waiting between 7 days and a full month for their letters to reach destinations abroad - may send the same letter (in electronic form) much more quickly at VCIP Internet facilities.

The GC has also worked to develop and test models intended to provide sustainable new services that are supported by modern information and communications technologies to rural villagers, organisations, and enterprises. First, its Madhupur Center began dialing through Mirzapur to access the internet. This programme was expected to cut access costs in half, since the call would be rural-to-rural rather than Nation-Wide Dial (NWD). Second, GC explored opportunities to secure outsourced data entry or other computer-based job work for its trainees - and thus to provide not only skills, but also the chance to turn those skills into income.

VCIP's pilot centre in Madhupur is widely used by villagers for education, publication, and e-mailing. This centre is financially self-sustaining, using revenues from access fees, training courses, and computer-based publishing to cover its operating costs.

The Sharishabari centre has suffered losses since its inception, due primarily to political unrest in the area. VCIP decided to shift the location of the center in early 2002.

The number of email users who access the Mirzapur center has nearly doubled. Its inaugural class of students completed its first computer training course on February 2, 2002.