Optimising Internet Bandwidth in Developing Country Higher Education

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Optimising Internet Bandwidth in Developing
Country Higher Education

• Sara Gwynn
• INASP
• Email sgwynn_at_inasp.info

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Outline

• Brief overview of INASP
• Overview of recent report
• challenges of increasing demand for bandwidth
• the effects of these challenges
• possible ways of tackling them
• recommendations for management, IT and library
  staff
• Further information

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INASP background

• The International Network for the Availability of
  Scientific Publications (INASP) is a programme of
  the International Council for Science (ICSU)
• INASP established in 1992
• A co-operative network of over 3000 partners
• Aim to improve world-wide access to information
  and knowledge through a commitment to capacity
  building in developing and transitional countries

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INASP core activities

• Advisory and liaison services
• Links resources
• Access to Information
• INASP-Health Links
• Publications
• INASP newsletter, Handbooks, Manuals
• INASP-Health
• INASP-Rural Development

• Library Support Initiatives
• support to professional associations
• Access to information knowledge for the public
• Publishing Support Initiatives
• Programme for the Enhancement of Research
  Information
• (PERI)

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Delivering information

• Providing access to scientific and scholarly
  information through electronic means. Includes
• current awareness databases
• 8000 full-text online journals
• document delivery
• directory of free online databases, journals and
  articles
• National level availability and licenses

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Disseminating national/regional research

• Support to the strengthening and development of
  access to journals from developing and
  transitional countries as a medium for the
  dissemination of research results
• TOC and Abstracts service AJOL
• Full-text service AJOPP
• Document delivery service
• Publicity for local and regional research
• Monitoring and evaluation

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Enhancing ICT skills

• travelling workshops
• Using the Internet
• Electronic Journals and Electronic Resources
  Library Management
• Web Page Design and Authoring, leading to Library
  Web Pages
• ICT Troubleshooting for Librarians and
  Information personnel

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Strengthening publishing

• Workshops for journal editors, typesetters and
  managers covering
• preparation of journal content
• production of journals
• management of journals
• Online publishing programme
• Publishing partnership programme

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Bandwidth the challenges

• Bandwidth in developing countries is generally
  extremely expensive
• Available bandwidth is usually not enough to meet
  demand
• Much bandwidth is consumed by low priority uses
• Increasing bandwidth is problematical
• Technical limitations e.g. satellite and network
  infrastructure capacity
• Budgetary limitations increasing available
  bandwidth has significant real costs

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Effects of the challenges

• Ineffective use of scarce resources
• The expensive bandwidth is not resulting in
  effective usage due to congestion
• Poor performance and usability of the Internet
• All users suffer when using Internet based
  information and resources
• Wasted staff time and restricted information
  resources
• The wealth of information resources are not used
  due to the time involved
• Increased costs

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Possible solutions

• Increase available bandwidth
• Relatively easy but costly
• Push for lower bandwidth costs
• Local telecommunications regulations
• Institutional consortia
• National level pressure and negotiations

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Optimise existing bandwidth

• Bandwidth is valuable institutional resource or
  asset
• Needs to be managed, conserved, and shared
  effectively
• Emphasis on maximising the effectiveness of
  existing resources
• Wide range of possible actions and effects
• Requires management and prioritisation
• Senior management policies and procedures
• Librarians training and information related
  policies
• IT staff technical policies, tools and solutions

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Report

• Commissioned in response to concerns expressed by
  colleagues in Africa, Asia and Latin America
• Contains input from 8 countries, giving
  first-hand experience of bandwidth problems and
  solutions from various situations
• Identifies access problems in higher education
  environments
• Provides recommendations for management, IT
  staff, library staff

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Recommendations for senior management

• Make bandwidth management a priority
• Have and enforce acceptable use policies
• Respond to demands that match institutional
  objectives
• Encourage positive behaviour
• Consider charging for bandwidth use
• Monitor the IT team
• Evaluate connection options regularly
• Join forces - explore network integration and
  national consortia

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Recommendations for librarians

• Understand the technical issues
• Monitor usage and activity and respond to
  patterns and demands
• Understand users Internet based information needs
• Train library users in proper use of Internet
  based information resources
• Manage network usage to meet quite times
• Set up library portals of relevant information

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Recommendations for IT staff

• Maintain good security and anti-virus practices
• Track all relevant aspects of the network,
  bandwidth and Internet usage
• Implement content filtering to block undesirable
  web content
• Use proxy servers and local caching
• Make sure all user activities are traceable
• Consider implementing a bandwidth manager product
• Discourage or disable certain network usage
• Train users to use safely and efficiently

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Potential benefits of optimisation

• Increased productivity, effectiveness and use of
  Internet based information resources
• Better returns on current expenditure
• Manage costs more effectively
• Potential to double performance of resource with
  little or no capital expenditure
• Expand user base without significant capital
  expansion

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Further information

• Printed summary reports included in meeting
  materials
• Printed copies of the full report from INASP at
  this meeting
• Full report online at
• http//www.inasp.info/pubs/bandwidth/
• Includes
• Main report
• Appendixes
• Country specific case studies

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Thank youAny questions?