singley.org > blog archives > The Digital Pony Express 01.26.2004

Sometimes, technology is overdone. Do we really need a computer in every classroom? Does my refrigerator need to let me know when I'm out of milk? Should your minivan have a DVD player in the back seat to entertain the kids? I'd say probably not to these questions. This, though, is an unbelievable way to use truly advanced technologies to do something useful in a community. Email "carrying" motorcyclesare riding through tiny towns in Cambodia allowing its residents to send and receive messages. An excerpt from the article:

"It is a digital pony express: five Motomen ride their routes five days a week, downloading and uploading e-mail. The system, developed by a Boston company, First Mile Solutions, uses a receiver box powered by the motorcycle's battery. The driver need only roll slowly past the school to download all the village's outgoing e-mail and deliver incoming e-mail. The school's computer system and antenna are powered by solar panels. Newly collected data is stored for the day in a computer strapped to the back of the motorcycle. At dusk, the motorcycles converge on the provincial capital, Ban Lung, where an advanced school is equipped with a satellite dish, allowing a bulk e-mail exchange with the outside world."

Will this solve the problems of impoverished, rural communities? No. But giving people a voice and connecting them to others is certainly an important step.