Dial-up information on demand via mobile

From MobileActive Wiki

Developed by: Kubatana.net with Tad Hirsch, MIT Media Lab

URL: www.dialupradio.org

In Zimbabwe's constrained civic space, individuals often lack access to independent, relevant information. Newspapers are expensive and geared towards an elite audience, internet and email is used by only a very small percentage of the population, government controls all tv and radio stations - there are no licensed community radio stations. However, a large and growing number have access to mobile phones.

Dial-up Radio was developed to make it easier for organizations and individuals to share information with their communities via phone - mobiles or landlines.

The system consists of a web-based content management system written in Ruby/Rails, and an Asterisk-based telephony server. All software is open-source. The system can run on equipment connected on a local area network or, via the Internet, to equipment located remotely.

Different telephony scenarios are possible:

• running a limited service using pre-paid SIM cards located in a gateway device
• using Voice over Internet Protocol (VoIP) to scale the service up and reduce costs
• connecting to landline configurations

Audio files are uploaded to and managed on the system’s server via a browser interface. These files are immediately available to callers who phone the project phone number(s). The software automatically generates interactive voice response (IVR) menus that enable callers to navigate audio content using their telephone keypads. Dial-up Radio works with any telephone, and can be adopted for a variety of activist campaigns.

Users can access the system through any one of three ways:

• You can phone one of the call-in numbers – and pay your own way
• You can phone the special callback request number - if you do this, the number will hang up after one ring, and then will call you back later – no cost incurred by the user
• You can request a free callback by sending an SMS to one of the numbers dedicated to receiving SMS’s - and then wait for the system to call you back

The first phase of Dial-up Radio service is almost complete, with a few outstanding features to finalize.

A field test of the system was conducted in Zimbabwe in November 2007 using audio materials developed using materials from the sexual health/reproductive rights programme, Auntie Stella.

These tests proved the functionality of the system, with the principal technical challenges being Zimbabwe’s congested mobile phone networks and regular power outages. Congestion affected the success rate of participants connecting in to the service. Unpredictable power supply required contingency plans to be in place to keep the Dial-up Information equipment powered.

The field tests also included a discussion session, during which participants shared their thoughts on the system, content, future features and other possible deployment scenarios.