BluPoint

Delivering digital content, services and communications. Anytime. Anywhere. Any mobile device.

About BluPoint

Most people living in rural African communities cannot afford internet access, even if they have coverage, because of the cost of data and suitable devices. Many users do, however, have access to simple feature-phones, albeit such phones are not normally suitable for accessing internet content.

BluPoint technology delivers curated digital content to basic phones and smart phones at high speeds and with zero cost to the end user, via Wi-Fi, Bluetooth and FM radio. BluPoint works where there is no reliable electricity supply or network connectivity. The system optimises and adapts content, including audio and video, to make it accessible to the low-end devices and even to people that struggle to access written materials.

The pilot programme

The iAfrica Foundation funded a pilot 6-month scheme as part of the Mwandi Education project in Western Zambia in 6 rural communities, with content covering agriculture, education, healthcare, sports, news, and religious material. The aims were to: test the technology in a very poor, rural environment, determine what content the users wanted to access, and assess the viability of BluPoint as an information delivery system.

The technology worked well and there was interest from the communities in the pilot with positive demand for local news, educational, religious and farming content. The BluHubs proved to be simple to use, easy to remotely upload with new content and store and deliver cached content to users at a low cost. They proved rugged and portable and succeeded in delivering content to basic phones.

People in the communities across the 6 areas were able to access digital content on basic phones. However, updating the curated content sufficiently frequently to keep users interested proved to be a significant challenge, one that the project was eventually unable to sustain with the limited funding available.

For more information, Contact Ian