# A Decision Framework for Choosing Telecommunication Technologies in Limited-Resource Settings
## 5 Networks in the Design Phase
### University in Kibiza Refugee Camp  
Established in 1996, Kiziba refugee camp is located about 15 km outside Kibuye town in the Karongi District, in the western province of Rwanda. It is a home to a total of 17,270 people of concern, who are assisted by the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) agency and other humanitarian agencies. One of the pressing issues in the camp is education. The Kiziba camp education program included only one school, which went through Senior 3 (equivalent to ninth grade in the US). To graduate from secondary school, students had to find a scholarship or other means to attend school outside of the camp. From primary to secondary school, many agencies and government departments work hard to ensure students have access to education in Kiziba. After that, it becomes challenging. Opportunities for higher education or long-term employment were almost nonexistent for refugees, outside of a few positions within non-governmental organizations, which were particularly difficult for Kiziba's female residents to access. In response to the proven demand and clear need for tertiary education, Southern New Hampshire University (SNHU) College for America developed and proposed a Kiziba pilot program, naming it Kepler Kiziba. Population density in the camp is low, and currently the university has only 100 enrolled students. Kepler University in Kiziba camp provides students with laptops and access to the Internet. Students access educational material online and earn associate and bachelor's degrees.  
Current infrastructure includes access to a cellular network of the third largest telecom provider in Rwanda, Airtel. Kepler Kiziba technical staff reports several existing challenges. At the top of their list was the lack of Internet bandwidth, which is made worse by intermittent quality of service (QoS) issues, a common challenge in developing countries. The camp students currently receive speeds of 10 Mbps, with the capability to expand to 50 Mbps. Congestion occurs only during hours that students are in the classes, which are running from 2 to 6 p.m. The study room for students is open until 10 p.m. since they are not allowed to carry laptops \"home\". Kiziba currently pays more than $815 US per month for internet access. Streaming of media content is unreliable, even in the capital of Rwanda, Kigali, so Kepler students do not stream live lectures. This feature is desirable for the future, however, and would enable lectures and content produced in Kigali, where Kepler runs another campus, or elsewhere to be shared in real-time with Kiziba campus.  
Considering there is a carrier in the region, it would be the most efficient, according to the proposed framework, to collaborate with Airtel and upgrade the service to provide a sufficient bandwidth to students. However, lack of power is one of the constraints in Kiziba camp, and the electric power infrastructure needs to be upgraded to support better communications infrastructure.  
Since the camp's location is on a hill, the second option would be to establish a long-distance link to the fiber backbone connecting government offices in Rwanda, which is available in Kibuye, 15 km away. In this case, we would recommend establishing a WiLD connection to the Kibuye outpost.