Mobile Coverage Coming Soon to a Village Near You…

Originally posted at http://teamsuriname.wordpress.com

Expanding further on communication, cell phone coverage is coming to Kwamala. Telesur, one of the major telecom companies in Suriname, has built the base of a cell phone tower in the village. The buzz was that the local community is excited, and my focus groups with men and women reflected this. However, almost every person I spoke to mentioned the cost of text messaging and using a cell phone and how expensive it is. Kwamala isn’t a huge money economy; at markets goods are bought with currency, but you will not see small shops and public exchanges of money as you will in many other communities, most likely because of the isolation (compare with my colleagues who visited sights on rivers). Focus group participants advocated for the use of computers and internet, which have start up and maintenance costs, but not necessarily the per usage cost of mobile phones which is more difficult for families to budget for.

The building of the cell tower has been steeped in rumor. National elections are coming up in the next few months and it was rumored that the base was built to build political capital. Or that the telecom company was building to mark its territory and didn’t plan to complete the tower unless another telecom company started to move in. I heard that the tower was supposed to be completed in the last few months, but will now be finished by the end of 2010.

Eventually, mobile coverage will come to Kwamala and probably sooner than later. What will the effects be on communication? On acquiring resources? On social fabric?