Mongolia - truly the last mile

Mongolia is one of east Asia's final frontiers. The population is roughly 2 million and half live in the capital Ulanbator. My project works with villages with populations of roughly 2,000 people wo live on less than a dollar a day. The Mongols have a long, proud history yet are pretty humble, generous and optimistic. Our initial pilot project was situated near Siberia in the rumored birthplace of Ghenghis Khan in a very remore village called Dadal. The only way to reach this village (or Soum in Mongolian) is to drive in a 4-wheel for 15 hours each way.

Reaching Dadal requires serious thought. You need to being a satellite phone, a GPS tracker (I used Garmin) and supplies to keep you alive if your vehicle breaks down. Temperatures in early winter can drop to -50. You need the phone and GPS tracker to let people know where to find you - even if you turn into a popsicle.

I helped bring an innovative VoIP wireless phone solution to the village. We set up a rural VSAT station (I-Direct) and succesfully made international, national and local calls using VoIP cell phones. Now, you haven't seen these phones in commercial release in the United States but here we are testing, for possibly the first time ever, a commercial application for rural telephony using VoIP wireless. Truly groundbreaking and exciting work.

We are now in the process of rolling out four more villages and will try to bring communities like Dadal into the 21st century. It's worth noting that most villages have relatives living and working abroad or in Ulanbator. Our project is able to create linkages and offer a way to improve livlihoods where it was considered impossible.