iNethi Community Network: A first look at local and Internet traffic usage

Abstract

This poster presents iNethi, a community wireless network deployed in a peri-urban township of Cape Town, South Africa. Initial usage clearly indicates a demand for Internet-based external services and, to a lesser extent, local services. We focus on the initial months of our deployment, and interaction with locally installed INethi services, as well as the impact of access to the Internet. We present data from our traffic logs, captured during a period of six months. We observed that a large proportion of data is being consumed by software or antivirus updates. The data collected and trends observed will allow iNethi operators to make necessary adjustment to the networks.