So today I went to KBC to work on the Internet connection. Alister Sammons, our doctor friend from the UK had a MiFi unit that he has setup with a Vodacom SIM chip and account. I borrowed it so I could test it out at KBC to see if we could work with Vodacom’s Internet service instead of the TTCL DSL line. Using a trick I learned a while back, I was able to setup a wireless bridge to the MiFi from the KBC network. The resulting Internet speed was astounding. With this device we clocked Internet speeds that were more than 20 times the speed than that of TTCL’s service. Changing over to Vodacom? It’s was a no brainer. Now the difficultly we faced was how to get a hold of a MiFi unit in Kasulu. Certainly, it would not be available locally in Kasulu or Kigoma. Perhaps we might be able to get one in Mwanza. But the most likely scenario is that we would have to get it in Dar Es Salaam. We checked with the local VodaCom Shop and as I suspected, we would need to get the unit in Dar. That could take a while to get, probably past the time we are here. So for the moment I went with Plan B, which is to install a Vodacom Cellular modem (the red thing in the picture below) in the server and then setup Internet Sharing to the rest of the network. That worked very well. Afterwards, when we returned to the compound, we discussed our options with Bishop Makaya. As it turns out, there is someone from the Diocese flying back from Dar on Monday. Perfect!! So the Bishop called them and instructed them to purchase two MiFi devices to bring back with them. One we will use at the Bible College and the other will be setup for the Diocese office network.
To add to the increase in speed, the other blessing in all of this is that the Internet fee’s for the Doicese and KBC will be cut significantly. For instance, at KBC, we are paying 210,000 Shillings per month for unlimited Internet access. That’s about $150 per month. With the Vodacom MiFi setup we will be paying 20,000 Shillings per month. Basically 1/10 of the cost. This is a significant savings for the Bible College, which struggles enough with the month to month finances. So with the financial support from St. Paul’s their Internet fee’s are fully covered and then some. I could not be more pleased for them that we found this solution.
Tonight we had dinner at Canon Wilson Mafumbi’s home. As usual, we were treated as honored guests with all sorts of food; chicken, fish, rice, peas, greens, cooked banana and of course my favorite pineapple. Hawaii has nothing on Tanzania for the most delicious pineapple. And talk about avocado’s!!
At the moment, we are sitting here in the dark, both of us writing blogs and sending E-mail. In downtown Kasulu, there is a fire. Looks like one of the shops caught fire and was burning out of control when we passed through town. They probably cut the power because of it. I’m just hoping they can get it under control as it could easily spread from shop to shop and take out a large section of the market area. As far as I know, there is nothing such as a fire-brigade in Kasulu, and certainly no fire trucks. This could be devastating to the shop owners. It’s not like they have insurance of any kind here. They stand to loose everything. Lord may it not be!
Ah! The lights are back on. That’s a good sign. So with that I’ll say good night and look forward to another beautiful day in Kasulu tomorrow.
Bill