Day 0 Event #167 Inclusion of unconnected via resilient local cloud services

Summary

This discussion focused on addressing the digital divide and improving connectivity in unconnected communities worldwide, particularly in rural and disaster-prone areas. Toshikazu Sakano presented data showing that while 68% of the global population uses the internet, 2.6 billion people remain offline, with a significant urban-rural disparity. To tackle this issue, Sakano introduced the concepts of LACS (Locally Accessible Cloud System) and X-FACE (Extensible Frontline Augmented Communication Exchanger), portable systems that provide local social networking services without relying on internet connectivity.

Babatunde Ojetunde elaborated on X-FACE, describing it as an AI-enhanced upgrade of LACS that offers advanced communication and information-sharing capabilities. The system is designed to operate as a comprehensive local cloud computing platform, adaptable to various local needs. Ojetunde highlighted potential applications in e-education, community networking, e-health, and disaster response.

Jeffrey Llanto discussed the implementation of these technologies in the Philippines, focusing on the challenges faced by island communities vulnerable to disasters. He emphasized the importance of building resilient communities through IT-enabled communication, particularly in areas with limited internet access and unreliable electricity. Llanto outlined collaborative efforts with international partners to develop and deploy these technologies in response to natural disasters and to improve connectivity in isolated regions.

The discussion underscored the potential of decentralized, portable cloud systems to bridge the digital divide, enhance disaster preparedness, and provide essential digital services to underserved communities. The speakers emphasized the importance of international collaboration and standardization efforts to scale these solutions globally.

Keypoints

Major discussion points:

– The digital divide and lack of internet access for 2.6 billion people globally, especially in rural areas

– Introduction of LACS (Locally Accessible Cloud System) and X-FACE technologies to provide local internet/cloud services in unconnected areas

– Use cases for LACS/X-FACE in disaster response, education, healthcare, and community networking in rural/remote areas

– Global collaboration efforts to implement and standardize these technologies, especially in developing regions

Overall purpose:

The discussion aimed to present innovative technological solutions to bridge the digital divide and provide internet/cloud services to unconnected communities, particularly in rural areas and during disasters. The speakers shared research, use cases, and plans for global implementation of portable local cloud systems.

Tone:

The tone was primarily informative and optimistic, with speakers enthusiastically presenting their research and technologies as solutions to global connectivity challenges. There was an underlying sense of urgency regarding the need to address the digital divide, balanced with confidence in the potential of the proposed solutions. The tone remained consistent throughout, focused on sharing knowledge and encouraging further collaboration.

Speakers

– Toshikazu Sakano

Role: Session moderator

Expertise: ICT for development, disaster response technologies

– Babatunde Ojetunde

Role: Researcher at ATR Japan

Expertise: X-FACE and LACS technologies

– Jeffery Llanto

Role: Executive Director of Central Visayas Information Sharing Network Foundation (CVISNET)

Expertise: IT-enabled communication, community resilience projects in the Philippines

Additional speakers:

– Unnamed Audience Members

Role: Session attendees asking questions

– Sandra Mahanan (mentioned but did not speak)

Role: Artificial Intelligence Engineer from Unicom Group of Companies, Nigeria

– Chandra Prakash Sharma (mentioned but did not speak)

Role: CEO of Waze Flux from India

– Jimson Olfe (mentioned but did not speak)

Role: Contemporary Consulting from Nigeria

The Digital Divide: Challenges and Innovative Solutions

This discussion focused on addressing the global digital divide and improving connectivity in unconnected communities worldwide, particularly in rural and disaster-prone areas. The session, moderated by Toshikazu Sakano, an expert in ICT for development and disaster response technologies, brought together researchers and practitioners to explore innovative solutions to bridge the connectivity gap.

Digital Divide Overview

Toshikazu Sakano presented key statistics highlighting the extent of the digital divide. He noted that while internet usage has increased globally, significant disparities remain, especially between urban and rural areas. Sakano emphasized that mobile phone ownership varies greatly between high-income and low-income economies, underscoring the challenges in achieving global digital inclusion.

Innovative Technologies: LACS and X-FACE

To address connectivity challenges, Sakano introduced LACS (Locally Accessible Cloud System) and X-FACE (Extensible Frontline Augmented Communication Exchanger). These portable systems provide local social networking services without relying on internet connectivity. Sakano explained, “We pack small server and Wi-Fi access point within a portable case and running it by battery. So this standalone system can deliver in a local area people the social networking services functions.”

Babatunde Ojetunde, a researcher at ATR Japan, elaborated on X-FACE, describing it as an AI-enhanced upgrade of LACS. He detailed its components, including “a portable access point, tablet, terminal and wearable devices.” Ojetunde emphasized X-FACE’s AI-based information processing and edge computing capabilities, as well as its ability to communicate with external systems.

Applications and Use Cases

The speakers highlighted several potential applications for LACS and X-FACE technologies:

1. Disaster Response: Both Sakano and Jeffrey Llanto emphasized the systems’ utility in disaster scenarios, providing crucial communication capabilities when normal infrastructure is disrupted.

2. E-Education: Ojetunde noted the potential for supporting educational initiatives in areas with limited internet access.

3. Community Networking: The systems can facilitate local information sharing and communication within isolated communities.

4. E-Health: Ojetunde suggested applications in healthcare, potentially enabling telemedicine services in remote areas.

5. Building Resilient Communities: Llanto discussed the implementation of these technologies in the Philippines, focusing on the challenges faced by island communities vulnerable to disasters.

CVISNET Foundation and Philippine Context

Jeffrey Llanto, Executive Director of Central Visayas Information Sharing Network Foundation (CVISNET), provided insights into the foundation’s role in implementing connectivity solutions in the Philippines. He highlighted the unique challenges faced by island communities, stating, “Island communities, which the Philippines has around 7,200 islands on our country, it is very vulnerable to disaster, especially typhoons. Island schools have limited or no internet access. The promotion of ecotourism activities and other economic activities in the islands are disrupted.” This context underscored the importance of developing resilient, adaptable solutions for different geographical settings.

Global Collaboration and Future Plans

The speakers emphasized the importance of international collaboration and standardization efforts to scale these solutions globally:

1. Phased Rollout Strategy: Sakano outlined a strategy for gradually expanding coverage areas.

2. Standardization Efforts: Ojetunde mentioned ongoing work with ITU-T to ensure global interoperability of the X-FACE system.

3. International Partnerships: Llanto discussed collaborative efforts with international partners to develop and deploy these technologies in response to natural disasters and to improve connectivity in isolated regions.

4. Ongoing Research: Ojetunde highlighted continuous efforts to integrate emerging technologies into X-FACE and LACS, focusing on enhancing their capabilities and adaptability to various local needs.

Conclusion

The discussion underscored the potential of decentralized, portable cloud systems like LACS and X-FACE to bridge the digital divide, enhance disaster preparedness, and provide essential digital services to underserved communities. The speakers demonstrated a high level of consensus on the existence of a significant global digital divide and the potential of these technologies to address connectivity issues in unconnected areas and during disasters. The emphasis on international collaboration and ongoing research suggests a strong foundation for future development and implementation of these solutions globally, offering hope for more inclusive digital access worldwide.

Toshikazu Sakano : I will ask her to present something. And next one is role of artificial intelligence in bridging digital divide and fostering inclusion of unconnected communities from Ms. Sandra Mahanan, Artificial Intelligence Engineer from Unicom Group of Companies, Nigeria. And I’m not confirming the presence of her in this session right now, but is Sandra-san joining this session? So if I confirm the presence, I will ask her to talk a bit about her thoughts. Next one, we’ll introduce of Extensible Frontline Augmented Communication Exchanger, X-FACE, and Locally Accessible Cloud System, LACS, by Dr. Babatunde, Ojetunde, from ATR Japan. And this is followed by the user case, use cases, and potential practical deployments of CrossFace from Mr. Chandra Prakash Sharma, CEO of Waze Flux from India. And this will, followed by the potential use cases of X-FACE in Philippines and Asia Pacific, will be presented by Mr. Jeffrey Luanto, Executive Director of Central Visayas Information Sharing Network Foundation, CVISNET from Philippines. And next one will be potential use cases of X-FACE in Nigeria and Africa. from Dr. Jimson Olfe, Contemporary Consulting from Nigeria. This is an overview of our agenda of the session. And after that, we will discuss the theme and objective of this, to achieve the objective of this session. And in 90 minutes later, we will close, closing remarks by myself before closing the session. Okay, this is the agenda of this session. Okay, let’s go in. So before go into the presentations by panelists, let me introduce brief background of this session and the image I have for accelerating the penetration of unconnected worldwide. So this one slide shows the individuals using the internet worldwide from ITU. In 2024, fully 5.5 billion people are online. That represents 68% of the world population compared with 65% just one year earlier. But 2.6 billion people, one third of the global population are still offline. This is a big issue from achieving SDGs. And next slide. Okay, this one slide is percentage of individuals using the internet in urban and rural areas in 2024, also from ITU. In checking this slide, Globally, 83% of urban dwellers are using the internet in 2024 compared with less than half of the rural population, 48%. So of the 2.6 billion people not using the internet, 1.8 billion live in rural areas, again 800 million in urban areas. So people in rural areas, most people in rural areas, especially developing countries, are not connected. This is the issue we need to tackle using the state-of-the-art of ICT. This one slide gives us a hint to solve the issue. This slide shows the percentage of individuals owing a mobile phone and using the internet in 2024. Looking at this, globally, four out of five individuals 10 years old or older own a mobile phone. Universal ownership, meaning a penetration rate of over 95%, has been reached in high-income economies. This stands in contrast with low-income economies where only 56% of the population age 10 years and over own a mobile phone. Looking at the graph, 68% worldwide population are connected to the internet, but 80% own the mobile phone. What’s the meaning of this gap? Looking at the, for example, Africa, 38% population is connected to the internet, but 66% of population have mobile phone. So, half of mobile phone are not used to connect to the internet. Maybe they use only for telephone. So, here are the hints to fill the gap between connected and unconnected. This is another view of the worldwide. This slide shows the number of disasters by continent and top 10 countries in 2023. And looking at this, most disasters happen in Asia region and Americas and Africa, Europe. And the countries like India, China, Philippines, Indonesia, these countries suffered a lot of disasters. This is also the big issue worldwide. To tackle these issues, we, I, have proposed new concept called LACS or cross-phase concept. So, LACS stands for locally accessible cloud system. It’s a portable server system which comprises of compact server, access point, Wi-Fi access points, battery, and peripheral devices. LACS delivers local social networking service anytime, anywhere, and in any network environment, even in the devastated disaster disruption. X-FACE, that stands for Extensible Frontline Augmented Communication Exchanger, is an updated version of LACS in which AI functionality is included to support first responders in disasters. So the concept is very simple. We pack small server and Wi-Fi access point within a portable case and running it by battery. So this standalone system can deliver in a local area people the social networking services functions. And users use their smartphones to connect to this small box and use it for sharing the information and chatting and communication. These things the users can do. But area is limited in local. So this is a concept of LACS and X-FACE. And very recently, non-terrestrial networks for securing connectivity is becoming popular. So people call NTN, non-terrestrial networks, maybe Starlink is a kind of them, draws a lot of attention as a solution to deliver the Internet connectivity in the unconnected areas. But LACS, X-FACE concept, is considered as a complementary relationship with NTNs because this NTN network is usefully used for connecting to the Internet, but LACS, X-FACE deliver the service to local people. So from the point of view of… internet traffic, you can offload the internet traffic. For the local people, without the traffic congestion, you can smoothly use broadband environment for the local communication. So that is one thing. So this last slide shows the strategy for quick penetration of connected using the local ICT system, like lugs and cross-phase. In the first phase, in the first step, distribution of cross-phase of lugs in an area. Each cross-phase delivers broadband local internet environment, as you can see in the right-hand figure. In the next step, distributed cross-phases in a connected with narrowband wireless network. Coverage area is extended to area-wide. Local communication with broadband and area-wide communication with narrowband are possible. So areas are extended to the narrowband wireless communications. And the third step, at least one cross-phase is connected to the internet with, for example, satellite internet service. The area is covered by global internet. So these steps can help to accelerate the penetration of the internet environment, especially in the rural areas in developing countries. This is my thinking. And I want to discuss this issue and thinking in this session. OK. So I hope this session becomes fruitful thanks to the inputs from the wonderful panelists of their ideas and thoughts. Okay, this is my presentation and let’s go into the panel session. And if there are any panelists, you have something to say? I have a question here. Okay, okay.

Audience: First question is related to the price of the cross-phase equipment.

Toshikazu Sakano : Price?

Audience: Cost. For the cross-phase equipment. It’s the first question. You are talking about development campuses that have some people unconnected to the internet. So we need to have a view about how much does it cost to have this ex-phase equipment for this development campus. This is the first question. The second question is, what are the keys you consider to detect disaster or not? I see the map of disasters here. For Asia, it is three times the disaster in Africa and maybe one and a half times the disaster in Turkey. What do you mean by disaster? Disasters?

Toshikazu Sakano : Okay, thank you very much for your question. Does it work? So I’m trying to show several slides. Okay, there are two questions. One thing is the cost issue of cross-phase. So actually, cross-phase, beforehand, we developed a LACS, locally accessible cloud system. This is a portable, standalone social networking service. And this small box with software. We are now establishing the supply chain, and the price right now is $8,000 USD per one set. That kind of cost image we have.

Audience: So you will be responsible for the communication with the satellite in order to have internet provided for these areas covered by cross-phase equipment? What I say is, this $8,000 USD for one equipment of cross-phase will cover the cost of interconnection with the satellite?

Toshikazu Sakano : Once we start distributing, the sales quantity will increase, and then the cost will decrease. So we are now in the very first phase. So the cost or price itself is a little bit expensive, but once we start distributing, the cost will dramatically reduce, and that accelerates the distribution. So that is one thing. And the second question was the disaster distribution worldwide.

Audience: What do you mean by disaster?

Toshikazu Sakano : Yes. So maybe 5 to 10 kinds of disasters are included in that counting. So in these disasters, I hope our ICT solution can help. Because in most disaster situations, the Internet cannot be used. This is the thing. Okay, thank you very much. Okay. Can you use the mic?

Audience: Can you hear me?

Toshikazu Sakano : I don’t know if you can hear me. Can you hear me now?

Audience: Okay, so my question is for the box, right? Do you have to use it only when there’s a disaster? Or it can work even without a disaster case for remote areas that need Internet connection?

Toshikazu Sakano : Okay, thank you very much for the question. And in the panelists, after my presentation, we’ll give the answers. So please ask the table after the panelist’s presentation. So some panelists are talking about the use cases other than disaster situations. So please wait for a while. Okay, so let’s go into the session. Excuse me, are you a participant? Okay, so you must be…

Audience: I’m just attending.

Toshikazu Sakano : Huh?

Audience: I’m just attending.

Toshikazu Sakano : Ah, I see. Yeah, yeah. I’m just attending, not punished. Okay, I see. Okay, so… It’s Uduma-san, no? And Ms. Sandra Mahana-san, here in this session. Okay, so let’s go to the next agenda. And next presenter is… Dr. Babatunde Ojetunde from ATL Japan. He will talk about cross-phase in more detail. Okay?

Babatunde Ojetunde: Yeah, thank you. Can you hear me? Thank you, Dr. Sakano. I am Ojiatunde Babatunde from HCL. And today I will be talking about the introduction of X-FACE or COSFIS as we used to call it. So first I will talk about the challenges, brief challenges of digital divide in the world. And then I will talk about the concept or the system that we have introduced to address these challenges and show some of the potential use cases in terms of just overview. Then I will go into our collaboration efforts worldwide. So as introduced by Dr. Sakandu, nearly one third of the global population lacks access to basic digital services technology as of 2023. This is often prone to rural area and remote area where there are no internet facilities for people. So there are challenges in terms of educational purposes, healthcare resources through digital means. Also there are limited access to digital services because there is no reliable internet infrastructure in place. So these are the issues that we try to address in our system in HCL. So I will be showing the systems and some of the use cases. So I will go into the details now. Okay, so in 2018, we proposed a locally cloud accessible system, LACS, this system is a decentralized cloud infrastructure that allows people in a local community or local area to be able to communicate with each other. This project was started from MDRVU, then it moved to LACS, and now it’s out on X-FACE, which is an inclusion of artificial intelligence. It’s a portable system that has hardware like a small server, access point, and mobile phone and other devices that can be connected to it. So, we created this first to address disaster issues, but it can also be used for other issues like e-education and so on. So, I’ll move to the next slide. So, what are some of the components of LACS itself? So, LACS is a locally cloud accessible system that provides cloud-like services that is essential for areas that don’t have internet connection. It can serve as a mini cloud hub, it functions as an extendable system without requiring constant internet connectivity. It can also be used to deliver essential cloud services to communities, to local communities through decentralized infrastructure. And as Dr. Sarkarussan shows, you can see the interconnection of different LACS or X-FACE systems. ensure that rural areas can have access to digital systems in a looker way. So this is the prototype of LAT. As you can see, we have a server, a Wi-Fi access point, a battery, a network hub, and it has a case that you can use to put your mobile phone tablet, and also it has this case that is very portable. You can easily move it around. So this is the prototype of a LAT system that we first created to address this issue. Next, I will talk about Extensive Frontline Augmented Communication Exchanger, CROSSFIX or X-FACE. This is an upgrade of LAT to address further issues. We introduced this to be able to include artificial intelligence, which can help in the processing of data faster, and it can allow people to operate it hands-free without having to type. So the AI can accept your speech and transcribe it into text for you, or it can also analyze digital images and so on. So what is X-FACE? X-FACE is an upgrade of LAT that has advanced functions, including artificial intelligence, which enhances communication and information sharing. It operates like a comprehensive local cloud computing platform, and this system is adaptable to meet various local needs and contexts effectively. So this is an image of X-FACE. As you can see, in this picture, there is a cross face with solar panel, so it doesn’t only use a small battery, now we have upgraded it to a solar panel and it can run for more time. So what are the cross face architecture and key features? Cross face consists of a portable access point, tablet, terminal and wearable devices can be used together as we can see at this site, we have tablet, smartphone and other wearable device, this can be used with X-FACE and it also has an AI based information processing and edge computing platform which we built into the cross face core and it can also communicate with other external system like you can use standards to connect to this, so these are the features and the architecture of cross face. So now here is the big image of cross face, as you can see we have a solar panel and the cross face core and everything is packed into the cross face core consists of devices that are packed into this box so that we can move it around easily, so it functions like a local server that acts as a mini cloud hub for data processing and also it has an extended area with communication devices up to one kilometer or more. more if we apply LVWE such as motor, Wi-Fi, AMO and so on, so we can extend the communication to one kilometer or more. Also, there is a local speech recognition technology. What this means is that we don’t have to connect to the internet to be able to use the speech recognition. We have already built it into the box so that it can process your speech locally. And again, there is an edge computing capability that enables time processing data without depending on an external system and this can allow it to function efficiently and manage the data locally efficiently. So what are the other features? It can also support seamless integration with other existing local infrastructure. It can encourage local storage for critical information sharing. It has AI-driven features for optimizing resources and it uses the user-friendly interface that allows people to be able to use the software that is processing the information easily. And also, we look at integrating learning management into it so that it can facilitate e-education. So what are the AI-driven features that we have? There is a natural language processing that supports multilingual communication and also it has advanced image analysis capabilities for communities where that kind of service is needed. It also uses a geographical information system to show where people are in real time and also computer vision automation to assess damaged areas during disaster and it can predict this. and so on. So how can we use cross links for labs to build a bridge-digital divide? One way is to use it for e-education. For example, in the rural area where there’s no internet connection, we can implement labs and use it so that students can have access to educational resources and they can participate in remote learning through the Looker Cloud. The learning management system can enable continuous learning in remote areas and can ensure that digital literacy programs can help our communities where these kinds of skills are needed. So this is an image of the architecture of the labs configuration that we have done in the past using a learning management system that allows students to be able to learn remotely. This will be expanded when we talk about the use cases in the Philippines and other areas. Also, we can use it to build a bridge-digital divide by providing a community network. So in rural areas where there are no internet and network facilities, if we interconnect multiple labs, we can use this to create a community network as Dr. Sakano showed in his picture the other time. So by connecting one lab to another and to another, then we can create a local community where people can communicate with each other using this kind of system. And this configuration can use a mesh network prototype to achieve this. So communities can gain access to digital skills, training, employment, opportunities through the platform. And it can also be used for e-health, so where you can get do telemedicine services. Doctors can connect to the labs in remote areas and can talk to people about their health conditions and so on. So local content creation and sharing can foster cultural preservation in this community. So labs can also be used for other digital services like email, web and e-government functionalities where the local government can post some information to the rural people on an electronic board and they can read it and this can be transcribed into local languages so that they can understand. So how can we use this for bridging digital divides in terms of enhancing community resilience? So for this, as we have heard from Dr. Sakamono, disasters have come to various areas in the world. So labs can be used to provide some services so that people can have access to essential information during this period. So essential communication can remain in this area that is affected by a disaster using X_FACE and labs together so people can still communicate when disasters occur. The system also provides an automated emergency alert system within X-FACE and it can allow first responders to coordinate their activities during crisis situations. Also local data storage ensures that critical information remains during emergencies. Community resilience is another one and also telemedicine services can be provided, healthcare information. It can also be used in agricultural systems also. So the last slide is… So this is one of the tests we have done using it for disaster, for example, when we use X-CrossFace in disaster, we have 3D image that is mapped into X-CrossFace, and when the area is destroyed, we can project back the original image of the area and first responders can use information from the AI to identify if there is a building in the location, how many people are living in that location originally, and how many people have been reported missing or found in that kind of situation. So now I will talk about our global impact effort. Through 2018 to 2021, we have standardized LACS, and currently we are standardizing with ITU-T the X-CrossFace system so that it can have interoperability worldwide and it can be used globally. Other global impacts is our use case in the Philippines. This will be talked more when we are talking about the use case in the Philippines. Recently, we are expanding the LACS and X-CrossFace into other parts of the world, especially Africa, so we had a workshop with people from Nigeria talking about how we can use LACS to bridge digital divide and connect people in Nigeria and other parts of Africa. For future roadmap and collaboration, we are continuing to carry out research to integrate emerging technologies into the X-CrossFace and LACS, and also international partnership being formed to scale the solution globally. So partnership opportunity with NGOs, government agencies, and private sectors are encouraged. These are collaborating partners as of now, so we are open to… in collaboration with other partners from around the world. So thank you, in summary, that’s my presentation. Thank you.

Toshikazu Sakano : Okay, thank you very much, Dr. Babatunde. Okay, so a similar presentation about more realistic use cases will be followed. So I will go into the next panelist and the panelist’s presentation after that, Q&A and discussion session, okay? So we’ll go into the next panelist. So next panelist is, okay, next presentation is from use cases and potential practical deployments of CrossFace. He is CEO of Wizflux Company in India. CP, could you start the presentation by sharing the slide by yourself, okay? He wants to present a presentation. Can you speak now? Okay, so what about sharing the slide? CP, do you share the slides by yourself? Okay, CP can you hear me? So, the system is a bit troubled, so we will go into the next presentation by Jeffrey Rilanto. And during his presentation, the problem will be fixed. So CP, please do your presentation after Jeffrey. Is it okay? Okay. Okay, thank you very much. And Jeffrey, so we will show your presentation slide. So then, please start your presentation. So I believe Jeffrey’s presentation is shared. Slide is changed by the venue, so Jeffrey-san, in your presentation, please say next slide, please, then Tsun-san operate it. Is it okay? Can you hear me, Jeffrey-san? Yes, I can hear you. Okay, so please start your presentation.

Jeffery Llanto: Okay, so from the Philippines, I would like to greet everybody a good afternoon, and I hope everything is doing well there in IGF 2024 in Saudi Arabia. My presentation today is Building Resilient Communities through IT-Enabled Communication with Use Cases of X-Based Projects in the Philippines. I’m Jeffrey Llanto of CVISNET Foundation based here in Cebu, the Philippines. Next slide, please. So just to give a short note, CVISNET Foundation is an organization that started as a project of the government way back in 1990s to provide immediate Internet connection to the entire country. I was working with the government before with the Department of Science and Technology, and we provided the first Internet connection to the government, academe, the private sector, and eventually it evolved into a foundation that becomes an Internet service provider. So CVISNET is empowering communities. We have proven expertise with 25 years experience in partnership with the government and international organizations such as the Advanced Telecommunication Research of Japan under Dr. Toshikazu Sakano, and also our partners from India with CB Sharma. Next slide, please. So we, as mentioned, we have local international partners. These are just what we are working together with. We have here ATR and the other partners that we have around the world. Can we move to the next slide? Next slide, please. Can we move to the next slide, please? I think it’s not moving. Okay. I am sharing my slide right now, so let me please continue. Again, going back to the CPSF Foundation, it’s a project in the government in the Philippines that evolved into a foundation. It’s a self-sustaining foundation that works closely with international organizations like APR and other organizations. Next is the challenges that we experience here in the Philippines, especially during disaster time. What we have is that island communities, which the Philippines has around 7,200 islands on our country, it is very vulnerable to disaster, especially typhoons. Island schools have limited or no internet access. The promotion of ecotourism activities and other economic activities in the islands are disrupted. We have unstable and expensive internet connection and unreliable and limited electricity on these isolated islands. Let me share to you some of the activities that we have been working with different organizations like NTT and ATR Newsflux. So during the time frame of 2011 to our present year right now, we have been working with Japan on research and development effort. Sad to note that everything started with disaster, but we are learning several things of research and development. So everything started during the 2011, the Great Japan Earthquake and also with the 2013 the Typhoon Haiyan or called Yolanda in the Philippines. We conducted several research and development activities with Japan, which is the movable and deployable resource unit in 2014 to 2017. Then the locally accessible cloud system, 2019 to 2023 and right now the extended project back space, but before it’s called the front line.

Agreement Points

Significant global digital divide

Toshikazu Sakano

Babatunde Ojetunde

2.6 billion people worldwide still lack internet access

Nearly one-third of the global population lacks access to basic digital services

Both speakers emphasize the large number of people globally who lack access to internet or digital services, highlighting the persistent digital divide.

LACS/X-Face as solution for areas without connectivity

Toshikazu Sakano

Babatunde Ojetunde

LACS is a portable, standalone system that provides local social networking services

X-Face is an upgraded version of LACS that includes AI functionality

Both speakers present LACS and X-Face as technological solutions to provide internet-like services in areas without connectivity, with X-Face being an enhanced version of LACS.

Usefulness in disaster scenarios

Toshikazu Sakano

Jeffery Llanto

Can be used for disaster response and communication

Used for building resilient communities in disaster-prone areas like the Philippines

Both speakers highlight the potential of LACS/X-Face systems in disaster scenarios, particularly in providing communication capabilities when normal infrastructure is disrupted.

Similar Viewpoints

All three speakers emphasize the importance of global collaboration and standardization efforts to implement and expand the use of LACS/X-Face technologies worldwide.

Toshikazu Sakano

Babatunde Ojetunde

Jeffery Llanto

Strategy for phased rollout to expand coverage areas

Standardization efforts with ITU-T for global interoperability

Partnerships with organizations in various countries, including the Philippines

Unexpected Consensus

Versatility of LACS/X-Face beyond disaster response

Babatunde Ojetunde

Jeffery Llanto

Potential applications in e-education, community networks, and e-health

Can address challenges of island communities with limited internet and electricity

While the initial focus was on disaster response, both speakers highlight the broader applications of the technology in addressing various aspects of the digital divide, including education and healthcare.

Overall Assessment

Summary

The speakers show strong agreement on the existence of a significant global digital divide, the potential of LACS/X-Face technologies to address this issue, and the importance of global collaboration in implementing these solutions.

Consensus level

High level of consensus among the speakers, suggesting a unified approach to addressing the digital divide through innovative technologies like LACS and X-Face. This consensus implies a strong foundation for future development and implementation of these technologies globally.

Different Viewpoints

Unexpected Differences

Overall Assessment

summary

The speakers generally agreed on the challenges of the digital divide and the potential of LACS and X-Face technologies to address these issues.

difference_level

Low level of disagreement. The speakers presented complementary information and perspectives, focusing on different aspects of the same overall goal of bridging the digital divide.

Partial Agreements

Similar Viewpoints

All three speakers emphasize the importance of global collaboration and standardization efforts to implement and expand the use of LACS/X-Face technologies worldwide.

Toshikazu Sakano

Babatunde Ojetunde

Jeffery Llanto

Strategy for phased rollout to expand coverage areas

Standardization efforts with ITU-T for global interoperability

Partnerships with organizations in various countries, including the Philippines

Key Takeaways

A significant digital divide exists globally, with 2.6 billion people still lacking internet access, particularly in rural areas

LACS and X-Face technologies offer portable, standalone systems to provide local cloud-like services and communication in areas without reliable internet

These technologies have potential applications in disaster response, e-education, community networks, and e-health

Global collaboration and standardization efforts are underway to implement these solutions in various countries

Resolutions and Action Items

Ongoing standardization of X-Face system with ITU-T for global interoperability

Expansion of LACS and X-Face implementations into Africa, particularly Nigeria

Continued research to integrate emerging technologies into X-Face and LACS

Unresolved Issues

Specific strategies for reducing the cost of X-Face equipment as production scales up

Detailed plans for integrating X-Face with existing infrastructure in different countries

Methods for ensuring long-term sustainability of X-Face implementations in rural areas

Suggested Compromises

Using X-Face as a complementary solution alongside non-terrestrial networks (NTNs) to balance local and global connectivity needs

Globally, four out of five individuals 10 years old or older own a mobile phone. Universal ownership, meaning a penetration rate of over 95%, has been reached in high-income economies. This stands in contrast with low-income economies where only 56% of the population age 10 years and over own a mobile phone.

speaker

Toshikazu Sakano

reason

This comment provides crucial data on mobile phone ownership, highlighting the disparity between high-income and low-income economies. It’s insightful because it sets the stage for discussing potential solutions to bridge the digital divide.

impact

This observation led to a deeper discussion about leveraging existing mobile phone infrastructure to increase internet connectivity in underserved areas.

We pack small server and Wi-Fi access point within a portable case and running it by battery. So this standalone system can deliver in a local area people the social networking services functions. And users use their smartphones to connect to this small box and use it for sharing the information and chatting and communication.

speaker

Toshikazu Sakano

reason

This comment introduces the innovative concept of LACS and X-FACE, presenting a practical solution to provide local internet services in areas with limited connectivity.

impact

It shifted the conversation from identifying problems to discussing concrete solutions, sparking interest in the technical details and potential applications of this technology.

X-face consists of a portable access point, tablet, terminal and wearable devices can be used together as we can see at this site, we have tablet, smartphone and other wearable device, this can be used with X-Face and it also has an AI based information processing and edge computing platform which we built into the cross face core and it can also communicate with other external system like you can use standards to connect to this

speaker

Babatunde Ojetunde

reason

This comment provides a detailed explanation of the X-FACE system, highlighting its versatility and advanced features like AI-based processing and edge computing.

impact

It deepened the technical discussion and opened up conversations about various potential applications of the technology in different scenarios.

Island communities, which the Philippines has around 7,200 islands on our country, it is very vulnerable to disaster, especially typhoons. Island schools have limited or no internet access. The promotion of ecotourism activities and other economic activities in the islands are disrupted.

speaker

Jeffery Llanto

reason

This comment provides a real-world context for the challenges faced in implementing internet connectivity, particularly in a geographically diverse country prone to natural disasters.

impact

It grounded the discussion in practical realities and highlighted the importance of developing resilient, adaptable solutions for different geographical contexts.

Overall Assessment

These key comments shaped the discussion by progressively moving from identifying global connectivity challenges to proposing and explaining innovative technological solutions. The conversation evolved from statistical analysis of the digital divide to detailed explanations of new technologies like LACS and X-FACE, and finally to real-world applications and challenges in specific contexts like the Philippines. This progression allowed for a comprehensive exploration of both the problem and potential solutions, while also highlighting the complexity of implementing these solutions in diverse geographical and economic settings.

What is the cost of the X-Face equipment?

speaker

Audience member

explanation

Understanding the cost is important for assessing the feasibility of deploying X-Face in developing areas with limited resources.

What criteria are used to define and classify disasters in the global disaster map?

speaker

Audience member

explanation

Clarifying the definition of disasters is crucial for accurately assessing the need for and potential impact of X-Face in different regions.

Can X-Face be used in non-disaster situations for providing internet connectivity in remote areas?

speaker

Audience member

explanation

Understanding the full range of applications for X-Face is important for maximizing its potential impact on bridging the digital divide.

How can X-Face be integrated with existing local infrastructure?

speaker

Babatunde Ojetunde

explanation

Exploring integration possibilities is crucial for ensuring X-Face can be effectively deployed in various contexts.

What are the potential applications of X-Face for e-education, e-health, and e-government services?

speaker

Babatunde Ojetunde

explanation

Investigating these applications is important for understanding how X-Face can address various aspects of the digital divide.

How can partnerships with NGOs, government agencies, and private sectors be formed to scale X-Face globally?

speaker

Babatunde Ojetunde

explanation

Exploring partnership opportunities is crucial for the widespread adoption and impact of X-Face.