Choosing Kiosk locations

First, consider where you want kiosks and how many kiosks you want to deploy. Choose the kiosks near population centres, and near a bus route. It may help to plot the locations of these kiosks on a map.

We will call the number of kiosks N.

Find transportation providers

Since KioskNet is dependent on vehicles to transport information, talk to local transportation providers whom you trust to carry a small computer in their vehicles. On the map, plot common routes taken by these vehicles.

• Ensure that each kiosk falls on the route of at least three vehicles. The vehicle does not necessarily need to pass right by the kiosk, but should be within at least a block of it.
• Ensure that each kiosk is visited by at least one vehicle once each day for at least 15 minutes.
• Try to minimize the number of vehicles used, while meeting the above two constraints. Let’s call the number of vehicles V.

Possible people you can talk to about vehicles:

• Sarpanch from different villages who have cars
• Private taxi or Sumo operators working in the area
• State transport buses
• NGOs
• Government officials who regularly visit the villages

You can even give a small monthly payment to the vehicle owners. Suppose that you want to set up 30 kiosks and use 10 vehicles. Then, you can collect a payment of Rs. 500 per month from each of the kiosks as bandwidth charges, and pay Rs. 1500 per month to the vehicle owners.

Choice of backhaul

Now you need to figure out how to backhaul data to the Internet. First, form an estimate of your minimum bandwidth requirements based on the services you will offer at each kiosk. Consult other kiosk operators on the likely demand for information services. Depending upon the number of users per kiosk, here is a thumb-rule you can follow:

• E-governance services: 100 KB per day
• Email: 500 KB per day per user
• Photo upload: 5 MB per day per user
• Agricultural information services: 2 MB per day

Suppose that you need M MB per day per kiosk. M will typically be of the order of 10 MB to 50 MB per day per kiosk. Hence, altogether the kiosks will produce data of the order of approximately N x M MB. Now you need to figure out how many broadband connections you need to handle this data.

• Find out if any of the kiosks can apply for a DSL or cable broadband connection. Alternatively, if the vehicles that you intend to use typically go to a place where they are parked for a while, and where a DSL connection can be set up, then that point can be a backhaul connection.
• If cable or DSL is not possible, find out about VSAT (satellite) connections. These are typically more expensive.
• Some kiosks may have cellular coverage. At these kiosks an EDGE card can be used to connect to the Internet directly. This would be more expensive than VSAT.
• From our experience, it is generally not a problem finding a place to set up DSL connections for 128 kbps, VSAT for 64 kbps, or EDGE for 384 kbps. We will call the per connection backhaul bandwidth B.
• Calculate the number of such connections you need:

• • C = (N x M / B / 24 / 60 / 60)

• If you need more than one connection, then do not buy all the connections at the same place or from the same provider. Instead, select a couple of different locations based on
  • Proximity to the city where support technicians are available
  • Accessibility by the ferry vehicles
  • Safety of the equipment is better in some places

Buying connections from different providers improves the reliability of your internet connection by decreasing the chances that both links will go down at the same time.

By this time, you should have an idea of how many kiosks you want to set up (N), how many vehicles you need (V), and how many backhaul locations you need (C). So, you are all set to start ordering some equipment!

Return to deployment guide.