Monday, 3 November 2008
New technologies have again bumped up against the hard walls erected by the security state. Egypt has banned the use of GPS by its citizens on security grounds unless they individually apply for a licence. Egypt's citizens seem to be taking matter largely in their stride by ignoring the ban but for businesses who have to operate inside the law it creates problems. The Russian Government has tried the same approach and eventually gave up as the modern world rolled past it using their satnav. Russell Southwood looks at why a ban of this kind would be bad for Africa.
Egypt's Telecoms Law 10/2003 outlaws the import of GPS-equipped mobile phones, and retailers found selling them could have their entire stock confiscated. The same applies to any kind of commercial use of GPS technology, which includes cars equipped with GPS devices.
On this basis, mobile phones like the Nokia N95, N82 as well as iPhones and some 3G phones are banned in Egypt, leaving the market deprived of the latest technology and features that are fast becoming standard in the new generation of mobile phones.
According to Sherif Guinena, vice chairman of the Egypt's regulator speaking to the Daily News Egypt:"GPS is allowed in Egypt but you must have a license after getting approval from security authorities."
"No doubt this technology is very important, brand new service and a big advantage if it is allowed, but we have to abide to security laws; because when we give a license to any new communication device we need the approval of the board which represents all state agencies," Guinena added. "There have been negotiations between us and the authorities to allow GPS commercial use but we didn't reach anything yet," he said
GPS is a Global Navigation Satellite System which uses a constellation of between 24 and 32 Medium Earth Orbit satellites that transmit precise microwave signals that enable GPS receivers to determine their current location, the time and their velocity including direction. Originally developed for military purposes by the United States Department of Defense, it was authorized for civilian use in 1983.
Today, only three countries in the world still ban the commercial use of GPS: Egypt, Syria and North Korea.
But while GPS technology is prohibited in the country, millions of Egyptians use free software everyday to find locations and plan routes. Google Earth, for example, maps the earth by the superimposition of images obtained from satellite imagery, aerial photography and GIS 3D globe and uses digital elevation model (DEM) data collected by NASA's Shuttle Radar Topography Mission (SRTM).
Moreover, the ban on certain mobile phones may mean they are not easily found in the market, but they're certainly not out of reach of users' hands. Many of these models are smuggled into the country through airports or brought in by Egyptians living abroad. "I bought my mobile from outside Egypt and got it in through the backdoors," said one N95 mobile owner who spoke on condition of anonymity. "It is banned in Egypt, that is why I have to keep it secret," he added.
GPS devices are also commonly used in desert safaris. When 19 tourists were kidnapped in the desert between Sudan and Egypt earlier this month, they used their GPS devices to inform authorities of their exact location, which facilitated the rescue operation. "GPS is used in safari tours and the devices are mainly brought in from outside Egypt because we can't use it officially," Mohamed Hazem, who organizes safaris, told Daily News Egypt.
"The GPS devices are separate device which can be bought from Egypt from Bernasious Gtationery but we have first to (get) a license from the Ministry of Interior or they are brought from outside into Egypt like any other device," Hazem said
Last June, Finnish manufacturer Nokia and the Egyptian government were in a row over the decision to ban GPS equipped phones from entering the country. "We negotiated with the Egyptian government a lot but they insisted on their position and we aren't responsible for illegal smuggling of banned devices," Eddy Rezq, Nokia regional manager, told Al-Masry Al-Youm at the time.
Meanwhile, another business sector that has continued to suffer because of the ban is the mapping and geographical services sector. "We opened two years ago and since then we haven't worked because of the ban on the commercial use of GPS in Egypt. Our business depends solely on GPS and we don't have other activities," Walid Ramadan, head of the maps department at GPS Egypt, told Daily News Egypt.
"We are waiting. They constantly tell us that GPS will be allowed soon, but when this will happen, nobody knows," Ramadan said GPS Egypt is a branch for Superbase Developers plc, a leading software company based in Cambridge, UK, offering services like GPS navigation software and hardware and GPS-based active and passive tracking for goods transportation. "Our future isn't clear; we are waiting for the approval to start operating in Egypt," Ramadan said.
Dotmap is another company that works in the field of mapping and geographical information systems (GIS) and its business is also affected by the GPS ban. "Because GPS is illegal, we resort to genuine methods like deploying surveyors in the streets and using satellite images," Walaa Hassan, head of the geo data department at Dotmap, told Daily News Egypt. "It would differ very much for our work if we were allowed to use GPS," Hassan said
This isn't the first technology to be banned in Egypt. During the 1980s, Egyptians weren't allowed to own satellite dishes. The ban was lifted in the early 90s, and it didn't take long for rooftops to be dotted with these large white discs.
GPS will be increasingly important for Africa because it will allow mapping of areas that were previously not accurately mapped and this will have a number of different uses including environmental protection and tourism:
- Formed in 1999, Tracks4Africa (T4A for short) is a non-profit organisation run by ÔÇÝEnvironmental users'. Its core business is mapping Africa and it has generated a range of maps for eco-destinations in rural and remote Africa. It believes that:"Eco-mapping requirements are of utmost importance given the increase in human traffic to eco-destinations. Most of these destinations are outside the National Parks, Nature Reserves and Protected Areas, and as such, they don't enjoy the relative benefits of research, legislation and access control. Moreover, many of these destinations are home to historical, cultural and religious heritage".
- Dr Jerome Lewis of University College London has been working with a group of pygmies in Cameroon called the Baka and has been using GPS with them to protect the forest they live in. Because the Baka are largely illiterate, the GPS device has symbols that allow them to record things. The UK-based software company Helveta and Forest People's Programme, along with the Cameroonian group Centre for Environment and Development (CED), are working with Dr Lewis to pioneer the use of hand-held computers among the Baka Pygmies. "Before, if somebody wanted to come in and chop down one of their trees there was no record, no proof that it ever existed on their lands. Now we have the proof," explains Dr Lewis.
- Hundreds of villagers are helping to map parts of the Democratic Republic of Congo where thick forest and conflict have prevented effective mapping. So far about 190 villages have been found in one area of Bandundu province where old maps show only 30, UK-based charity The Rainforest Foundation says. Most maps are produced from satellite images taken from above, but this project is using handheld GPS units.
"In one of the sectors of the territory that the groups are mapping at the moment, there are something like 190 villages but on the official map there are about 30," Cath Long of the Rainforest Foundation which is organising the project told the BBC's Network Africa.
November 03, 2008
