Business and governance models for DTN-based internet access : Gender and cultural considerations and application cases using open source software and design principles for ICT commons

Abstract: Great effort is being made to get Europe out of its economic crisis and prepare the European economy for the next decade. The aims of the Digital Agenda are to give all Europeans basic broadband by 2013 and to ensure that by 2020 all Europeans have access to much higher internet speeds. Can DTN technology contribute to achieving these targets in rural and remote areas? In the N4C project DTN technology has taken a step toward these goals and been proven viable. This licentiate thesis is meant to suggest business and governance models suitable for the N4C DTN-based internet access, the test beds and the applications. The focus is on reviewing and assessing business models for Open Source Software (OSS) and offering solutions for testing whether DTN-based internet access can be governed in an economic association as an ICT commons.Gender and cultural considerations in N4C business and deployment development are analysed. It is shown that to improve the gender balance special measures need to be considered. It is concluded that in countries such as Sweden, where women have almost the same ICT take-up and usage as men, i.e., women are good ICT-consumers, their role as entrepreneurs, developers and participants in governance of ICT infrastructure needs to be improved.Ostrom’s eight design principles for governing, with division of roles into appropriators, producers and providers, have been tested on N4C in the entity of an economic association, with illuminating results. However, when such governance models are used in projects like N4C, they cannot be transferred outright, as the appropriation from the internet is different from withdrawal of resources from other types of commons. It was found that the provision formulas, especially for labour, are important, because in the N4C DTN-based internet access the producer in the model is often acting as a “data mule,” transporting the code. To assure gender-inclusive governance when economic associations are being used, Ostrom’s eight design principles for governing is proposed to be surrounded with special measures.