CNF

Case Studies

Helsinki Virtual Village — by CNF Content Editor — last modified 31/01/2008 22:31

The Helsinki Virtual Village in Arabianranta is both a cybercommunity and a physical community.

New Century Cities Case Studies - MIT Links — by CNF Content Editor — last modified 10/02/2008 17:30

Links to case studies of new, technology-based, communities across the world provided by the Massachusetts Institute for Technology

Milla Digital, Zaragoza, Spain — by CNF Content Editor — last modified 16/04/2008 15:11

"Milla Digital" or Zaragoza's Digital Mile, is the Spanish city's attempt to build city of the future....

South Korea — by CNF Content Editor — last modified 07/05/2008 17:27

Articles about South Korea's broadband network. Hailed as the most developed in the world.

The Vancouver Community Network, Social Investing and Public Good Models of ICT development — by CNF Content Editor — last modified 12/05/2008 19:57

This paper links discussions of community access to ICTs to discussions of sustainability in the non-profit community and the viability of public good models of ICT development. It addresses the concepts of public goods and social entrepreneurship and their relationship to new funding sources for non-profit organizations. The paper examines the Vancouver Community Network’s investigation of for-profit service models to diversify the organization’s revenue stream. The paper suggests that the VCN has the potential to develop a project that may provide the basis for a new generation of community networking in Canada, based upon a new organizational structure model.

Macedonia Transformed Through Broadband — by CNF Content Editor — last modified 22/05/2008 10:45

As Milivoje Gorgevic (Misko to his friends), executive producer and co-founder of the FX3X, a Macedonia-based digital animation company, came out of a late-evening meeting, the only thing he wanted was to go home for some well-earned rest. The day was particularly grueling for him and he was tired. But he had to rush to his office to finalize plans for roping in yet another local school to make it a part of his company's education program.

JoCI: Saving Toronto Hydro Telecom's One Zone project from itself: alternative models for urban public wireless infrastructure — by CNF Content Editor — last modified 27/05/2008 08:46

This field note examines the development of a major municipal Wi-Fi service and how its private-sector financial and governance model has reduced its potential benefit to the public. It discusses the case of Toronto Hydro Telecom, a publicly owned corporation, and its One Zone WiFi project, which appears to be faltering despite initial optimism and technical success. Had the company chosen to pursue a more publicly oriented model, rather than a commercial competitor approach, it could be using the same technologies and publicly-owned assets but yielding much greater financial and social benefits in the long term. In this regard Toronto Hydro Telecom can serve as a cautionary tale that encourages other municipal governments with similar assets to take a different route.