Balachandran C.Technical Architect

Gram Vaani Community Media Pvt. Ltd.

AIT, Bangkok

Community Radio for Social Development

Community Radio StationsRadio Stations that cater to the needs of

groups of people with shared interests.Mandate of being for the people.Typically, they serve the local community –

say, a group of villages within 20 km radius of the station.

They try to fulfill needs in public health, economic, social and cultural spheres.

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Community Radio StationsHealth

Lectures on Hygiene, Information on Immunization drives, Women’s health

Economic needsJob opportunities in the nearby cities, Provide

knowledge on locally dominant economic activities (agriculture, weaving, fishing)

PoliticalLocal governance, Political debates

CulturalPreserving local dialects, art forms, oral tradition

Educational

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Distinguishing FeaturesMandate of serving the people sets the

agendaProfitability takes the back seat

Restricted footprint for a given stationCommunity members play a major role in

content creation. Reliance on volunteers.Rules and regulations tend to enforce these

aspects in some countries. (e.g. India)

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Effectiveness In Rural AreasSpeaks the local languageIlliteracy is not a barrierPhysically accessible. Cheaper to access.Employs local people, hence easier to

approach themRural people are more likely to be heardAccess to radio sets in households or at the

local restaurant / public place.Mobile phones come with inbuilt radio receivers

Quick and easy access to the listeners during emergencies

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CR MovementNature of the movement varies across

countriesThree examples

NepalThailandIndia

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NepalOne official language and about 90 more

recognized regional languages.There are currently about 150 active

stations, which cover a significant part of Nepal.

No legal distinction between CR Stations and commercial stations.

Unifying theme is to promote social justice and social change.

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Nepal – Radio SagarmathaRadio Sagarmatha (Mt. Everest) setup in 1997.

First in South AsiaBroadcasts in Nepali as well as many ethnic

languagesNewari, Maithali, Tamang…

Emphasizes political freedomFreedom of expressionRight to information for the citizen

Temporarily closed due to airing politically sensitive interviews.

Significant role in pushing Nepal towards democracy.Nepal became a Federal Democratic Republic in 2008

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Nepal – Radio SagarmathaVery active, broadcasting for 18 hours

daily, from 5.00am to 11.00pm.Transmitting power has gone up from 100w

to 1kw. They have established a network of about

50 CR stations.They claim a regular listenership of 2.5

million people, with programs being relayed to even more

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Nepal – Radio SagarmathaOutgrown its role of serving the local

community.They are very much still a CR Station.Listeners are invited to walk-in to the station,

and interact with the producers.Palpable impact on Nepalese society

National PoliticsPolicy makingSensitizing society to issues like gender

inequalityRescue and rehabilitation efforts – fires, floods

and landslides (2002, 2008)

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ThailandConstitution of 1997 laid the foundationNumber of CR Stations picked up after

2002The agency responsible for distributing

broadcast rights was not yet setup, leaving a bureaucratic loophole.

Currently estimated to be more than 3000Predominantly ruralPolitical developments are expected to

affect their functioning.

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ThailandMade use of by environmental campaigns,

anti-mining campaigns in Udon ThaniRural empowermentPolitical mobilization, Espousing democratic

valuesThere are anecdotes about how it has spread

goodwill across the Thai-Laoitian borderThey have been effective in supporting

minority ethnic communities, by speaking their language and voicing their opinions.

Emergency response and rehabilitation

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IndiaFirst laws in 2002

Recognized Educational Institutions only. (Campus Radio)By 2006

NGOs and Civil Society Organizations with a good track record

NGOs must have been active for at least 3 years.Not allowed to broadcast news.Limitation on funding

Currently, about 50 GoPs (Grant of Permission) have been issued, the vast majority to educational institutions.

Country with 18 major languages, thousands of dialects spread over 600,000 villages.

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IndiaNamma Dhwani (2002) CMC

SHGsNarrowcasting – cassettes, loud speakers, cable

connection to classroom, direct to homePut pressure on local government to solve

problems related to drinking water, drainage and street lights

Women’s empowermentFirst FM CR stations setup in 2008,

Radio Sangham (AP) – run by local women’s collective

Radio Bundelkhand (MP) setup by the NGO - Development Alternatives.

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Radio BundelkhandFinancial support from NGOStaff

Couple of people with professional experienceReporters - young people, volunteers

Received training on interviewing techniques – not much on the technical aspects of content production

Subsistence agriculture practiced in the region. Programmes on agriculture are popular

Programmes on lives of people in the community, culture and heritage, job opportunities, Bundeli Idol

“We are not investigative reporters!”

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CR Movement in Developed WorldAustralia (450)Sweden (150) out of 290 local communitiesUK (150) in 5 yearsPacifica Network in USA (150)Canada (90)

Shared characteristics – Access, Volunteerism, Diversity, Localism, Independence, Public Media

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ChallengesPolicy

Bureaucracy in licensingFinancial sustainability

Capital, OperatingTraining

Technical, Content creationOwnership & Accountability

NGO vs. CommunityHow it influences the station – Voice, Agenda

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Operational ChallengesSustaining volunteersMaintaining EquipmentUnreliable Infrastructure

Internet connectionPower Supply

Quality sources of contentLanguage barrier

Lack of co-operation from local government bodies

Vested interests

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Social ChallengesInclusion / Exclusion based on narrow

definitions of communityOrganizational Structure of the station

affects its directionWho has a voice in steering its direction?

Partisanship – ethnic, religious, casteismLocal culture

Medium used purely for entertainment

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How can technology help?Participation

IncreasedEquitable – rich/poor, literate/illiterate

FundingEnabling commerce like an application for a

market placeSuitable commercials

Interactivity

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How can technology help?Bring CR closer to the people

Speakerphone booths – town halls, schoolsDebates, gamesCall-ins to the stationIVR for accessing content and leaving

opinions/questionsUse internet for live streaming, offline access

Long distance Wi-Fi links, KioskNet

Need to keep it low cost!

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Speaker-phone booths in different areas and villages

Panchayat

School

Meena community

Gurjar community

• Discussions• Antakshari• Games• Inter-village communication

Gramin Radio Inter - Networking System (GRINS)

Architecture

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Design CriteriaFault tolerance

Hardware and software will failRest of the system should workTry our best to recover

FlexibilityThere is no unique set of requirements applicable

to all CR StationsSystem should provide the best performance for

available resourcesGeographical distribution of resources

Connect to other CR stations, content providers, maybe even the local cable operator

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Service Oriented Architecture

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Widgets

Providers

Network

Services

IPC

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Server

Node Stub

Node

Server Stub

Node

Controller Machine

Service Machine

IPCAny addressable node implements

IPCNode, has a unique nameSynchronous messages – RPCAsynchronous messagesPersistent messages

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Sample Configuration

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ControllerResource Manager

Playout Service

UI Service

Servlet IPCServer

Preview Service

Archiver Service

Library Service

Index Service

Monitor Service

Servlet

UI Machine

SBC

Resource ManagerAvailability of resources

Resource TableResource Name -> (Type, MachineID, State, List of

holders, Persistent Requests)Resource ReservationResource Interests – Notification

Link Monitor

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ServicesService Function Dependency

Audio Play audio files GStreamer

Archiver Record streams to file

GStreamer

Index Plain text search Lucene

Library Database, Media life cycle

MySQL, Servlets

Mic & Monitor Routes audio between SCs

GStreamer

UI Graphical Interface Java Swing

Telephony Handle telephone calls

Asterisk PBX

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Playing Media

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Playlist Controller Playout Provider IPC Server Audio Service GStreamer

API: play(file-id)

PLAY file-id

PLAY file-id

API: play(filename)SUCCESS

or FAILUREreturn value

Create IPC message

Forward the message

Create session and Invoke GStreamer

STATUS codeSTATUS code

API: Callback(status)

Archiving Media

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Controller Archiver Provider IPC Server Archiver Service Index Service

API: startArchive()

START ARCHIVE

API: updateIndex

Create IPC message

Forward the message

Invoke GStreamer

STATUS codeSTATUS code

API: Callback(status)

START ARCHIVE

RobustnessNeed

Rural setting – lack of experts, difficult to reachApproach

Error AvoidanceTesting, Extensive Logging, Log shipping for continuous

monitoringError Isolation

Errors in one service should not affect functionality of others

Proactive CheckingHeartbeats

Diagnostics for hardwareError Recovery

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DiagnosticsNetwork connections

PingAudio connections

Check for audio levelsDistortions

Give feedback (graphical) to the user.

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Error RecoveryHardware Errors

Encourage users to use diagnostics before using the system

Network disruptionTimely detectionImportant messages – Persistent messages

Service crashesWrapper scripts to bring them back upRegistration IDs for instances help in maintaining state

consistencyNotifications

ContentBackup & restore

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Performance

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Hardware Configuration

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SBC

Audio ErrorsNoiseClipping

Adjust gainsClicks

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Audio Click

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ALSA ParametersSample Rate

8kHz, 44.1kHz, 48kHzPeriod Size

Size (in bytes) of data written to the soundcard at a time.

Buffer SizeSize of buffer expressed in the number of Period

Size worth of dataInterface type

hw:0plughw:0default:0

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Buffer Size

Latency Size

Data Path

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Archiving

Sound Card

ALSAGStreame

r

Playout

GStreamer

ALSASound Card

Monitor

SoundCard

ALSAGStream

erALSA

SoundCard

Audio Quality

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Audio Quality ClicksLatency

IRQ Rates CPU Utilization Buffer Size

Period SizeArchiverPlayoutMonitor

EncodingResampling Archiver

PlayoutMonitor

Audio Quality40ms in delay insensitive streams10ms in delay sensitive streams

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Experience at BundelkhandPlaylist managementContent managementValidating fault tolerance

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Multiplanar Inter-Networking Platform (MINP)

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More Than Just RadioDial-in to the station for live commentingIVR system for offline commenting, and to

access archived contentText messaging for personal messages,

audience feedback, and polls/surveysInternet connectivity for live streaming and

offline sharing of content

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Uni-directional

Bi-directional

One-to-one Mobile phones

One-to-many Television, Radio

Community media

Leverage the existing infrastructure of radio, cable TV, and telephone networks to deliver interactive community media applications

Uniplanar applications

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Internet plane

Telephone plane

Radio plane

Email

Voice communication, SMSRadio broadcast

Communication planes Uniplanar applications

Multiplanar applications

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Internet + Telephone planesTelephone + Radio planes

Google Voice: Read voicemail over the WebInteractive radio through dial-in support

Communication planes Multiplanar applications

Why multiplanar applications?

A single plane is not sufficientEconomic context

Broadband Internet is not available everywhereBut a rich and diverse local communication

infrastructure of radio stations, cellphones, and cable TV is widespread

Social contextEverybody is not literate

Need to capture the best features of each plane to build novel applications

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Multiplanar communication

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The MINP platform can leverage available infrastructure to deliver rich community media applications

InternetRadio PSTN and Cellular

Infr

astr

uctu

reSe

rvic

esSo

lns

Television Audio Telephony Content

Playout Archive Online Offline Search ShareVideos Slides

Community media Distance learning Agri consultancy

CATV

A platform oriented approach

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MINP allows us to build novel applications for different verticals that can:Simultaneously use

radio, telephone, television, and the Internet

Leverage existing infrastructure

Work with different agencies in the value chain in a seamless manner

Example verticals

Education

Agriculture

Community media c

a

b

Education

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MINP can be configured to support distance learning from study centers of educational institutions to local cable TV operators in the area

a

Agriculture

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MINP can be used to support applications for agricultural consultancy and community marketplaces in a novel manner

b

Community media

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MINP can enable the delivery of community media in a low-cost and appropriate manner

c

Available technologies for different verticals

Layer Service Technology

Layer 5. End-device in speakerphone or video booths, or at the end-user

Broadcast reception Radio sets, TV sets

InteractionLandline, cellphone

PSTN phone + ATA

Mobile interaction (field reporting)

Android based phones

Layer 4: Intra community network (assuming Internet is not already available)

Voice connectivityLandline, cellphone network

Lo3 or WiFi meshes

Video connectivity CATV network

Layer 3: Media outlet

Radio broadcast FM PCI transmitter

Television broadcast Network to CATV headend

Telephony service Asterisk on FXO cards

Layer 2: Inter community network (assuming Internet is not already available)

Voice connectivity Landline, cellphone network

Online data connectivity Long distance WiFi links

Offline data connectivity KioskNet

Layer 1: Aggregation point

Data aggregation Information portal

Telephony service with toll-free #

Asterisk on E1 cards

Offline connectivity with KioskNet

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Offline connectivity with KioskNet

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System design 1/3: One-box automation platform at media outlets

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Playout Archiver Telephony

Video

Syndicate

FM transmi

tter

Library on HDD

FXO card

Search

SIPCATV headen

d

Marketplace

Education

IP network

Broadband

WiFi mes

h

Lo3 mes

h

Cable network

Radio broadca

st

Online Offline

PSTN or Cellular

Info broadcast

Infr

ast

ruct

ure

Pla

tform

serv

ices

App

s

End-device: PSTN phones

Lo3

calls

to

med

ia o

utle

t

Phone calls to media outlet

System design 2/3: Example of voice connectivity paths

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E1 cards with toll free numbers

FXO card, but no Internet

Landline within

community

Syndication over PSTN voice call

Syndication over PSTN-

to-SIP

Only Internet

No landline within

community

End-device: PSTN phones with ATA

Info

rmal

lo

cal

info

rmat

ion

colle

ctio

n

Informal local information

collection through USB recorders, mobile phone

cameras, Android applications, etc

System design 3/3: Example of data connectivity paths

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Central library

No Internet, local library

Offline synchroniza

tion

Internet available

Online synchroniza

tion

Overarching technology goals

Goals Meeting the goals

Open architecture and protocols

Seamless integration of different planes

Easy installation and configuration

Low costRobustFlexible to deploy in different

settings

Scalable

Multiplanar Application Management Protocol

Service API

Pre-configured boxes, plug-n-playOff-the-shelf equipment and SBCsRigorous testingIndividual services are

distributable on different machines, different platforms

Focus on scalability right from the beginning

Research challenges (1/2)

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Versatile setup and protocols for a multiplanar InternetAutomatic device and service discoveryApplication development transparent to underlying

infrastructureLow-cost integration with locally available communication

planes

Multiplanar node naming and addressingPhone number, IP address, flat/hierarchical name?Lookup service accessible through multiple channels?

Routing algorithmsStream routing: Construction of multicast tree instances?

Cost, fairnessRouting of recorded content: Time varying graph in

disconnected environments? Latency, load, urgency

Research challenges(2/2)

Establishment of routing tablesControl channel over IP, or out-of-band DTMF, SMS?

Content forwardingStreams identified by callerid?Recorded content identified by provenance, metadata

predicates?Content discovery

Centralized or distributed index?Multilingual search and indexing?

Low-cost and low-power consumptionCPU scaling Vs temperature, IRQ reduction Vs buffer

latencyDuty cycling

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