The authors of this paper report on fieldwork involving a village telephone network in a remote village in South Africa. The paper describes trust issues identified among the people of the community, including the use of funds generated, trust in the tribal authority’s policy on users, trust in local management, and trust in the usability of the network.

I could not find the supporting evidence. The authors observe that the solar panels intended to power the system were in fact mostly used by the villagers to recharge their cellphones. Furthermore, it took a year and a half for all stakeholders to actually become involved in the network. Community members did not realize the system was for their use. The members were asked not to use fixed phones inside a private household, because they wanted mobile phones to be able to access the network. A recurring theme was the need for the community to take ownership of the network, but beyond suggesting that a billing system be implemented, no specific suggestions were advanced.

The authors provide worthwhile insights, but the paper needs to be reorganized to make a more coherent story. There was very little information about the technology involved.