Arran Digital Blacksmith
United Kingdom
Emulating the important community role of traditional blacksmiths, the Digital Blacksmith (DB) is a community skills hub, designed to facilitate …
Good practice
Imported
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Virtual Bus: Mobile Internet Research Unit
Cyprus · Nicosia · National · See the Cyprus profile · See the Nicosia profile
Evidence: Descriptive / self-reported Top 97% 32/100 · Ask Evidence Copilot about this practice
Virtual Bus is a research project with the overall objective of identifying and implementing long term methods and techniques to mitigate the digital gap between the rural and urban areas in Cyprus. The Project is based on a mobile internet research unit that is equipped with the
Details
- Maturity
- Discontinued
- Promoter
- Virtual IT — website
- Type
- Service
- Status
- Ended
- Target groups
- People with disabilities, Elderly people, Marginalised young people and children, Unemployed and those facing social problems
- Period
- 2006-12-31 – 2010-12-30
- Region (NUTS)
CY00- Keywords
- digital gap, technology
Context
Rural areas of Cyprus faced a persistent digital gap relative to urban centres, with limited access to internet infrastructure, training and ICT-enabled services.
Objectives
Identify and implement long-term methods to mitigate the rural-urban digital gap in Cyprus by bringing internet access, training and dissemination directly to remote locations.
Activities
Deployed a mobile internet research unit — a converted vehicle fitted with computer workstations, servers, security and networking equipment, two-way broadband satellite, Wi-Fi, 3G, IP telephony, videoconferencing and audiovisual equipment, and an 11-desk accessible lab space — to conduct research, training and dissemination in remote locations, run with researchers, NGOs, government agencies, social partners, the Cyprus Telecommunications Authority (CYTA) and the University of Nicosia.
Implementation
- Indicative cost
- Medium (€50k–€500k)
- Time to results
- Long (> 3 years)
- Staffing & skills
- 5 operational staff; partnership involving researchers, NGOs, government agencies, social partners, CYTA and the University of Nicosia
Conditions for success
- Fully self-contained, independent connectivity (satellite/3G) allowing operation with no reliance on local network infrastructure
- Physical accessibility design (desks/space accessible to disabled persons)
Do you run this practice? Claim it — verified implementers get a public contact pathway and can propose corrections.
Data sources
Where this practice's information was retrieved from, and when.
- MEDICI / Digital Inclusion Atlas — accessed 2026-06-14
- Practice website — accessed 2026-06-14
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