Connecting Remote Areas with Wi-Fi

Technology has made our lives so dependent on the Internet that we can’t even imagine spending an entire day without our valuable connection. But people living in remote areas don’t have access to amenities such as an Internet connection, and they lose out on both the basic and good things in life.

However, despite this dependency on the World Wide Web, very few people around the world are benefiting from this wonderful mode of communication. Some companies such as Datacraft are attempting to overcome this problem and facilitate communications in regions where laying cables is an extremely difficult and expensive task.

IT solutions and service provider Datacraft is set to collaborate with World Vision Taiwan to set up a wireless Internet service network for communities and schools in the remote areas of central and southern Taiwan.

The most significant challenge faced by Internet service providers (ISP s) in remote areas is the lack of infrastructure required to set up proper communication systems and the inadequacy of funds to create such infrastructure. Given the recent economic slowdown, analysts believe that this situation has become more acute with Internet service costing more than what such countries or areas can afford. A cheaper alternative to traditional and conventional communication methods has been devised by the advances in technology, which include setting up Wi-Fi hotspots in such areas at a much lower cost, which would have the same effectiveness as conventional Internet connections.

The availability of laptops and desktops with in-built wireless technology has enabled ISP s all over the world to take advantage and enable Wi-Fi hotspots across the globe, especially in remote areas and villages, where traditional communication systems are not available. It is interesting to note that wireless technology is constantly changing and adapting to the requirements of today. WiMax, a high speed wireless connection is a significant example of what the future of wireless holds for us. This 21st century application will allow for downloading and streaming videos at a much faster speed than today. The best part is that this high speed wireless will soon be available in all parts of the world, thereby bringing about a significant change in the mode of communication.

Examples Set by Progressive Nations

Wireless connectivity is also needed while on the move on various interstate highways. Most interstate travelers, especially business travelers, lament at not being able to check their e-mails or respond to queries while on the move. The installation of high-speed wireless Internet service is required, which is unlimited and free to use for those people resting in the rest areas along the highway, while on the move. Recently, the Texas government that has taken steps to provide access to the Internet even in the remotest areas of Texas, including the highway. Such rest areas equipped with Wi-Fi access also serve to enable drowsy drivers to rest before they resume their journey, thereby reducing the occurrence of accidents.

Countries like India and other Asian nations should attempt to copy this concept to connect business travelers with their partners and companies they want to interact with. But these plans need funds. Aaron Reed from roadtripamerica.com says that Texas is getting funds for its Wi-Fi services out of maintenance budgets set aside by the state. Business travelers and other users get the most desired connectivity through satellite uplink/downlink equipment, and the authorities have implemented routers and distribution equipment in areas inaccessible to the public.

Asian nations have another example in the Institute for Connectivity in the Americas that has collaborated with the Latin America School of Network Foundation to install a portal to help set up wireless communication systems in the remote areas. This portal is called WiLAC and it helps in the installation of the pilot Wi- Fi project in the Latin Americas and the Caribbean, which incidentally is being connected by a single antenna. A similar national program is being developed in Costa Rica that’s called communication without borders, which believes that irrespective to which society you belong, you should be able to avail Internet connectivity. Various access points have been marked for setting up hotspots under this scheme, which include public places like schools, libraries, post offices and other community centers.

European countries have also made use of Wi-fi in remote areas to connect those who do not have the basic infrastructure for conventional methods of communication. Freerunner, a UK based Internet Service Provider, is one of the forerunners of such a project, which believes that Internet access should be provided to all. Community hotspots have been identified all across Britain along with local people and NGO s, and Freerunner has decided to set up Wi-Fi access in those community spots for the locals. Interestingly, only 50 hotspots were chosen for the trial run. However, once the trial run is done successfully, the company aims to repeat the process in other parts.

Communication and Education Together through Wi-Fi

Wi-Fi Internet access in remote areas has been used for educating the locals on how to use this technology as well as enabling them to pursue their basic education. This can be seen from the example set by a non-governmental organization in Bangladesh, which used boats to set up educational centers and Internet centers in its remote villages. The specialty of such boats is that they rely exclusively on solar power and mobile phones for Internet connectivity.

A similar set up has been organized by the Government of India along with MIT Media lab and other academic institutions called DakNet, which enables people in remote parts of India to communicate with each other through local kiosks connected to a wireless network. Villages collect mails and letters throughout the day and send or distribute the same. According to a news site by the International Telecommunication Union (ITU ), DakNet is offering data connectivity to regions that don’t have communication infrastructure through a combination of wired and wireless transport. Unique hybrid network architecture allows high-bandwidth intranet and Internet connectivity among kiosks and between kiosks and hubs. This move has brought happiness in the life of people living in the villages as they can now send e-mails to their loved ones. All the multimedia messages are stored on the local kiosk server and this device is then connected to a wireless access point. Similar to our local postman in brick-and-mortar post offices, each day, the mobile van with an access point and external antenna comes to “collect” the requests/messages that have collected in the local server. This van meanders through the villages that lies on its route, and drops off messages as well as collect them on its way to the hub or the central Internet-connection point. Many things happen at the hub: processing of the requests, sharing of files, sending and receiving of messages sent and so on.

Cities in Asia can also run a pilot project similar to that of a project in which Wi-Fi was provided to remote areas through a two-wheeled Wi-Fi initiative in Cambodia. For this effort, both Japan Relief for Cambodia (JRfC) and American Assistance for Cambodia (AA fC) created a project that consisted of a motorcycle with a box mounted on the rear, which can send emails to schools in nearly thirteen villages, all situated in remote parts of the country. The ITU points out that these villages do not have any electricity, running water or any other mode of communication system but they can still enjoy the email facility.

Another example of setting up Wi-Fi in remote areas using the given resources is that of Fort Portal in Uganda by a U.S.-based company called Inveneo. The city of Fort Portal, though remote, is not completely cut off, but the challenge faced by the company, which makes this attempt noteworthy, is the complete redesigning of the usual wireless model for a climate that is hot, dusty and humid. Additionally, the company faced the problem of severe power cuts in this place, which caused them to look for alternative sources of energy for charging the wireless device, namely solar energy. T he impact of creating such a device for this remote area has been huge as the residents now can get easy access to medical help via the Internet. Moreover, children can use this tool now for educational purposes, which was not possible before. Women weavers use this technology to sell their crafts over the Internet to a larger consumer base. Given the fact that these places do not have access to telephones or even continuous power supply, this effort made by Inveneo along with Green Wi-Fi is definitely noteworthy.

Future of Wi-Fi in remote Areas

Informal, a team comprised of wireless specialists from Europe, wants to recreate the DakNet model all across the world and is looking for methods to help and train NGO s to set up their own Internet structure using wireless technology. They believe that this will help reach more people than possible with traditional Internet systems and infrastructure. This project has been approved by United Nations General Secretary Kofi Annnan, who feels that Wi-Fi applications will help utilize the spectrum that is lying unlicensed to provide Internet and communication access to remote areas of the world. Simon Crab, a team member of the Informal group, stated that each country has different opinions about Internet access, which is why it is important to address each country differently, without relying on media reports, which he felt could be misleading.

Lastly, while setting up Wi-Fi access in remote areas, it is important to understand the effects of conditions such as climate, distance, availability of power, the nature of the terrain and any other special requirements that you may need for setting up wireless connectivity. Researchers feel that these factors will play a significant role in determining the nature of access available to the people.