DakNet (WIRELESS TECHNOLOGY)

What do you do when you want to provide Digital communication services Voice mail Digital documents Isolated Villages No Electricity No Telephone How ?

But How when there's not even a proper road to the village?? Why, on motorcycles! if that doesn't work either, try bicycles.

By United Villages Inc. 19/08/11

What is DakNet ?  Developed by MIT Media Lab researchers.  Derives from the Hindi word for “post” or “postal,”.  It is an ad hoc network.  It uses wireless technology to provide asynchronous digital connectivity.  Combines a physical means of transportation with wireless data transfer  Simple, low- cost, and easy to deploy.

Power source DakNet runs on computers that are powered by solar panels fixed on rooftops or generators attached to a bicycle wheel.

Architecture of DakNet Components of Architecture  Hub  Kiosk  Mobile access point

MAP(Mobile Access Point) A movable transceiver, which may periodically receive and/or transmit digitized information to and from kiosk and periodically received and/or transmit, digitized information to and from a server acting as the gateway to the internet and/or telephony network(s).

Kiosk The facilities at a physically location where a client computer may be available for customer access or the physical locations where a physically movable device may be made available for customer access. A client computer kiosk may be sited to enable effective transmission to and from a Mobile Access Point.

Hub(Internet Access Point) A Computer device with direct, real-time connection to the Internet and/or other national and/or international communications infrastructure or a common connection point for devices in a network. Hubs are commonly used to connect segments of a LAN. A hub contains multiple ports.

How it works ? Transmits data over short point-to-point links between kiosks and portable storage devices, called Mobile Access Point(MAPs). MAPs are mounted on and powered by a bus, a motorcycle, or even a bicycle with a small generator. MAP physically transports data among public kiosks and private communications devices and between kiosks and a hub. Low-cost Wi-Fi radio transceivers automatically transfer the data stored in the MAP at high bandwidth for each point-to-point connection.

Features The primary advantages of a VAN(Value-added Network) are its low cost and ease of set up. No laying of copper or fiber to each village or trying to establish costly long- distance wireless links or satellite uplinks. A VAN takes advantage of existing transportation infrastructure to create an affordable broadband network. Latency or delay of this network is higher than other networks. Higher per day data throughput than other low-bandwidth technologies such as telephone modems.

Seamless Scalability DakNet provides the ability to seamlessly upgrade to the always-on broadband connectivity. The wireless broadband connectivity provides sophisticated services like voice over internet protocol which allows “normal” real-time telephony. DakNet supports easy user-interface and low cost hardware that allows individuals, with no professional skills of using communication devices, operate the software and get connected.

DakNet Economics A capital investment of $15 million could equip each of India’s 50,000 rural buses with MAP and thereby provide connectivity to about 750 million people living in rural India. Costs for the interactive user devices that DakNet supports—including thin-client terminals, PDAs, and VoIP telephones—may also soon become far more affordable than traditional PCs or WLL equipment.

Advantages Real-time communications not required for public kiosks 1. Communications tend to be asynchronous 2. Villager’s trade –off latency for affordability Leverages two major trends 1. Cost of wireless broad (Wi-Fi) 2. Cost of digital storage Easy to implement on widespread basis Lower uplink costs and maintenance requirements Bandwidth does not decrease with distance Seed infrastructure that is scalable with demand Reduced regulatory challenges and licensing fees

Disadvantages Token ring constraint if a lower tier goes down, all higher tier goes down. Experience and Expertise person can only handled kiosk. Efficiency of bandwidth reduced for each tier.

Applications Internet/Internet messaging Information distribution/Broadcasting Information collection Rural supply chain management Information searching & web searching

DakNet in action A Mobile Access Point network was deployed for Bhoomi, a computerization of land records initiative in Karnataka (India) which has been acknowledged as the first national eGovernance initiative in India. A MAP was mounted on an existing public government bus that provides connectivity to villages up to 70km away.

Projects In Different Countries Hybrid Real-Time, Store- and-Forward Wi-Fi Mesh in Kigali, Rwanda Internet Village Motoman Expands to Pailin, Cambodia Commercial Network Los-Santos.net in Rural Costa Rica

Conclusion DakNet provides extraordinarily low-cost digital communication, letting remote villages leapfrog past the expense of traditional connectivity solutions and begin development of a full-coverage broadband wireless infrastructure. Its biggest benefit, according to United Villages, is that it provides people in under-serviced rural areas with a digital identity -- a lifetime phone number and address.

References

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