low cost wireless networking sebastian büttrich (wire.less.dk) http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-sa/3.0/
What is low cost wireless networking? 802.11 a/b/g – license exempt frequencies (ISM bands) NOT Wimax, NOT proprietary frequencies and technologies Open technology: free and open source software, open hardware
Where and why? In areas of ”market failure” Where the ”last mile” (or first mile, rather) is too expensive Remote and rural regions Low population density regions Mountains, islands, .... Underprivileged areas of all kinds But also in the middle of highly privileged areas Also: for sensor webs, disaster / early warning systems, power networks, tourism networks, ...
Strengths Equipment cheap and widely available Free sharing between many users helps bring down the cost of connectivity Empowering users: networks are run and maintained by those who use them
So what can we do today? 10 km point to point links for < $100 50 km links for < $200 With some software hacking, more than 100 km are possible Current world record is at 382 km (without additional amplifiers) Mesh networks with 1000s of nodes
Mesh networks Networks in which everybody connects to everybody else No master and client Ad hoc mode
What is a mesh?
What is a mesh?
Island meshing
Island meshing
Sengerema Mesh, TZ
Mesh cases Sengerema: Installation
Sengerema Mesh
Sengerema Mesh
Nepal Wireless
Nepal Wireless Towers ...
issues / obstacles #1 power / electricity #2 financing #3 skills / capacity / brain drain #4 policy and regulations
playground power
#2 power: convergence
wirelessU.org & wndw.net
Vinaka. Sebastian Büttrich http://wire. less. dk http://wirelessU Vinaka! Sebastian Büttrich http://wire.less.dk http://wirelessU.org Network Startup Research Center (NSRC) sebastian@less.dk twitter: less_sebastian http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-sa/3.0/