Wireless Local Area Network (WLAN) Applications Around the World Lauren Maxim Van Wazer, Special Counsel Office of Engineering and Technology Federal Communications Commission June 2003

Sampling of Services Facilitated by WLANs Access to Broadband Community Networking Economic Development Education Telemedicine Basic Telephone Service Through Voice Over IP (VoIP)

Few Barriers to Entry Relatively low equipment costs Off-the-shelf equipment for consumers and small businesses Access to spectrum -- in U.S., WLANs operate in unlicensed spectrum, therefore spectrum access is free Flexibility in regulations – in U.S., type of technologies required to be used in unlicensed bands are not specified; instead, users operate within certain technical parameters

WLAN Growth With the potential benefits and the limited impediments, the use of WLANs has increased dramatically In the United States, sales of WLAN equipment are expected to increase from $1.1B in 2001 to $5.2B in 2005 By 2007, it is estimated that more than 20 million people will be using WLANs in the United States alone

WLAN Case Study #1: Southern California Tribal Digital Village San Diego County, USA Project funded and supported by Hewlett Packard

The Challenge Over 7,600 Native American Indians live on reservations in isolated and scattered communities in Southern California, near the Mexican border Area spans more than 150 miles and takes more 4 hours to visit by car 18 Native American Indian reservations 50% unemployment

The Challenge – cont’d Connections between the reservations made difficult by rocky, mountainous terrain and deep valleys – getting line of sight can be difficult

Tribal Digital Village: Areas of Focus Access to Education – distance learning, including University of California at San Diego Cultural Preservation – e.g., language preservation and Web link to specialized cultural library Community Development Economic Development Internet Infrastructure

Tribal Digital Village Network Using IEEE b

Power Sources and Network Access Points Flexible, solar and even car batteries Access points used as community centers

New Skills and New Services All work constructing and maintaining wireless network done by tribal members including building communications towers and aligning the radios

Community Bulletin Board exchange Events calendar Health information Education and school resources information Job opportunities

Reflections on Success “We sometimes have to take a step back to see what we’ve accomplished. I really thank all of the people involved in this project for having the faith to trust us. They gave us the opportunity, and we’ve done a great thing with it.” – Michael Peralta, member, Rincon Indian Reservation

WLAN Case Study #2: India’s Digital Gangetic Plain

The Challenge 25 rural villages No electricity, roads, or running water No basic telephone service

The Answer 85 Km-long multi-hop wireless corridor between Kanpur and Lucknow Project called “Digital Gangetic Plain” because wireless coverage cuts across the river Ganga and connects rural villages Done in conjunction with Indian Institute of Technology-Kanpur and Media Lab Asia

The Answer – cont’d Use 2.4 GHz band, which has been delicensed in India Use b and VoIP technologies Rural ISPs – information kiosks May offer potential for much of rural India because many villages in India are within 25 km of fiber – b may provide “last 25 km” access

Success! “Hello, How are you? I am calling you from our village. Everything is all right here. There is a long queue. All of us want to use this phone. So, will talk with you later.” – Prabhu Muniam, Kanpur farmer using communications services made available by the Digital Gangetic Plain project

WLAN Case Study #3: “Linking Everest”

The Challenge Need for emergency and other communications and checking on weather conditions Educational needs Technical issues: no power, placing wireless devices on moving glaciers and insulating equipment from extreme temperatures

The Answer Laptop computers, powered with generators and solar- charged batteries, communicate with satellite link Temporary shed built with stone walls and covered with a tent houses Internet café Cisco equipment

Everest Network

The Answer – cont’d Benefits for climbers – facilitated emergency communications, routine communications, online booking for lodges Fees from climbers used to clean trash on Mount Everest Distance learning project – four schools to be linked – obtaining Internet access Cultural preservation