VILLAGETELCO MESH POTATO PRESENTATION By ASMIC COMPUTERS Website: http://ngportal.com/asmicom Email: asmicom@ngportal.com Plot 6, Block G, Oyesina Str., Felele Layout, Ibadan, Oyo State, Nigeria. 35, De Oude Kaap, Malborough Way, Ringwood Drive, Parklands, Cape Town, South Africa.

Facilitator Oluyomi Olufemi Kabiawu is a Business Analyst / Solutions Architect, Asmic Computers. BSc, Management Information Systems (Covenant University) Over five years Industry experience in deploying Enterprise Business Intelligence solutions. Solutions expertise and certifications covers OEMs like Oracle, SAS, ArcSight, etc.

OUTLINE Introduction The VillageTelco Architecture Design Features and Capabilities Other Advantages Success Stories – MP Deployments DEMO Provisioning Questions

Introduction VoIP (Voice over IP) over mesh networks could be a potential solution to the high cost of making phone calls and accessing the Internet in Nigeria and most parts of Africa. The Village Telco (VT) is an easy-to-use and scalable VoIP over meshed WLAN (Wireless Local Area Network) telephone infrastructure. It uses a mesh network of “Mesh Potatoes” to form a peer-to-peer network to relay telephone calls without land-lines or cell- phone towers. This is a hybrid, low cost, mesh-based, converged voice and data communication network designed to withstand the harsh environment of the tropics. The solution offers a reliable, ready-to- deploy alternative to traditional PBX solutions. The cost of making a call and sending an SMS in most parts of Africa is extremely high compared to income. Soft-phones running on PDAs, WiFi-enabled VoIP handsets and cellphones with WiFi capabilities already exist and as VoIP over WLAN becomes widespread, it is possible that a large proportion of cell phone or WiFi handset owners will migrate to using VoIP over WLAN, due to the prospect of cheaper or even free calls.

THE VILLAGE TELCO ARCHITECTURE The Village Telco is a mesh network of Mesh Potatoes (MPs), where adjacent MPs automatically form a peer-to-peer network and relay telephone calls without landlines or cellphone towers. An MP (MP) is an 802.11b/g mesh router with a single FXS (Foreign eXchange Station) port that accepts an ordinary two-wire telephone. The network is made up of a mesh of VT terminals (Mesh Potato or MP). Each MP features a wireless transceiver, telephone and RJ45 interfaces as well as industry standard PBX controllers in a robust simple weatherproof package. The telephone interface provides voice (telephony) services with the use of traditional analog telephone boxes, while the RJ45 interface provides connection to the corporate local area network (LAN) for data and computer based services. The wireless interface provides support for WiFi enabled devices such as laptop computers, tablets and mid-to-high end mobile phones. Multiple MPs are setup to form a resilient mesh network which acts as a de-centralized communication highway with 99.9% availability. Each and every telephone user on the network can call every other telephone user while they simultaneously share data. The mesh network can also be connected to the internet, hence providing internet services to all users of the network.

The MPs have an RJ-45 port to connect a PC The MPs have an RJ-45 port to connect a PC. However, a PC can join a wi-fi network formed by the MPs. Its ESSID will be seen at the Network Manager of each PC.

DESIGN FEATURES AND CAPABILITIES The Mesh Potato (MP) hardware and software design are built from choice technologies and considerations that optimize the conditions within our environment. HARDWARE DESIGN The device primarily consists of an Atheros System on a Chip (SoC), which acts as the hub for memory, network and analog telephone connections. A benefit of this chipset is that it is well supported by OpenWRT and Mad-WiFi, which makes it relatively easy to port the necessary software. POWER CONSUMPTION The MP's voltage conversion unit therefore takes its share in the overall efficiency of the MP. This is a good efficiency measurement considering the losses at the input section, which include the resistance losses introduced by the fuse and other components. The MP efficiency outperforms other Atheros AR2317 based WiFi design and other DC converter chips, such as the Anachip AP1509.

DESIGN FEATURES AND CAPABILITIES (contd.) POWER TOLERANCE The MPs have been designed to survive a reversed DC or mains AC to any pin of the Ethernet port, the FXS port, the DC socket or the antenna socket. In addition, the MPs have a DC converter with a wide input voltage range of approximately 9-35 Volts so that a user can power it with a large variety of destabilized power supplies. These capabilities help to make an MP robust for use in a variety of hostile settings. SOTWARE DESIGN The MP includes a network management application called Afrimesh. Afrimesh makes it easy to create an IP network and is built on top of the BATMAN project to provide a simple management dashboard. The dashboard enables network operators to create and sustain a resilient communica- tions network. Afrimesh is a web application that provides node/client management, network maps maintenance, network monitoring and bandwidth management. Afrimesh uses the Google Maps or OpenStreetMap14 to display its network maps with interconnected MP nodes.

NETWORK MANAGEMENT INTERFACE

NETWORK MANAGEMENT INTERFACE – Cont'd

Other Advantages 1. Wireless solution: Unlike traditional PBX solutions, no major cable laying is required because each MP connects wirelessly to other MPs on the network. Cable exists only between the MP and its associated telephone box. Each MP route calls via the next accessible MP from the source MP to the destination MP even if the source and destination users are separated some kilometers away. 2. Converged data and voice services: No need of having different telephone and data networks, each MP has built-in capability for voice and data traffic. 3. Hybrid solution: With communication convergence at its core, the MPs offer a bridge between existing traditional PBX systems and next generation IP networks hence providing low-cost upgrade path for the enterprise. With available bridge solutions, the mesh can be connected to existing PBX systems hence making communication possible between MP users and non-MP users. This offers considerable cost savings while upgrading and/or expanding an existing communication network.

Other Advantages (contd.) 4. Resilient, de-centralized communication highway: There is no central PBX system as is the case with traditional PBX machines. Each MP is an intelligent node on the network. The failure of any MP node does not shutdown the network (and associated services on it). All MPs participate in traffic management to ensure the delivery of telephone and data services from source to destination. 5. Internet ready: With its WiFi and LAN interfaces, all users of the network have access to internet services via an internet gateway connected to the mesh. Based on this feature, it is also possible to connect the VT network deployed at geographically distant locations and have all users call one another seamlessly. 6. Robust weatherproof design: Built for the tropics, the MPs come in robust enclosures that make it suitable for indoor and outdoor installation and operations. Outdoor installations increase the coverage area of the MPs which is best for offices that are spread across different buildings.

SUCCESS STORIES These are the experiences at communities in Cape Town, South Africa and Adelaide, Australia, where the VT was deployed. The testbed was spread over a community in Cape Town called the Bo-kaap Community. It is a multi-cultural area close to Signal Hill. The inhabitants of Bo-Kaap are proud of their rich cultural heritage. They were mostly descendants of slaves which were imported by the Dutch during the 18th century. Two nanostations and sixteen MPs were deployed at Bo- kaap. They were installed in various homes with each MP within the line-of-sight range required to communicate with a nanostation or another MP. (http://www.bokaap.co.za) Other tests demonstrated flawless call quality between two pairs separated by 2.1km and extending into Gulf St. Vincent in Adelaide, South Australia. Similar robust performance was experienced by the Serval Project's field testing of MPs and compatible equipment in the Australian Outback. Several calls were placed between MPs and smart phones over ranges of several hundred meters without difficulty due to the low noise floor of the remote location combined with open terrain. The MPs and other equipments in the test were operated entirely from batteries and solar panels, thereby demonstrating the ability of the Village Telco paradigm to operate in areas devoid of traditional infrastructure. 11Volt LiPo battery packs were directly coupled to MPs with no need for an external voltage regulation circuitry. The tolerance of a wide range of DC input voltages made the exercise painless. (http://www.rowetel.com/blog/?p=673) (http://www.villagetelco.org/2010/07/serval-arkaroola-demo)

DEPLOYMENT IN CAPE TOWN

DEMO

PROVISIONING We offer MPs tailored to the needs of our clients in such a way that brings the most functionality out of the network. In addition to supplies, we also offer site services including site survey, installation and after – sales support. Site surveys allow us to check and propose efficient deployment options that give our clients value for their investment. Backed by intelligent engineers, our after sales support ensures that the network infrastructure is always available.

QUESTIONS ? ? ?

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