Bringing Internet Access to third world countries where it’s too expensive to pull wire.
I was reading IEEE computer magazine (January) and saw this article about a pretty cool project designed to bring internet access to the third world in places where it’s too expensive to pull wire. The idea is clever, so I thought I’d share:
http://www.firstmilesolutions.com/
They put a wireless access point in each village (with a Linux system), and they put a linux box with an access point and an antenna in vehicles that drive through the villages (like a bus). The bus hardware is powered by a UPS wired to the electrical system. When the bus drives through town, it automatically exchanges data with the village. It’s not real-time, but good enough for email and other basic things
Think uucp, but using cars instead of modems…