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DAKNET:Rethinking Connectivity in Developing Nations
Seminar 2006 Daknet
ABSTRACT
This paper outlines a migration path towards universal broadband connectivity,
motivated by the design of a wireless store-and-forward communications
network.
We argue that the cost of real-time, circuit-switched communications is
sufficiently high that it may not be the appropriate starting point for rural
connectivity. Based on market data for information and communication
technology (ICT) services in rural India, we propose a combination of wireless
technology with an asynchronous mode of communications to offer a means of
introducing ICTs with:
• affordability and practicality for end users;
• a sustainable cost structure for operators and investors;
• a smooth migration path to universal broadband
connectivity.
A summary of results and data are given for an operational pilot test of this
wireless network in Karnataka, India, beginning in March 2003.
We also briefly discuss the economics and policy considerations for deploying
this type of network in the context of rural connectivity.
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CONTENTS
1 Introduction2 Wireless Catalyst3 Mobile Ad Hoc Connectivity
* Seamless Scalability * Economics
4 Daknet5 Wifi
* Advantages * Disadvantages
6 Daknet Network Architecture7 Conclusion8 Reference
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INTRODUCTION
As a government representative enthusiastically talks about the new
telephone for a village in remote rural India, a villager asks, “Who am I going to
call? I don’t know anybody who owns a telephone.” Yet, despite this sensible
observation, a phone is dutifully installed as part of the current government
mandate to connect villages to neighbouring towns. Although some villagers do
use the phone occasionally, most still travel sometimes days to talk to family or
to obtain the forms and other data that citizens in developed nations can call up
on a computer in a matter of seconds.
In short, the goal of “broadband connectivity for everyone” has been
shelved in favor of cutting back to the minimum possible standard telephone
service in the mistaken belief that this is the cheapest way to provide
connectivity. This compromise is particularly tragic given recent advances in
wireless technology, which make running a copper line to an analog telephone
far more expensive than broadband wireless Internet connectivity. Rather than
backpedal on the goal of connecting everyone, society should be thinking, How
can we establish the kernel of a user network that will grow seamlessly as the
village’s economics develop? In other words,what is the basis for a progressive,
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market-driven migration from government seed services- e-governance -to
universal broadband connectivity that local users will pay for?
DakNet, an ad hoc network that uses wireless technology to provide
asynchronous digital connectivity, is evidence that the marriage of wireless and
asynchronous service may indeed be that kernel -the beginning of a road to
universal broadband connectivity. Developed by MIT Media Lab researchers,
DakNet has been successfully deployed in remote parts of both India and
Cambodia at a cost two orders of magnitude less than that of traditional landline
solutions. Villagers now get affordable Internet services-and they’re using them.
As one man in a small village outside of New Delhi remarked, “This is better
than a telephone!”
THE WIRELESS CATALYST
Recent advances in wireless computer networking-particularly the
IEEE 802 standards—have led to huge commercial success and low pricing for
broadband networks. While these networks are viewed as mainly for offices or
for hotspots in urban areas, they can provide broadband access to even the most
remote areas at a low price. Today, wireless cell phone and wireless local loop
(WLL) service costs roughly a third of copper or fiber landline service, while
packet-based broadband computer networks cost roughly a ninth of the landline
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service—and they are far friendlier to data services and to lower-grade voice
service such as voice messaging. These new technologies thus offer developing
countries an opportunity to leapfrog over wireline and WLL telephony
infrastructure to the forefront of broadband communications technology.
Wireless data networks based on the IEEE 802.11, or WiFi, standard
are perhaps the most promising of the wireless technologies. The forces driving
the standardization and proliferation of WiFi in the developed world have
resulted in features that can stimulate the communications market in the
developing world. These features include ease of setup, use, and maintenance;
relatively high bandwidth; and, most important, relatively low cost for both
users and providers.
As one demonstration of the practicality of this new technology for
rural connectivity, researchers from the Indian Institute of Technology at
Kanpur, working with Media Lab Asia , have “unwired” a 100-sq km area of the
Gangetic Plain in central India. Figure 1 shows the corridor. This project
provides broadband connectivity along a corridor with almost one million
residents, at a projected one-time cost of under $40 per subscriber. Other
experiments have shown the practicality of the technology in mountainous
terrain and in city centers. Indeed, several cities in the US have begun to deploy
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free Internet connectivity using IEEE 802.11b. Even with advances such as
those demonstrated in the Digital Gangetic Plain project, the cost of
realtime,circuit-switched communications is sufficiently high that it may not be
the appropriate starting point for rural connectivity in developing nations.Market
data for information and communication technology (ICT) services in rural India
strongly implies that asynchronous service-voice messaging, e-mail, and so on-
may be a more cost-effective starting point for rural connectivity projects.
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MOBILE AD HOC CONNECTIVITY
The DakNet wireless network takes advantage of the existing
communications and transportation infrastructure to distribute digital
connectivity to outlying villages lacking a digital communications infrastructure.
DakNet, whose name derives from the Hindi word for “post” or “postal,”
combines a physical means of transportation with wireless
data transfer to extend the Internet connectivity that a central uplink or hub, such
as a cybercafé , VSAT system, or post office provides. As Figure 2 shows,
instead of trying to relay data over a long distance, which can be expensive and
power-hungry, DakNet transmits data over short point-to-point links between
kiosks and portable storage devices, called mobile access points (MAPs).
Mounted on and powered by a bus, a motorcycle, or even a bicycle with a small
generator, a MAP physically transports data among public kiosks and private
communications devices (as an intranet) and between kiosks and a hub (for
nonreal-time Internet access). Low-cost WiFi radio transceivers automatically
transfer the data stored in the MAP at high bandwidth for each point-to-point
connection.
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DakNet operation thus has two steps:
• As the MAP-equipped vehicle comes within range of a village WiFi-
enabled kiosk, it automatically senses the wireless connection and
then uploads and downloads tens of megabytes of data.
• When a MAP-equipped vehicle comes within range of an Internet
access point (the hub), it automatically synchronizes the data from all
the rural kiosks, using the Internet. The steps repeat for every vehicle
carrying a MAP unit, thereby creating a low-cost wireless network
and seamless communications infrastructure.
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An ad hoc network is a collection of autonomous nodes or terminals
that communicate with each other by forming a multihop radio network and
maintaining connectivity in a decentralized manner. Since the nodes
communicate over wireless links, they have to contend with the effects of radio
communication such as noise, fading and interference. In addition, the links
typically have less bandwidth than in a wired network. Each node in a wireless
ad hoc network functions as both a host and a router and the control of the
network is distributed among the nodes. The network topology is in general
dynamic, because the connectivity among the nodes may vary with time due to
nodes departure, new node arrivals, and the possibility of having mobile nodes.
Giving everyone access to digital messaging-voice mail, digital
documents, e-mail, and so on-is better than installing a community telephone.
Rural information and communication technology (ICT) is typically introduced
as a communications channel that the community shares. Whether through a
public call office (PCO) or a public computer kiosk, users are introduced to ICT
as shared utilities with a technically literate operator acting as an intermediary.
In this shared-use model, much ICT has relied on real-time
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communications , such as landline telephone, cellular phone, or satellite radio
links. These real-time technologies can be useful for immediate interactivity and
accessing highly time-sensitive information.
Successful examples include India’s PCOs and the Grameen Phone
initiative .While successful at providing basic services, the strategy of deploying
shared, real-time communications also has serious drawbacks. One is the large
capital investment in a real-time infrastructure, which requires a high level of user
adoption to recover costs. The average villager cannot even afford a personal
communications device such as a telephone or computer, let alone a subscription
fee for access to the communications infrastructure.Hence, to recover cost, users
must share the communications infrastructure. This limits the all-important value
added from network effects. A villager who finds no use for a phone is typical, and
this is perhaps why so few of the world’s poor have used a telephone.
The real-time aspect of telephony can also be a disadvantage:
Both intended parties must be present at each terminal to capture the
infrastructure’s full value. If a caller wishes to contact someone who does not
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own (or is not present at) a telephone, the communication is asynchronous
despite the real-time infrastructure.Some kind of additional messaging
mechanism (be it a messenger or an answering machine) is required to deliver
the caller’s message to its destination.
As a consequence, real-time telephony can reinforce gaps among rural
populations since it encourages users to communicate mainly with people who
have private phone lines, typically those of higher economic status located in
more urban areas. In the Grameen-Phone initiative, women were chosen as the
community operators to help reduce this effect, since it was socially acceptable
for women to deliver messages to everyone in the village.
Until widespread private ownership of ICT devices becomes economically
feasible for end users, it may be useful to consider non-real-time infrastructures and
applications such as voice mail, e-mail, and electronic bulletin boards. Also known
as store-and-forward or asynchronous modes of communication, these technologies
can be significantly lower in cost and do not necessarily sacrifice the functionality
required to deliver valuable user services. They might also be more practical and
socially appropriate for users than a shared real-time communications
infrastructure.
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The poor not only need digital services, but they are willing and able to
pay for them to offset the much higher costs of poor transportation, unfair
pricing, and corruption. Some rural service providers (RSPs) have achieved
profitability by offering lower-cost substitutes for a villager’s existing
information, communication, and transportation expenses. For instance, Drishtee
provides an e-government platform that lets villagers interact with local
government offices remotely from a kiosk in their village that is managed by a
trained operator. A variety of services such as filing a complaint, applying for a
loan, and requesting a driver’s license are generating up to $2,000 per year per
kiosk for Drishtee. The significant demand for these services results from a
sound value proposition: Save villagers time and money. Drishtee’s success
suggests that the introduction of ICT in rural areas might not have anything to
do with technology. Much rural ICT starts with a specific technology and then
tests out a variety of information and communication services to see which get
accepted (a push approach). A better strategy might be to start with a basic
service—in Drishtee’s case, aggregating demand and brokering information
exchange between the villager and the government—and then see how
technology
can support and streamline that service. Drishtee determined that computers and
available connectivity were enough to capture, send, and receive information
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electronically.Like other RSPs, however, Drishtee is constrained by India’s lack
of a viable communications infrastructure. Many of the villages that Drishtee
operates in lack working phone lines because of poor line maintenance and
delayed installations. As a result, Drishtee has resorted to “sneaker net,” an
asynchronous approach to connectivity that involves transporting and swapping
floppy disks from the village to the government center and back again. Despite
this labor-intensive approach, sneaker net is successful because Drishtee’s
applications that generate the most revenue require only intermittent connectivity.
Asynchronous ICT services are sufficient to meet most rural community
needs. The Sustainable Access for Rural India (SARI) project in Tamil Nadu,
India—a joint endeavor by the MIT Media Lab, the Harvard Center for
International Development, and the Indian Institute of Technology, Madras—
recently collected data about the communications needs, habits, and costs in
hundreds of rural Indian households to gauge the desire for and perceived
affordability of household communications. The study found that the current
market for successful rural ICT services does not appear to rely on real-time
connectivity, but rather on affordability and basic interactivity: Rural ICT
companies should start their operations by first focusing on providing basic
communication and information services rather than more sophisticated
applications. Another SARI analysis done by McKinsey Consulting indicates that
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although the universe of potential applications is large, “in the short-term only e-
mail, scan-mail, voice-over-e-mail and chat are likely to be revenue-generating
applications.” The McKinsey report also found that most of SARI’s applications
do not require real-time connectivity. It estimates that 50 percent of all existing
rural mail will convert to e-mail, and people often preferred voice messaging to a
real-time voice channel. Both e-mail and voice messaging are non-real-time
applications. In addition to these non-real-time applications, providers can use
asynchronous modes of communication to create local information repositories
that community members can add to and query. For example, a villager can access
information from a computer somewhere outside the community and store that
information in a village repository so that others can use it. This approach is
particularly viable because the cost of digital storage is decreasing faster than the
cost of most communication technologies. Moreover, users are apt to find the
information in a local repository highly relevant, which further decreases their
reliance on a real-time infrastructure and international bandwidth. Users could
search and browse the Web in non-real time through applications developed for
low-connectivity environments such as TEK.
Even a single vehicle passing by a village once per day is sufficient to
provide daily information services.The connection quality is also high. Although
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DakNet does not provide real-time data transport, a significant amount of data can
move at once-typically 20 Mbytes in each direction.
Indeed, physically transporting data from village to village by this means
generally provides a higher data throughput than is typical with other low-
bandwidth technologies such as a telephone modem.
Seamless scalability
In addition to its tremendous cost reduction, a critical feature of DakNet is its
ability to provide a seamless method of upgrading to always-on broadband
connectivity. As a village increases its economic means, its inhabitants can use
the same hardware, software , and user interface to enjoy realtime
information access. The only change is the addition of fixed-location wireless
antennas and towers—a change that is entirely transparent to end users because
they need not learn any new skills or buy any new hardware or software. The
addition of fixed transceivers would provide real-time connectivity, thus enabling
new, more sophisticated services, such as voice over IP, which allows “normal”
real-time telephony. Thus, as the “Some Common Myths about Rural Information
and Communication Technology” sidebar describes, asynchronous broadband
wireless connectivity offers a practical stepping-stone and migration path to
always-on, broadband infrastructure and end-user applications. Together with the
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development of two other key rural communication components—robust, low-
cost terminals and local user-interface design and applications - DakNet makes it
practical for individual households and private users to get connected.
Economics
A back-of-the-envelope calculation for DakNet suggests that a capital investment of
$15 million could equip each of India’s 50,000 rural buses with a $300 MAP and
thereby provide mobile ad hoc connectivity to most of the 750 million people in
rural India. This figure represents a cost that is orders of magnitude lower than
other rural communication alternatives. 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.PDA-like devices using an IEEE 802-like wireless protocol retail for
$100, with a manufacturing cost of approximately $50.System-on-a-chip
technology is lowering these costs even more, potentially enabling wireless PDAs
at prices as low as $25 .
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DAKNET IN ACTION
Villages in India and northern Cambodia are actively using DakNet with
good results. Local entrepreneurs currently are using DakNet connections to
make e-services like e-mail and voice mail available to residents in rural
villages.
One of DakNet’s earliest deployments was as an affordable rural
connectivity solution for the Bhoomi e-governance project. In September
2003,we also implemented DakNet in a remote province of Cambodia for 15
solar-powered village schools, telemedicine clinics, and a governor’s office.
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Bhoomi initiative in India
Bhoomi, an initiative to computerize land records, is recognized as the first
national e-governance initiative in India. Pioneered by the State Government of
Karnataka, Bhoomi has been successfully implemented at district headquarters
across the state to completely replace the physical land records system.DakNet
makes Bhoomi’s land records database available to villages up to 40 km away
from Bhoomi’s district headquarters,or “taluka,” in Doddaballapur. In this
deployment,we outfitted a public government bus with a DakNet MAP to
transport land record requests from each village kiosk to the taluka server. The
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server processes requests and outputs land records. The bus then delivers the
records to each village kiosk, where the kiosk manager prints them out and
collects a payment of 15 rupees (US$0.32) per land record. The bus passes by
the hub and stops at each village six times per day(three round-trips).A
“session” occurs each time the bus comes within range of a kiosk and the MAP
transfers data.The average length of a session is 2 minutes and 34 seconds,
during which the MAP transfers an average of 20.9 Mbytes unidirectionally
(kiosk to MAP or MAP to kiosk) and up to twice that amount bidirectionally
(from kiosk to MAP and MAP to kiosk).
The average “goodput” (actual data throughput)for a session, during
which the MAP and kiosk go in and out of connection because of mobility and
obstructions, is 2.47 Mbps. These averages are based on repetitive testing in a
sample group of villages that reflect the range of different antenna configurations.
The team used both omnidirectional and directional antennas with differing gains
according to the orientation of each kiosk with the road and the bus stop.
The total cost of the DakNet MAP equipment used on the bus is $580, which
includes
• a custom embedded PC running Linux with 802.11b wireless card
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and 512 Mbytes of compact flash memory;
• a 100-mW amplifier, cabling, mounting equipment, and a 14-in
omnidirectional antenna; and
• an uninterruptible power supply powered by the bus battery.
The average total cost of the equipment used to make a village kiosk or
hub DakNet-ready was $185. Assuming that each bus can provide connectivity to
approximately 10 villages, the average cost of enabling each village was $243
($185 at each village plus $580 MAP cost for 10 villages).Villagers along the bus
route have enthusiastically received the DakNet-Bhoomi system. They are grateful
to avoid making the long, expensive trip into the main city to obtain land records.
DakNet: A Last Mile Solution
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The Internet is the nervous system of our planet and the billions of
people who lack the proper telecommunications infrastructure are seen as the
"last mile problem". –First Mile Solutions
Many technologies have been introduced to the world with in the last 30
years. Through them we have sent men to the moon and are able to
communicate with individuals face to face from half way around the world.
These advances have brought progress to the USA and other first world
countries and have become the standard. It has become a vital engine of growth
for the world economy. Despite these advances the entire world has not been
able to take advantage of those advancements for several reasons.
Poor telecommunication lines
Lack of local economy for development of infrastructure
Awareness about the technological advantages
The firm First Mile Solutions has taken it upon themselves to start
introducing the information technologies to rural areas in the developing world.
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Their projects use existing infrastructures to introduce technologies to villages
through unique solutions, such as “Daknet”. Dak means, “post” in Hindi.
Creating an electronic postal network, complete with electronic “Postmen”
(Boyd, Clark).
DakNet Mobile Access Point (MAP) Networks require:
• Appropriate Environment: computers in remote villages that can be
accessed by road transport.
• Approach: MAPs are installed on vehicles that normally pass by each village
to provide store-and-forward connectivity
“Daknet” allows rural villages to exchange messages and video through a
mobile ISP. By mounting a wireless card on a vehicle that travels around to
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remote villages and exchanges updated information with each kiosk it
encounters through WiFi.
Villagers are able to send message and record videos through these
kiosks. That data is stored in the outbox of the kiosk. When the mobile vehicle
comes around it exchanges the data in the outbox and the inbox. Those awaiting
messages are able to check the inbox for any messages or videos. All
information is downloaded to the central system at the office station.
Using WiFi allows for cheap reliable Internet service to those rural
communication Infrastructures. The telephone lines in the remote and rural areas
are frequently dysfunctional and unreliable for Internet connectivity. (Baatchit)
Thus WiFi creates better access to bandwidth from the large data lines that run
throughout the world (BELOW: Titanic backbone through Asia. (Titanic))
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The latest installation to DakNet has been adding the remote region of
Ratanakiri, Cambodia. A collection of 13 villages that are only accessible by
motorcycle and oxcart. The per capita income is roughly under $40 US dollars.
The area school is equipped with solar panels that run the computer for six hours
a day. Providing them now with email and video messaging.
“Early every morning, five Honda motorcycles leave the hub in the
provincial capitol of Banlung where a satellite dish, donated by Shin
Satellite, links the provincial hospital and a special skills school to the
Internet for telemedicine and computer training. The moto drivers
equipped with a small box and antenna at the rear of their vehicle, that
downloads and delivers e-mail through a wi-fi (wireless) card, begin the
day by collecting the e-mail from the hub's dish, which takes just a few
seconds.”
Through the donations from various organizations the developing world is given
an opportunity to participate in the technological revolution. After many pilot
projects there are still investigations to understanding how to increase the
projects through various solutions such as DakNet. Daknet’s next installation is
projected for another group of villages in Cambodia in November.
First Mile Solutions: DakNet Takes Rural Communities Online
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Many developing countries continue to face the challenge of how to
increase access to information communication technologies (ICTs) in rural and
remote areas. Telecommunication companies are usually reluctant to extend
their network due to high infrastructure costs, low population density, and
limited ability to pay for the services. First Mile Solutions [1] (FMS) counters
this problem by providing telecommunications equipment that can cheaply
connect rural and remote populations to the Internet through an innovative
technology: DakNet. DakNet leverages short- range wireless technology in
tandem with traditional telecommunication and physical transportation
infrastructures. Local transportation— e.g., public buses, motorcycles, and
supply trucks— facilitates data exchanges between rural villages and Internet
hubs. This unconventional communication network provides end users with
asynchronous access to e- mail, voice messages, and Internet browsing.
Activity Description: Villagers in Cambodia, Costa Rica, Rwanda, Paraguay and
India are getting connected to the global network, using technology from
Massachusetts-based First Mile Solutions. FMS' DakNet technology provides
connectivity to villages through a unique drive-by WiFi technique. The project
provides e-mail addresses, phone services and web capability to individual
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villagers. While they are not always connected to the network, villagers can
access them any time to write e-mail, record messages or conduct web searches.
Every day, a vehicle drives slowly into the village, uploading stored data and
downloading them to the central machines. When the vehicle returns to the base
station, data are uploaded to a satellite and can be sent anywhere in the world.
Activity Update: FMS now reaches 40,000 villagers through its various projects
and is unrolling its first local branch in India. The company plans to spend $30
million over the next six years to reach India's market capacity of 220,000
villages. After the start-up phase is complete, this system will be entirely
financed by private investment and profits from low service fees. For the
purpose of spreading United Villages services to other countries where
operations are not currently active, the company has begun offering a franchise
service open to qualified entrepreneurs.
FMS has three major future projects in the pipeline. They plan to
utilize cellular networks to transfer data to their customers, eliminating the need
for most Fixed Access Points. The company also plans to begin offering a
private internet currency service whereby users may purchase goods using credit
from their prepaid United Villages accounts. Finally, FMS is in preliminary
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talks with major search engine providers to create innovative new caching
technology that would essentially offer many internet services in an offline
format.
It is an initiative led by First Mile Solutions (FMS), a venture
managed by a team of MIT graduates, developing and testing innovative
connectivity approaches aiming at rural needs in developing
countries. A pilot demonstration took place in Tikawali, a village
near Faridabad (State of Haryana, India) in March 2002. The pilot
solution enabled villagers to file complaints via email and send
video messages from one village to another. The solution combines
WiFi (IEEE 802.11b) equipment at 2.4Ghz with Mobile Access Points
(MAPs) mounted on and powered by a public bus. The pilot proved able
to wirelessly and automatically collect, transport and deliver data
at high speeds to and from kiosk-based computers enabled with WiFi
cards.
Testing Wi-Fi with data store-and-forward solutions in rural India will
not be confined to pilot projects anymore. The government has proposed to roll
out the DakNet Wi-Fi project - involving the linking up of computers to
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networks without using wires - as a connectivity medium aimed at the rural
masses, according to the department of industrial policy and promotion secretary
Rajeeva Ratna Shah.
“The pilot projects have proved their ability to wirelessly and automatically
collect, transport and deliver data at high speeds to and from kiosk-based
computers with Wi-Fi cards,” he told EFE on the sidelines of the fourth India-
EU business summit here. He, however, refused to reveal the project details as
well as the time frame as to when the project will be rolled out. “Pilot projects
such as the one currently on in Karnataka, are fast proving that Wi-Fi
technologies can actually bring connectivity to underserved populations at a
fraction of the cost of alternative wired or wireless technologies,” Mr Shah said.
According to First Mile Solutions founder Amir Alexander Hasson,
who helped initiate the two DakNet Wi-Fi pilot projects in Tikawali, a village
near Faridabad, Haryana, and Dodabalapur district in Karnataka, “We are using
IEEE 802.11b equipment at 2.4 GHz. We don’t use base stations, but rather our
custom DakNet Mobile Access Point (MAP) that is mounted on and powered by
a vehicle.”
Giving the project details, Mr Hasson said, “Essentially, a van roam
roams around the Dodabalapur district in Karnataka, stopping at different
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villages long enough for the local computer to connect to it wirelessly and
transfer the data stored in it. From the van to the central database is also a Wi-Fi
hop, thus resulting in a wireless end-to-end transfer of information - which is
what Wi-Fi is all about. The project involves creating an online database of land
records.”
Essentially, the DakNet-enabled vehicle drives past a kiosk where it
picks up and drops off land record queries and responses. Each day, this is
synchronised with a central database. Data is transported through the access
point, which automatically and wirelessly collects and delivers data from each
kiosk on the network. The transfer of data can take place up to a radius of 1.25
km around the kiosk.
Mr Hasson said, “The benefits of using this low-cost wireless network which is
easy to set up and maintain are already emerging.“
DakNet offers a cost-effective network for data connectivity in regions
lacking communications infrastructure. The patent-pending hybrid network
architecture combines physical and wireless data transport to enable high-
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bandwidth intranet and Internet connectivity among kiosks (public computers)
and between kiosks and hubs (places with a reliable Internet connection).
Data is transported by means of a mobile access point, which
automatically and wirelessly collects and delivers data from/to each kiosk on the
network. Daknet focuses on bridging the digital divide by extending the
advantages of 802.11x technologies and solutions to the remote areas.
WIFI
Short for wireless fidelity and is meant to be used generically when
referring of any type of 802.11 network, whether 802.11b, 802.11a, dual-band,
etc. The term is promulgated by the Wi-Fi Alliance. Formerly, the term "Wi-Fi"
was used only in place of the 2.4GHz 802.11b standard, in the same way that
"Ethernet" is used in place of IEEE 802.3. The Alliance expanded the generic
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use of the term in an attempt to stop confusion about wireless LAN
interoperability.
Wireless data networks (Wide Area Networks and Local Area
Networks) based on the IEEE 802.11 or “WiFi” standard are perhaps the most
promising wireless technology. Given its popularity in developed nations, it is
reasonable to consider the use of WiFi in developing countries as well. The
forces driving the standardization and proliferation of WiFi in the developed
world could also stimulate the communications market dynamic in the
developing world. These features include: its ease of set-up, use, and
maintenance; its relatively high bandwidth; and, most importantly, its relatively
low cost for both users and providers.
Standard WiFi connectivity (IEEE 802.11b) provides up to 11Mb/sec
data rates, and operates in a band near 2.4Ghz that is generally unlicensed in
Europe and the Americas. Newer versions of WiFi provide 22Mb/sec in this band,
and versions that operate at higher frequencies provide up to 54Mb/sec. Tests in
rural settings show that a standard WiFi card (such as commonly used with laptop
PCs) can provide good connectivity up to a ½ kilometer radius given line-of-sight.
With the addition of antennas and repeaters, it is possible to achieve point-to-point
connectivity at distances of up to 20 kilometers. WiFi access points (devices
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commonly used to provide a WiFi network) currently retail for $120, and WiFi
cards retail for under $60. WiFi technology opens up new possibilities for rural
connectivity in developing countries. However, the successful implementation of
this technology and the choice of usage model should be guided by an intimate
knowledge of rural communities and their information- and communication-related
needs. Our vision is that, provided a conducive regulatory environment, local
entrepreneurs within developing countries will leverage WiFi-based technology to:
(a) solve the chicken-and-the-egg problem of the simultaneous need for both a
market and an infrastructure; and (b) create a widespread wireless infrastructure
that grows seamlessly with the rural communications market, ultimately scaling up
to universal broadband connectivity.
Specifications
Max speed - 11 MBPS
Max encryption - 128 bit WEP
Discrete channels - 3
Max range @ full throughput - 30ft
Natively compatible - 802.11b,802.11g
Potential user - Entry level and home networks
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ADVANTAGES OF WIFI
Uses an unlicensed part of the radio spectrum.This means less regularly
controls in many countries.
Frees network devices from cables,allows for a more dynamic network to
be grown
Many reliable and bug-free Wi-Fi products on the market.
Competition amongst vendors has lowered prices considerably since their
inception.
While connected on a Wi-Fi network,it is possible to move about without
breaking the internet connection.
Modern Access points and Client Cards have excellent in-built security
and encryption.
DISADVANTAGES OF WIFI
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The 802.11b and 802.11g flavours of Wi-Fi use the 2.4GHz spectrum
which is crowded with other devices such as Bluetooth, microwave
ovens, cordless phones(900MHz or 5.8GHz ), video sender devices
among many others. This may cause degradation in performance.
Other devices which use microwave frequencies such as certain types
of cell phones , can also cause degradation in performance.
Power consumption is fairly high compared to other standards, making
battery life and heat a concern.
Users do not always configure it properly. In addition, Wi-Fi
commonly uses Wired Equivalent Privacy (WEP) protocol for
protection, which has been shown to be easily breakable even when
properly configured. Newer wireless solutions are slowly providing
support for the superior Wi-Fi Protected Access (WPA) protocol,
though many systems still employ WEP.
Wi-Fi networks have limited range. A typical Wi-Fi home router using
802.11b might have a range of 150 ft(46 m) indoors and 300 ft (92 m)
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outdoors. But about 10 US$ and an hour of building will give you an
antenna that can go much further.
DAKNET NETWORK ARCHITECTURE
The main parts of daknet architecture are:
Mobile access point
Hub
Kiosk
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MOBILE ACCESS POINT
Daknet offers data to be transmitted over short point-to-point links.It combines
physical and wireless data transport to enable high bandwidth intranet and internet
connectivity among kiosks (public computers) and between kiosks and hubs(places
with reliable Internet connection) .Data is transported by means of mobile access
point, which automatically and wirelessly collects and delivers data from/to each
kiosk on the network. Low cost WIFI radio transceivers automatically transfer the
data stored in the MAP at high bandwidth for each point-to-point connection.
CONCLUSION
DakNet will enlighten rural India to the Internet
The government has proposed to roll out the DakNet Wi-Fi project -
involving the linking up of computers to networks without using wires - as a
connectivity medium aimed at the rural masses.
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According to First Mile Solutions founder Amir Alexander Hasson,
who helped initiate the two DakNet Wi-Fi pilot projects in Tikawali, a village
near Faridabad, Haryana, and Dodabalapur district in Karnataka, "We are using
IEEE 802.11b equipment at 2.4 GHz. We don't use base stations, but rather our
custom DakNet Mobile Access Point (MAP) that is mounted on and powered by
a vehicle."
Giving the project details, Mr Hasson said, "Essentially, a van roam
roams around the Dodabalapur district in Karnataka, stopping at different
villages long enough for the local computer to connect to it wirelessly and
transfer the data stored in it. From the van to the central database is also a Wi-Fi
hop, thus resulting in a wireless end-to-end transfer of information - which is
what Wi-Fi is all about. The project involves creating an online database of land
records."
Essentially, the DakNet-enabled vehicle drives past a kiosk where it
picks up and drops off land record queries and responses. Each day, this is
synchronized with a central database. Data is transported through the access
point, which automatically and wirelessly collects and delivers data from each
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kiosk on the network. The transfer of data can take place up to a radius of 1.25
km around the kiosk.
REFERENCE
www.cs.cmu.edu
www.thinkcycle.org/tc-filesystem
www.thinkcycle2.media.mit.edu
www.firstmilesolutions.com
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