The last mileBringing connectivity to the world’s most remote regions

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Connecting to OpportunityReliable Internet connectivity is critical to economic growth and social inclusion, but as the Broadband Commission’s The State of Broadband 2015 report notes, 57% of the world’s population does not have regular access to the Internet. In addition, the United Nations Foundation reports that 2.2 billion people across the globe don’t even have access to reliable electricity.

In the world’s poorest and most remote areas, this lack of fundamental infrastructure is impeding innovation and stymying growth. To address this issue, forward-thinking companies are developing creative solutions that can help bring the power of the knowledge economy to the Internet’s “last mile”.

AleutiaIn 2006, Mike Rosenberg volunteered to set up a computer classroom for street children in Ghana. But the failing, second-hand computers he received couldn’t function in that environment. Between frequent power outages and computer fans that continually became clogged with dust, the project floundered. But a year later, Rosenberg created Aleutia, a fanless computer that uses so little power it can affordably run on solar.

Now Aleutia’s “Solar Classroom in a Box” provides digital access to 180 rural schools in ten developing nations. In rural Uganda, for example, the technology is enabling more than 40,000 students who had never used a computer before to leapfrog from using hand-drawn maps and periodic tables to powerful interactive software.

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VotoVoto is a cell phone charger and LED light that can be powered with a traditional cooking fire. The device’s fuel cell, developed after a decade of research at the Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory (Berkeley Lab), is made from low-cost stainless steel, rather than ceramics, making it extremely durable—it can withstand fast-rising temperatures and interact with the impurities found in biomass, such as charcoal, wood or even cow dung.

The fuel cell is placed in a fire. Later, the handle, which contains circuitry that charges the cell as the temperature rises, can be detached and used to power a phone or provide light.

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OneWebA study by McKinsey & Company found that a substantial majority of offline individuals are poor, rural and live in a developing country. OneWeb aims to bridge the digital divide via 648 low-orbit satellites that provide low-cost, high-speed Internet access in remote areas. Small terminals communicate with the satellites, transmitting LTE, 3G and Wi-Fi directly to cell phones, tablets and laptops.

Because the satellites are mass-produced with a minimum number of components, they are less expensive to launch. In addition to providing connectivity in far-flung regions, the satellites can also be deployed during sudden infrastructure breakdowns due to catastrophic weather conditions, such as earthquakes or hurricanes.

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Mawingu NetworksOne major barrier to technology-driven developments is the location of public electricity grids. Rural villages in Kenya are often located far away from grids and fibre-optic networks, leaving many citizens without access to the Internet. Now, Mawingu Networks is offering a new way for Kenyans to access the knowledge economy. The company delivers wireless connectivity through a network of solar-powered wireless Internet stations and unused television frequencies known as TV White Space.

Mawingu Networks currently provides customers with 15 Mbps broadband and device recharging for $3 per month. In July 2015, the US government’s development finance institution, the Overseas Private Investment Corporation, began discussions with Mawingu to provide a potential $4 million loan for commercial expansion of the company’s operations.

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Project Loon Project Loon is a network of balloons that travel through the stratosphere, approximately 20 kilometres above the earth, twice as high as aeroplanes. Software algorithms coordinate the balloons with layers of wind in the stratosphere so that they can form a single communications network. Project Loon partners with telecommunications companies to connect the balloon network to their phones and other LTE-enabled devices.

The programme is still in development, though it has seen significant progress since the 2013 launch. The balloons can now last 100 days in the stratosphere, and can provide connectivity to a ground area 80 kilometres in diameter. The balloons have been launched in New Zealand, Brazil and California.

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