Building rural wireless networks: lessons learnt and future directions

Abstract

Providing connectivity to under-serviced rural areas comes with a unique set of challenges such as the high cost of installing equipment, lack of reliable power, skill shortages and high cost of providing Internet connectivity which is mostly satellite based. The recent emergence of low-cost commodity wireless 802.11 devices and the use of mesh networking as a key enabling technology for rural areas could see a new wave of connectivity in these areas. The paper presents pilot deployments of low-cost wireless rural networks in South Africa and Zambia that are showing very encouraging results in which houses, schools and clinics are connected on shoestring budgets. Some key areas for future development are also discussed such the use of IPv6, power saving mechanisms for battery operated routers, and support for real-time flow over mesh networks