Intel connects rural areas with more robust Wi-Fi signal
Written by admin on March 19th, 2008 in Gadgets.
Intel is proud to bring good old Wi-Fi connectivity to the rural areas with the Rural Connectivity Platform. While other areas and companies are considering to go in the other direction, what with the recent 700MHz auction and the introduction of WiMax, Intel has found a solution to extend a Wi-Fi signal between antennas that are 60 miles away.
The new wireless technology called the RCP can connect rural and remote villages especially in the developing countries to the Internet. Data rates are set at 6.5 bits a second. Jeff Galinovsky, Intel’s Senior Platform Manager explains that wiring up remote villages is not just possible because you can’t lay cable. Pulling it up out from the ground and making Wi-Fi signal more robust is the less expensive solution. For less than $1,000, students in poor countries can be tremendously helped by the RCT.
The hardware has already been tested and installed in some Asian countries like Vietnam, Panama, India, and South Africa. However, India will be Intel’s first official RCT market as it will be sold for less than $500 before the year ends.
Intel also points out that it’s not the router hardware that enables a stronger Wi-Fi signal but the software. The RCP platform according to Technology Review, rewrites the communication rules of Wi-Fi radios. Galinovsky further explains that:
“The software creates specific time slots in which each of the two radios listens and talks, so there’s no extra data being sent confirming transmissions.”
It is also possible that the radios used will be powered using solar energy. Having said that, looks like Intel has once again made a huge step forward in terms of Internet innovation.
Via [Technology Review]
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