Fraunhofer WiBACK

Fraunhofer WiBACK

Connecting the Unconnected

People in developing countries have only limited access to the worldwide communication infrastructure. This imposes boundaries on their education and health; it also restricts their economic opportunities.

© Charles Roffey

The Challenge

People in rural areas often have only limited or no access to the Internet. About 5 billion people in rural areas are still unconnected, while urban areas are targeting gigabit connections to the Internet for every household. The main challenge are the high costs associated with most communication technologies (Fiber, Satellite, LTE) when operated in sparsely populated rural areas.

The Solution

We follow the 'Inclusive Innovation' approach to bring broadband connectivity into rural areas with good performance at lower costs. WiBACK enhances and cleverly orchestrates proven Internet protocols and components to form QoS-aware networks which can support triple-play service offerings. Low-power components also ensure small energy footprints and solar-powered operation.

The Benefits

With its ease of deployment, operation and maintenance, WiBACK significantly lowers the OPEX while providing a flexible, reliable and easy to manage solution which can grow and adapt to changing demands and requirements. Consequently, WiBACK allows us to "Connect the Unconnected", thus increasing the potential customer base and narrowing the "Digital Divide".