Development players

Internet: Basic need of the 21st century

In this day and age, it is impossible to imagine life without the Internet, as it has pervaded countless areas of our lives; modern workplaces, education, science, the media, politics, and administrative services are increasingly shifting to the digital realm. Many services are no longer possible without Internet access. Whether home office, online banking, job offers, or just booking appointments with the authorities, the Internet has become a prerequisite for shaping everyday life and future developments in our modern world. However, not everyone can enjoy the benefits of the Internet. The Global South in particular is excluded from development. The population is thus restricted in their daily lives and dependent on others.

Offering services instead of just receiving them 

In most of the Global South, mobile services are currently the primary means for the population to connect to the Internet. With mobile Internet, locals are able to use services of the Internet to a limited extent. However, mobile Internet users face the consequences of capacity constraints, small screens, high prices per unit, fluctuations in their connection as well as limitations in usage options. Mobile communication forms a valuable milestone in connecting the unconnected, but to fully benefit from the Internet, broadband connectivity is necessary. Unlike mobile services, broadband is often offered on an unlimited basis. Therefore, it enables a wide range of services, especially the ability to not only receive services but also to provide offers. 

Boosting economic and knowledge

The Internet paves the way to live out essential needs of modern life. It enables people to inform themselves, to express their opinions, and to share knowledge and their own experiences. It brings the world closer together, and enables people to contact and network across borders, organize meetings, and stay in touch via Skype, Twitter, Facebook, or other social networks. In addition to interpersonal closeness, new business areas are emerging that boost the economy and give new prospects to people in developing or emerging countries.

Internet access as an opportunity for the Global South and emerging countries

The vast majority of people in the Global South, especially in rural areas, usually do not have access to the Internet. As a result, they are restricted in their everyday life. Going to the bank to make simple wire transfers is already a challenge in daily life for people who do not have a bank within reach and who lack access to public transport. Broadband connections would save people the miles and miles of travel in sun and sand. They would be able to stay at home and perform the transactions online.  

Even though this example only touches a small part of the possibilities Internet access can have for people in rural areas, it shows how much Internet access can improve their daily lives. That said, Internet access benefits are not limited to the financial sector and saving a tedious trip to the bank. It also improves education, health, and agriculture. 

Market price security for farmers 

In agriculture, access to market information would enable farmers to ensure that they are not taken in by unscrupulous traders or offer their catch in the port to obtain the best prices. At the same time, it gives them a certain degree of security and encourages farmers to sell their surplus harvest. 

Improve school education 

In education, schools, among others, tremendously benefit from Internet access. The Internet could provide teaching materials and improve school education. Teachers could guide students in the use of search engines, allowing students to inform themselves broaden their horizons, and acquire skills and competences, helping them to grow personally and professionally. 

Open up new possibilities 

Broadband Internet access is becoming a crucial technology that promises to boost economic growth and lift people out of poverty by creating new businesses and jobs. It also enhances the situation in the areas of health, nutrition, and education. Broadband technologies are therefore considered to be central to sustainable development. Broadband access paves the way for services such as eHealth, eGovernment, eCommerce, or eLearning.  

Lack of sustainable and situationally appropriate solutions

Although some efforts to establish Internet access via broadband connections have been successful, in most cases, they have failed due to the high costs of satellite connections and fiber cables as well as the lack of ICT-skills. In addition, the population's lack of awareness of the direct advantages of internet access for them forms an obstacle. 

Cost-efficient alternative to wired networks

WiBACK takes up this challenge and provides a cost-effective solution with interlinked wireless long-distance directional connections, which stands out from other alternative wired networks' construction due to its low operation and investment costs. Our approach is mainly based on concatenated directional wireless links over long distances, which stand at distances of up to 20 km per hop, providing connectivity to fixed and reliable network infrastructure. A commercial service provider can deploy these fixed edge nodes. 

Thus, operators can connect far-flung villages to existing networks using many distant edge nodes and user access points. WiBACK can be used as an expanded network -solution or as last-mile solution connecting rural areas to available networks. In total, a WiBACK network can extend a range of several hundred kilometers starting from the fixed edge node. It provides a data rate of up to 200 Mbit/s with low latency, similar to modern broadband Internet.

Non-expert setup

Likewise, the networks can be planned and built independently by residents. Planning is the bulk of network deployment work, but network planners can also do it remotely. It includes ensuring an unobstructed line of sight (LOS) and the correct distance between two nodes, as well as legal and regulatory compliance with regard to the permitted radio frequencies. The actual construction of the network nodes is reduced to mounting the WiBACK nodes' and controllers on poles or other holding devices on site. To decrease costs for the required poles, network implementers should consider landmarks or public buildings. A WiBACK node including antennas weighs less than five kilograms.

WiBACK: service beyond SMS and M-Pesa

WiBACK takes the existing mobile Internet to the next level. As a wireless broadband connection, WiBACK empowers locals to use and offer services such as accessing and creating websites to showcase service offerings, writing e-mails, chatting via social media, or exchanging large amounts of data such as videos or documents. Even systems such as a patient data management system in the medical field or online shops are no longer out of reach. WiBACK expands the opportunities and lays the foundation for future developments.

Sustainable and situation-adapted for the Global South

Sustainable technologies are needed to help the Global South benefit from telecommunication networks and the Internet access that comes with them. For this, local companies or municipalities must be capable to independently operate and maintain the established network after the funding ends. We designed WiBACK to give people this ability. WiBACK requires very little maintenance, and even the little required can be performed by trained personnel on-site. WiBACK's plug-and-play functionality, auto-configuration, and self-management allow local non-experts to operate and maintain their own network. If a WiBACK node fails, the software automatically redirects the connection so that the failure does not affect Internet usage. All the local staff or local technicians have to do is to exchange the failed node and repair it later on. Since WiBACK's hardware consists of modular components, local staff or local technicians should be able to assemble, install and maintain the network. The built-in components should be readily available. Repairs are therefore relatively simple and cost-effective.  

Independent of local power sources

In addition to running the network independently, reliable power sources are often a crucial when setting up a network in remote areas. WiBACK counteracts this with an independent power source using solar energy.  

WiBACK offers people living in the least developed or emerging countries the chance to implement and sustain their own network. It can be used in various deployment scenarios, from "last mile" solutions to area-wide coverage.