"WiLDNet: Design & Implementaion of High Performance WiFi Based Long Distance Networks"
- Rabin Patra, Sergiu Nedevschi, Sonesh Surana, Anmol Sheth, Lakshminarayanan Subramanian, Eric Brewer. USENIX NSDI, April 2007.
Available at: http://tier.cs.berkeley.edu/docs/wireless/wild_multihop.pdf
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"Rethinking Wireless in the Developing World" - Lakshminarayanan Subramanian, Sonesh Surana, Rabin Patra, Sergiu Nedevschi, Melissa Ho, Eric Brewer, and Anmol Sheth.
Available at: http://tier.cs.berkeley.edu/docs/wireless/large_wild.pdf
WiFi-based Long Distance networks (WiLDNet) are emerging as a potential low-cost alternative to traditional connectivity solutions for rural regions. The primary cost gains arise from the use of low cost and low power single board computers, high-volume off-the-shelf 802.11 wireless cards originally intended for industrialized markets and low cost towers. (see http://tier.cs.berkeley.edu/wiki/Wireless)
Summary of WiLD(WiFi-based Long Distance)
- wireless networking as a viable option for users in rural communities because it is a lower capital investment and WiFi-based networks are more economically viable
Example of how WiLDNet has been put into practice: - In Southern India a rural telemedicine has been set-up through an intranet network which allows for interactive patient-doctor video conferencing between hospitals and five surrounding rural vision centres that are 10-25 km away from the hospital. Through this system about 2000 patients are remotely examined per month
- WiLD (WiFi-based Long Distance) provides a low cost wireless connectivity with a small per-user cost
- cellular connectivity is not a solution for developing regions (particularly areas with a low-density population such as villages) as it does not solve the connectivity problems
- the use of long-distance point-to-point wireless links that rely on WiFi offer reasonable bandwidths are cost-effective and can easily be configured
- in looking at it through a cost-effective lens the implementation of a full coverage in a low-density are would not be appropriate
Some Challenges
- Protocol shortcomings such as inefficiently link-level recovery
- Interference from external sources (i.e. radio signals)
- installation process needs to be made easier and more conducive to users who have little experience with technology
- the maintenance and management of the system also needs to be user-friendly to new users of this kind of technology
- for effective use of system very careful planning and placement of long distance links must be taken into consideration