Motorcycle + WiFi = Unique Rural Internet Access

A US based company named First Mile Solutions has come up with a system which allows rural villagers and schools in India and Cambodia to access the Internet for offline searches and email. The system uses a small computer with a wireless Ethernet connection (802.11b, or WiFi) which is carried from village to village in a motorcycle or bus, in order to collect and distribute emails to access points located in each village. After collection, the vehicle goes to a point with Internet connectivity and dumps its data payload.


Here are some reference links if you'd like to know more:

Article from The Economist.

DakNet Case Study from MIT (PDF).

Article from New York Times.

Home page of First Mile Solutions.

Description of Motoman project in Cambodia.