Long-Distance Wi-Fi

[David Farber <dave () farber net>]

Begin forwarded message:
From: dewayne () warpspeed com (Dewayne Hendricks)
Date: March 18, 2008 10:08:25 AM EDT
To: Dewayne-Net Technology List <xyzzy () warpspeed com>
Subject: [Dewayne-Net] Long-Distance Wi-Fi

[Note:  This item comes from friend Mike Cheponis.  DLH]

Tuesday, March 18, 2008
Long-Distance Wi-Fi
Intel has found a way to stretch a Wi-Fi signal from one antenna to  
another located more than 60 miles away.
By Kate Greene
<http://www.technologyreview.com/Infotech/20432/?nlid=945&a=f>

Intel has announced plans to sell a specialized Wi-Fi platform later  
this year that can send data from a city to outlying rural areas tens  
of miles away, connecting sparsely populated villages to the Internet.  
The wireless technology, called the rural connectivity platform (RCP),  
will be helpful to computer-equipped students in poor countries, says  
Jeff Galinovsky, a senior platform manager at Intel. And the data  
rates are high enough--up to about 6.5 megabits per second--that the  
connection could be used for video conferencing and telemedicine, he  
says.

The RCP, which essentially consists of a processor, radios,  
specialized software, and an antenna, is an appealing way to connect  
remote areas that otherwise would go without the Internet, says  
Galinovsky. Wireless satellite connections are expensive, he points  
out. And it's impractical to wire up some villages in Asian and  
African countries. "You can't lay cable," he says. "It's difficult,  
expensive, and someone is going to pull it up out of the ground to  
sell it."

Already, Intel has installed and tested the hardware in India, Panama,  
Vietnam, and South Africa. Later this year, the company will sell the  
device in India, with a target price below $500. The point-to-point  
technology will require two nodes, which could provide "full back-end  
infrastructure" for less than $1,000, Galinovsky says.

[snip]


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