An order of magnitude lower costs is the sort of cost reduction that often is crucial in getting Internet access or communications to users in developing regions. Lower power consumption and simplicity also are advantages, and all of that seems to be what Range Networks is after.
Using an open source software approach to costs, Range Networks hopes to provide mobile network infrastructure adapted to the requirements of developing regions.
A low cost single tower mobile service is enabling communities in rural Papua, Indonesia, for example, in a location a four hour drive away from the nearest mobile tower.
The deployment is a collaboration between cellular systems provider Range Networks and the UC Berkeley Technology and Infrastructure for Emerging Regions (TIER) research group.
The deployment uses a satellite connection to reach the backbone telecom networks, but all local traffic (the network can reach a neighboring village one mile distant) is handled essentially peer to peer, avoiding use of the backhaul.
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