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Published 22 years ago
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Cambodian hybrid motorcycle/WiFi network

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Summary

In Cambodia, WiFi-equipped motorcyclists pull up to schools, download all the email, drive to the next village, and dump off copies of locally-destined mail, picking up that community's load and delivering it along to the next town.


It is a digital pony express: five Motomen ride their routes five days a week, downloading and uploading e-mail. The system, developed by a Boston company, First Mile Solutions, uses a receiver box powered by the motorcycle's battery. The driver need only roll slowly past the school to download all the village's outgoing e-mail and deliver incoming e-mail. The school's computer system and antenna are powered by solar panels. Newly collected data is stored for the day in a computer strapped to the back of the motorcycle. At dusk, the motorcycles converge on the provincial capital, Ban Lung, where an advanced school is equipped with a satellite dish, allowing a bulk e-mail exchange with the outside world.


Note: this summary is based on "E-Mail on Wheels" by James Brooke, The New York Times, January 26 2004. (A free subscription is required to access the full article).

Source

"The Internet by Motorbike", Wi-Fi Networking News, posted by Glenn Fleishman on January 25 2004 and forwarded from Libby Jeffery to The Communication Initiative on February 3 2004.