VillageNet, the Bangalore initiative, is a low cost IEEE 802.11 WiFi based mesh network designed for connecting villages in rural India, providing low-cost broadband Internet access for wide regions. It targets the rural market around the world, where large populations live but paying capacities are low. VillageNet offers a low-cost, high performance alternative to traditional wireline and cellular technologies that have prohibitively expensive deployment costs. VillageNet connects villages in a mesh using long-distance wireless links. The cost of building the network is kept low by using off-the-shelf IEEE 802.11 equipment and optimizing the network topology to minimize cost.

Jaiswal spoke about the unique interference models for such point-to-point mesh networks, and then introduced challenges around channel allocation and scheduling of links in the network (which are independent of the underlying wireless technology – WiFi or WiMAX).

He also discussed network planning problems unique to such point-point mesh networks, and not surprisingly many of them were similar to the ones encountered in implementing the Mesh network at Mahavilachchiya.

Previous discussion is archived in the following thread: Village with a mesh network, but not a single telephone

The £1.1m, 18-month pilot has been live for three weeks and is backed by the East of England Development Agency.

Paul Adams, from Norfolk county council said: “It allows people to see the benefit of wireless technology.”

The city centre, county hall and educational establishments such as the university all have wi-fi access.

Mr Adams, director of corporate resources and cultural services, said: “The original idea was to use it as a demonstration project – to wireless-enable a significant part of the city so we could begin to see what the benefits were in terms of economic development, benefit for the public and public services workers.”

“We don’t know what will happen when the project ends. Technology may have moved on” said Adams.

More than 200 antennas are positioned around the city, mainly on lampposts, creating blanket wi-fi coverage.

The city is one giant hotspot, utilising a mesh network which means users can get seamless internet access as they wander the streets.”

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\”In the first week in August I drove down to Mountain View on a sweltering afternoon looking to test out the promise of free or cheap phone calls and ubiquitous internet access over a city-wide wi-fi network.

Thanks to Google, the city has been blanketed by wi-fi, which will soon allow its residents to connect to the wireless internet all over the city for free.

Using a technology called mesh, Google has placed hundreds of wi-fi nodes on lamp posts around the city that can connect your laptop or handheld device to the internet. For a town that gets the service, it\’s like living in a giant wi-fi hotspot.\”

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