By Nodo Tau ROSARIO, Argentina,
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A mobile wi-fi (wireless connection) training and implementation workshop was held between the April 19 and 29 in Paraguay. Two members of Nodo Tau participated: Eduardo Rodríguez, technical coordinator and the training team’s Cristina Ojeda. The Institute for Connectivity in the Americas (ICA) and the International Development Research Centre (IDRC) supported this endeavour.
The project will become effective via the “Paraguay Silvestre” project, which is jointly managed by the environmental secretariat of the government of Paraguay and the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP).
“The mobile wi-fi system introduces an internet access solution that is not in real time and consists of a central internet access point – in this case via a satellite link known as a hub – with wireless access and four remote points (kiosks). Programmes are installed to send and receive e-mail, consult the web and administer voice mail (internet telephony). All this is also done through wireless access. A mobile, wireless access point termed MAP (Mobile Access Point) acts as a link between the hub and the kiosks,” explains Eduardo Rodriguez. “Map is what brings and takes information from the access points or kiosks to the server, which is located in a vehicle that will be responsible for circulating through all these locations daily,” adds Maria Cristina Ojeda. “We say that this is not in real time because the kiosks send and receive the requested information every time the MAP passes by one’s door. This can happen once or many times a day,” she goes on to add.
The implementation of the project was carried out in the Alto Vera district, whose administrative headquarters is located in the town of Caronay, some 400 kilometres from Asuncion, a city that has internet access via satellite. This is where the headquarters of the central point is located. It is also where the majority of the workshops activities took place. The remaining access points were installed in the communities of Paradema, Mbatovi, Taguato and Taruma.
“The way the system works is as follows: At the kiosks, people write their e-mails, run their web-searches or leave voice mail messages for the users of other kiosks or for other phone numbers. All this is stored in e-mail format at the kiosk. The MAP circulates through remote locations and establishes communication with the kiosks at each location via wireless access. Thereby, it takes the messages and when it returns to the hub, it delivers them and takes the messages at the kiosks, to deliver them the next time around,” describes Rodriguez. “The hub processes the data received from the MAP and sends it via internet to the First Mile Solutions (FMS) server. First Mile Solutions is the company that implements the system and is located in Boston, location from which the data is sent to its final destination. At the same time, the hub receives everything that is sent via internet to any of the kiosks”.
Regarding user access, Maria Cristina states, “each person acquires a card with their e-mail account, phone number and access code. This card has a credit that gets deducted as the services get used. Users will have to top off their available balance using prepaid cards. For the time being, users are not charged for the service and costs are covered by the UNDP for a year”.
Maria Cristina finds that “the mobile wi-fi system is interesting and is going to be very useful for the local people. Personally, I learnt a great deal. In the technical sense, I learned how to install antennas, hardware and software related to wi-fi. On a human level, I had a very good, very supportive, working team where everyone shared what they new”.
Maria Cristina was the only female on the team. “The experience has been very positive. I was the only woman among nine men, most of which were engineers. An excellent working group was put together. We were all from different countries: Ecuador, Peru, Paraguay, Venezuela, Argentina, Spain and the United States. I was always heard and respected; I was trusted when I was assigned a task. They answered all my questions and taught me every time I asked how to do something,” she highlighted.
“From the technological point of view, the system has innovative concepts that combine hardware and software elements in an interesting manner and transform it into a very beneficial product for the final user,” Eduardo Rodriguez clarifies in his conclusion. Regarding this technology and its applicability in our region, Rodriguez notes that “this technology is viable in terms of the construction of wireless networks at a general level”. Nevertheless, in urban contexts, this would not be applicable because “in general, within these contexts, at very best, we can lack cable access, but there could be a standard wireless connection that would provide access to reach any of the city or periphery’s remote areas. This opportunity exceeds mobile wireless which, as we state,,is not a real time solution. This can resolve communication problems in remote rural areas, where geographical accidents may have taken place that don not allow antennas to “see” each other..In this manner, signals could reach areas like valleys, in between mountains or places with a lot of vegetation that hinder antenna-based connections”.
More information:
WiLAC, Wireless Technologies for Development information portal
- Article translated from Spanish by APC.
