Janet Haven

Wireless access to the internet makes a lot of sense for much of the developing world: where fiber is controlled by government monopoly, or elderly infrastructure is simply incabaple of responding to the demands placed on it by new internet users, wireless hubs and mesh networking can greatly expand access to connectivity. This is because connectivity can be shared more easily through a wireless cloud than through cables, and can be expanded easily across signficant open distances or thorughout a building, city block, or even broader area.

Tomas Krag of wire.less.dk, along with a number of other organizations, has been looking at this problem for some time. His work, and the work of others, tackles the problem of creating appropriate wireless technology for the developing world, and seeding local expertise to deploy and maintain the technology -- as well as innovate where necessary for the specific environment. A range of projects are trying different methods: wire.less.dk's Wireless Roadshow works with local partners to set up test case wireless infrastructure to attract local policymakers' interest, while at the same time training local partners on the ins and outs of setting up networks. The Association for Progressive Communication is spearheading a collaborative training effort in Africa to run "wireless workshops" in four corners of the continent; their project trains up-and-coming wireless experts, providing them with both hands-on skills and training materials to take back to their home countries and pass the knowledge on. Other organizations including CSIR's Meraka Institute (South Africa), Inveneo (San Francicso), and Geekcorps(US/Canada/Mali) have worked on projects across the continent from setting up wireless mesh for community radio stations to helping to create wireless ISPs.

Tomas now writes of the release of "Wireless Networking in the Developing World: a practical guide to planning and building low-cost telecommunications infrastructure". This is great news for a number of reasons. First and foremost, the book is sorely needed by communities wishing to build their own infrastructure. Second, the book was written collaboratively, with a group of experts who have worked on the issue for some time, both in hands-on set-up and training. Third, the book is released under a Creative Commons attribution share-alike license, which means that it's free to download (via PDF), translate, improve, and redistribute (as long as you share any changes you make under the same license). Indeed, the authors have set up a wiki at the book's website so that others can make editorial suggestions. The book can also be ordered via a print-on-demand option, available through the book's website.

To all who were involved in this project, many thanks! It's a great achievement.