A Voluntary Group Does A Google In Dharamsala By Setting Up Wi-Fi Networks

I think this is a great technology story from rural India and it looks like the local media has missed out on it, while Wired News has captured it in an article here. It’s about a group of volunteers – led by an Israeli tech geek from Silicon Valley and the Tibetan members on exile – trying to build a low-cost wireless mesh network to provide cheap, reliable data and telephony services in a village in Dharamsala, located 7,000 feet up in the Himalayas. What is interesting is they are using recycled hardware, solar power, and open-source software to power these networks.
This group is organised under Tibetan Technology Center, a charitable organisation. The project is called Dharamsala Wireless Mesh. The founder of the project is Yahel Ben-David, an Israeli who was in Silicon Valley before this. He has the local Tibetan administration’s support too. This is somewhat on the lines of what Google has done in Mountainview in California. Interesting stuff.
They are also organising an conference in Dharamsala in October. Christened AirJaldi Summit, it “will address some of the ways that wireless solutions can be used to provide affordable Internet access in rural communities. The conference will focus on the advantages that wireless networks can provide, by enhancing the quality of education, governance and health- increasing economic development, and promoting cultural exchange. Special emphasis will be placed on identifying best practices for rapidly increasing connectivity for regions most in need, according to an email sent to us by the organisers.

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