Green WiFi To Launch Solar WiFi In India

Solar wi fi just seems so right - for developed and developing world needs - as shown below in India, in Colorado and in Minnesota. Yes - even if the sun doesn't shine all the time, solar power works fine. Now isn't Edmonton one of the sunniest cities in Canada? YES! If you have the power - make use of it!

GigaOM » Green WiFi To Launch Solar WiFi In India
Green Wi-Fi, a non-profit organization that aims to bring Internet access to schools in developing countries via cheap, solar-powered Wi-Fi networks, is developing a pilot project in the northern Indian state of Uttar Pradesh at the end of the summer. A Canadian aid organization that has asked for Wi-Fi in three schools in the northern Indian state where electricity is unreliable. One of these schools has a cable connection.

Green Wi Fi has received seed money from Nicholas Negroponte’s One Laptop Per Child Initiative (OLPC).

Other solar wi fi news:
St. Louis Park is poised to become the first city in North America to provide city-wide, solar-powered, WiFi.
“It’s a cost-saving alternative to traditional powering resources,” Pires said. “We’re expecting to save $40,000 to $50,000 a year by using solar and avoiding standard electricity.”

St. Louis Park (pop: 45,000), 10-sq miles, expects to enter a public-private partnership with ARINC of Maryland, which would install, run and maintain the system’s infrastructure, with an initial investment of $3.3 million from the city. St. Louis Park also is negotiating with Internet provider Unplugged Cities of Fridley.

Boulder Colorado solar wi fi installation

The network cost $10,000 to deploy, but upkeep costs will essentially be nil. The rechargeable batteries need to be swapped out every so often, but the solar panels are built to run for 25-30 years.

Because a 100 percent solar-powered network will continue to run even when electricity is out, and LightWave offers enterprise level security, it has obvious “homeland security” and emergency management uses.

“When power’s out, the first 24 hours can be crucial to saving lives,” says Lyon. “If the system is already in place, and if a disaster strikes and takes out power, our network will still be operational. They are also very portable, so if FEMA [Federal Emergency Management Agency] has a supply of them, they can move into an area that has lost power and set it up very quickly, mobilize search and rescue, do resource management. The infrastructure would already be in place, it could be functioning with VoIP all the time”