[dropcaps style=’2′]We live in an age of adventurous ambitions, they are conducted not by teens in their mother’s garage but by crowd source funded start-ups and micro-firms.[/dropcaps]
One particular New York outfit is no different. The group simply known as Outernet have ambitions where the sky is not the limit but the platform. A future infrastructure where unrestricted, world-wide accessible satellite based data is beamed to everyone to give access to the Web.
Space beamed web access… for free. No subscriptions, no data plans. A free open web access point from above.
[image src=’http://fnx.network/fnxnetwork/wp-content/uploads/2014/02/ioncannon_z_1.jpg’ width=’380′ height=’237′ title=’Not quite like this… Source: 2TOP, Flickr’ align=’right’]So how does such a vast area (aka the world) get coverage? It begins on the ground, a global network of exchange sites positioned in a way to support a group of satellites in the area above will transmit data from the web continuously until new data is received – much like how your laptop connects to your WiFi router… except your laptop is flying in Earth’s orbit.
Once the ground site’s connect to the satellites, the low orbit “CubeSats” will datacast (broadcasting data) the web to every one of Earth’s citizens including the 55-60% of those with no internet access presently.
The golden aspect of this endeavor is it’s ability to bypass national sanctioned censorship, ensure privacy (sorry NSA), and offer a universal access that is equal in reach for all.
Outernet’s creators say it is an international way to ensure Article 19 of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights can be enforced. The article in question states: “Everyone has the right to freedom of opinion and expression; this right includes freedom to hold opinions without interference and to seek, receive and impart information and ideas through any media and regardless of frontiers”.
It is clear Outernet can make that happen if successful. What backlash comes with it though is up for debate.
The Outernet indeed can be seen on filling the gap when it comes to portable computing. While smartphones, tablets and netbooks are more available and affordable, access and data plans are not always as reasonable – especially in rural poorer countries. Though even in developed countries, the terrain can prove a reliable connection to be unfeasible or geographically impossible. So with that in mind we can only wish Outernet well as they make attempt to bridge the global information divide.
Australia and our copper-based infrastructure thanks you.