First Mile Solutions – connecting emerging economies

If this broadband “drive-by WiFi” technology was used in Australia, for example, it could be bolted onto motor lorry’s that ferry goods all over the nation, reduce the need for expensive bespoke infrastructre and give sparsley populated rural communites timely access to service, I like the digital mail analogy.

Their analysis indicates that their technology can lower the cost of infrastructure to under $1 per, user compared to over $1,000 per user for fibre and over $600 per user for cellular.

I could see a Linfox Logistics type transport company owning this in Australia, a new revenue stream and socially aware vital service, I reckon they could even secure some govt. funding.

A great mix for the Aust NBN network and cost effective tool for better ROI.

This story is awesome, community based, micto payments, empower and better quality of life for the emerging masses;

Amir Alexander Hasson, a Cambridge, Mass.-based technology entrepreneur. In 2003 his startup, First Mile Solutions, developed technology that allowed hardware attached to a bus to upload data wirelessly from village computers and then connect to the Internet when the bus got to the nearest town. When the bus returned to the village, it connected to the local computer again and dropped off the data, like a virtual post office.

Check out their comparitive analysis world map.

Compare connectivity acces, costs and download times globally for downloading a 10mb file on a variety of interweb connections.

Company Blurb;

The Internet is the nervous system of our planet and the billions of people who lack communications infrastructure do not see themselves as the “last mile problem”.

Welcome to FMS, where last mile problems are seen as first mile opportunities for both operators and end-users.

Now, for under $1.00 per user, rural communities that have never seen a newspaper can do things like email, browse the Web, and have their own voicemail box using FMS technology.

Our technology leverages two major trends that are rapidly driving costs down: WiFi (802.11x wireless) and digital storage. Essentially, we developcached WiFi intelligence. FMS is based in Cambridge, MA and holds patent-pending intellectual property based on research and development performed by management at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT).