Wi-Fi Goes Long

Ordinarily, hooking a Wi-Fi router up to a directional antenna lets you send a Wi-Fi signal a few kilometers. By modifying the router’s software, however, Intel has increased that distance to as much as 100 kilometers.

The modified software coördinates sending and receiving antennas, assigning each of them specific time slots for talking and listening. Routers that implement the new system will be connected to off-the-shelf directional antennas in India this fall, bringing Internet connectivity to remote villages.

Product: Rural Connectivity Platform
Cost: Less than $500
Source: blogs.intel.com/research/2008/03/rural_connectivity_platform_be.php
Companies: Intel