VOIP Phones Give Villagers a Buzz

As detailed within this brief report in Wired News, solar- and pedal-powered voice-over-internet-protocol (VOIP) phones and wireless-fidelity networks ("wi-fi") are now being used in a few villages in western Uganda "where nothing resembling a telephone system has ever existed". The United-States-based Inveneo has developed this technology with the hope of bringing local, national, and international dialing to remote areas of the world.

The nonprofit organisation has installed its Linux-based VOIP stations at 4 isolated villages in Bukuuku subcounty, serving a total of approximately 3,200 villagers. Each village has a custom-built computer with a 2-GB microdrive, along with 256 MB of RAM and a 533-MHz processor. The system also includes 70-watt solar panels and a bicycle generator, which can provide power in the event of no sunlight. The computer is wired to a regular analog telephone set and a directional wi-fi antenna, which transmits the internet signal to a central hub.

The key to this new system is its low cost. Installation costs only $1,800, including the outdoor antenna. Further, the intra-village calls cost nothing, whereas calls destined for outside the village network go over a satellite link between the hub and the main Ugandan telephone exchange.

"What we're bringing to them...is two-way communication, which they've never had before," according to an Inveneo spokesperson.