WiBACK — internet access for rural areas

Why do we need this new technology?

The internet is the communication network of our world. A stable internet connection is a prerequisite for the successful operation of companies, hospitals and public administrations. However, 4 billion people around the world still do not have access to the internet. They are offline and, therefore, excluded from digital participation. Countries in the Global South, especially people in rural regions, are particularly affected by this digital divide. Areas without a stable broadband connection see fewer companies settling there; the economy there is weak, and jobs are scarce. People in these areas are also not as prepared for a crisis, such as a pandemic. For them, working from home, keeping in touch with their family via video chat or handling important government interactions online is not a given.

Who will benefit from the new technology?

There are many “blank spots” around the world where conventional technologies and business concepts have not been enough to bring internet connectivity to a particular town or even an entire region. New solutions are needed for these areas. The problem became clear to the group of researchers headed by Dr. Mathias Kretschmer when they were commissioned to connect a hospital in rural Zambia to the internet. There was not a single major telecommunication provider operating in the area, as there would have been no profit in doing so. And the technical options available to solve the problem were neither cost-effective nor sustainable.

To offer the hospital a solution, the team of researchers from the Fraunhofer Institute for Applied Information Technology FIT began developing a technology they called WiBACK (Wireless Backhaul). It connects people who are excluded from digital participation with the rest of the world — and gives them long-term access to the education and healthcare systems. WiBACK is a solution specifically designed for rural communities. It provides a fast and cost-effective broadband connection to the internet.

How does the new solution work?

Essentially, WiBACK is a self-sufficient directional radio technology that can provide internet service to large areas with low infrastructure needs. It is highly energy-efficient and can be operated with solar energy with no problem. This makes it possible to cost-efficiently connect hospitals, schools, commercial buildings, factories, public buildings, and especially households in places where other kinds of connections, like laying optical fiber, are out of reach.

By deploying the right hardware and equipment along with intelligent algorithms, WiBACK can link individual radio masts together to form a network. Directional radio is not a new concept. Major telecommunications companies have been using it for many years, but there are a number of problems and drawbacks that they had previously been unable to resolve. This is exactly where WiBACK comes in.

Thanks to its management functions, it goes beyond conventional solutions to handle aspects such as automatically checking frequency availability. This is especially important in the unlicensed spectrum, where there is heavy traffic and interference is common. When disruptions occur, the configuration can be adapted: WiBACK quickly combines point-to-point connections between two sites to build larger networks. Plus, it does this automatically and without any manual setup, which is a complex undertaking. These self-management features make WiBACK easy to use for almost anyone. Little technical expertise is needed to implement or maintain it.

What makes the project unique?

Over long distances, internet is available in many regions of the world. But rural areas often lack the last mile. This is where WiBACK comes into play: It bridges distances of up to 100 km to the nearest internet access point. “During the development process, it was important to us to make sure the technology would be as flexible, user-friendly, and low-cost to apply as possible, all over the world,” explains Dr. Mathias Kretschmer, project manager and researcher at Fraunhofer FIT. Self-sufficient energy supply is another crucial factor in remote rural regions. That is why WiBACK radio masts are designed for sustainable ecofriendly operation — via solar energy.

Why is the Fraunhofer Future Foundation supporting this project?

The Fraunhofer Future Foundation is supporting this project to give people in the Global South reliable access to the internet. WiBACK has the potential to connect millions of people to the rest of the world, foster digital participation, and make the infrastructure in remote regions more resilient, including in case of crises. In this way, the technology is an important contribution to reaching the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). Support from the Fraunhofer Future Foundation allowed the researchers to further develop the hardware so that the radio masts can be operated even more cost-effectively.

Why does the project need collaborations and supporters?

The Fraunhofer FIT team is currently working to set up WiBACK technology in Colombia. The vision is to offer WiBACK for as many countries as possible in the Global South. An open-source solution would mean the key components of WiBACK could be viewed freely and would be accessible to broad audiences. For them, WiBACK would be more flexible and cheaper to purchase as an open-source solution. However, open-source solutions are typically associated with a greater need for training and education. Local people need an adapted training concept so that they can implement, operate, and maintain WiBACK independently and reliably. The funds needed to develop a webinar or online tutorial are currently lacking.

Beyond that, each region has its own unique conditions and challenges that need to be addressed when implementing WiBACK. To achieve that, the team of researchers needs to make individual adjustments in the software’s user interface to accommodate different user groups. The project needs additional financial support to optimize the WiBACK system in this way as well. Only when all these pieces are in place will it be possible to cost-efficiently use WiBACK across large areas of the Global South.