TECH SPECIAL.................. Web is Passé, Get Caught Up in Mesh Instead

Web is Passé, Get Caught Up in Mesh Instead





Mesh networks allow smartphones to connect to one another via Bluetooth and peer-to-peer Wi-Fi

At a time when Web users in India are fighting for an open internet, an alternate technology that provides connectivity without internet or mobile coverage is gaining ground.

Called mesh networks, the technology allows smartphones to connect to one another via Bluetooth and peer-to-peer Wi-Fi. The more the number of users, the stronger the networks, which is why these are sometimes called self-healing networks. A number of Indian firms -AirJaldi Networks and Digital Empowerment Foundation (DEF), among them -are using this technology to provide internet connectivity in rural areas. USbased startup Open Garden Tech nologies, a pioneer in this technology, is also active in India through its messaging app Firechat.

“When we started the company, we always wanted to advocate net neutrality, access to information. What you want is to preserve the integrity and the level of innovation happening on the internet,“ said Micha Benoliel, CEO of Open Garden.

Jayant Kolla, analyst at research firm Convergence Catalyst, said it is easy to leverage mesh networks for simple applications like messaging, either between people or devices. Firechat came to use in Kashmir at the end of March when the state experienced relentless rainfall, invoking memories of last year's flood.

“During these days, we saw how Firechat is useful by enabling crowd-sourcing of information at the hyper local level, and instant dissemination at the global level,“ said Benoliel, whose app has been used around the world during cri ses as well as in civil disobedience movements such as Hong Kong's Umbrella Revolution.

DEF, a non-profit, has provided connectivity to 30 rural schools and more than 50 village councils in Madhya Pradesh through mesh networking. Himachal Pradesh-based AirJaldi provides wireless connectivity in six states in the country.

Providing full-scale wireless connectivity with mesh networks is a different game altogether, said Kolla. To establish connectivity through mesh networks, an operator would need small cell towers that in turn would talk to a base station and finally to an internet service provider, which makes this a difficult business to scale, he said.

“But the advantages they provide for a geography like India, with little connectivity and penetration, is undeniable,“ said Kolla.

Krithika Krishnamurthy

ET15APR15