Sanjit Biswas, CEO and co-founder of Meraki, said, ‘To change the economics of Wi-Fi access across the globe, there’s got to be a simple, efficient and inexpensive method for sending the signal long distances outdoors. The Meraki Solar and Meraki Outdoor will play an important role in our efforts to bring the next billion people online in the coming years.’

The high cost of rural Internet connectivity in Africa is a major challenge. In nearly every case, the only option is to use a Very Small Aperture Terminal (VSAT) to access the Internet via satellite. The subscription costs are $300 a month on average - prohibitively expensive for rural African communities. Since early 2006, IESC Geekcorps has pioneered the use of INMARSAT Regional Broadband Global Area Network (R-BGAN) satellite modem as an affordable alternative to a VSAT connection.

A small company in Madagascar is working to get electricity to rural areas of the island.

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Satellife’s system is based on 3,000 to 5,000 Palm handhelds given to doctors and health-care workers in the field. The handhelds are used for routine health administration, ordering and tracking medical supplies, delivering new treatment guidelines and communication. In the field, the handhelds will connect to inexpensive, battery-powered Linux servers set up across the country.