Off grid and in touch – powering telecoms when the city lights fade

People are more likely to have a mobile phone than access to a proper toilet, yet for many, power cuts and intermittent supply mean they're often out of reach – until now.

A multinational research team is trialling a solar-powered internet hub that promises to bring web services and e-commerce to some of the world's most remote locations.

The EU-funded REACH project is running trials of a solar-power-based system that allows people in remote areas to charge their mobile phones and connect to the internet, opening up a world of commercial, healthcare and educational opportunities.

BuffaloGrid, the company behind the REACH project, originally tested a bicycle-based charger in rural Uganda, before moving on to develop and test a solar-powered hub. Now 25 of these are in a trial phase in India, catering to around 50 000 people, and they expect to begin mass production next year.

'We wanted to create a platform for other companies to reach these people,' said BuffaloGrid chief executive and co-founder Daniel Becerra.

The hub system can also supply services such as medical information to remote regions, says Becerra, giving the example of a patient five hours away from the nearest hospital who can go into a shop and make virtual contact with a medical professional thousands of miles away and find out whether a hospital trip is necessary.

'The best way is by creating business opportunities,' said Becerra. 'When you create an economy where everybody benefits, that's the best way to scale. That income can be used to pay for educational content.'

The estimated cost of deploying a hub is about EUR 480, including import tax and training for the local agent, and the units pay for themselves in around six months. Batteries need replacing every three years and the company, which maintains ownership of the unit, can take care of this.

Read on on Horizon Magazine.

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