Wikipedia

Othernet

"Outernet" redirects here. For other uses, seeOuternet (disambiguation).

Othernet Incis a broadcast data company that was previously known as Outernet. Due to trademark issues, the name of the company and service was changed in July 2018. Othernet sells a portable satellite data receiver that combines an amplifier, radio, and CPU in a single unit. The company's goal is to make news, information, and education accessible to everyone.

Othernet Inc
FormerlyOuternet Inc
FoundedFebruary 1, 2014;10 years ago(2014-02-01)inChicago,United States
FounderSyed Karim
Area served
Global
ServicesDigital media,Internet
Websitewww.othernet.is

Othernet's stated goal is to provide free access to content from the web through geostationary andlow Earth orbitsatellites, made available effectively to all parts of the world. The project currently usesdatacastingconventionalgeostationary communications satellitesin asatellite constellationnetwork.Wi-Fienabled devices would communicate with the satellitehotspots,which receive data broadcasts from satellites.[1]

It received its initial investment from theMedia Development Investment Fund,aUnited States–basedimpact investmentfund andnon-profit organizationestablished in 1995 bySaša Vučinićand Stuart Auerbach. In 2015, Outernet (now Othernet) also launched anIndieGogocampaign, which raised $697,552 to finance the development of the Lantern receiver[2]which was never completed and delivered to backers.[3]

History

edit

Othernet turned on their first public satellite signal on 11 August 2014.[4]Othernet transmitted 20 Mbits per day when it was using theL-band.Othernet provided instructions for users to build their own receivers and encouraged people to do so, then to share their results with Othernet. Othernet's first signal was broadcast overGalaxy 19andHot Bird,covering North America, Europe, and parts of theMiddle EastandNorth Africa.

On 1 October 2014, Othernet released a major update that included a redesign of the Othernet website and the release of Whiteboard, their content suggestion platform that allows anyone to suggest a URL for broadcast. Once a URL is submitted, other visitors may vote on it with the URLs receiving the most votes entering the Othernet broadcast carousel.[5]The Othernet broadcast is broken into three categories: the Queue, Sponsored Content, and the Core Archive.[6]Content in the Queue is decided via votes on Whiteboard as well as requests via the Othernet Facebook page. Othernet plans to expand the avenues through which it is able to receive requests for content. Anyone can view what is being broadcast on Othernet at any time.[5]

According to MDIF, the initial content access includes international and local news, crop prices for farmers,Teachers Without Borders,emergency communications such as disaster relief, applications and content such asUbuntu,movies, music, games, andWikipediain its entirety.[7]

Requests toNASAto use theInternational Space Stationto test their technology were declined in June 2014 due to, as stated by a letter sent by theCenter for the Advancement of Science in Space(CASIS) to the staff working for Othernet, both inaccuracies within the proposition, such as "it is assumed that the NanoLab housing will be provided by the CASIS program outside the budget", and costs ranging from US$150,000 to $175,000. This resulted in the CASIS operations review stating in the letter that "the likelihood for mission success as proposed is not probable".[8]

Signal reception

edit

Originally a device called the "Lantern" (previously known as Pillar), a data receiver and media storage system, was designed and developed by Othernet that is a "completely self-contained, high-speed receiver" that is "solar-powered, weatherproof, and creates a wireless hotspot to allowWiFi-enabled devices to access content. "[9]The purpose of the Lantern, as stated by Othernet, is to provide free access to the media archive, weather, news, and other resources, through Outernet, in high traffic public locations, such as schools.[10]

Another way to access the transmissions sent by Othernet was to build a receiver, which requires certain components, including anL-bandantenna, low-noise amplifier, andDVB-Tdongle with a specialRTL-SDRdriver to open up its debug mode SDR reception, the data received was stored on a user supplied computing device with the othernet decoding software, the received and stored content was then made accessible when aWi-Fidongle is connected to the hotspot, though this L-band signal service has now been discontinued though the hardware is still able to receive other L-bandINMARSATsignals.[11]

The current Outernet/Othernet system which is a series of hardware testing versions currently codenamed Dreamcatcher of the eventual final Lantern is using theKu-bandwith aLNBwhich interfaces with and is decoded by aLoRacircuit on theARM architecturebased receiver board which downloads to update the onboard stored content and resources from the satellite at 20 kbit/s,[12]this constantly updating content cache is accessible by connecting to the Othernet receiver's Wi-Fi using Wi-Fi equipped devices and viewed using that device's web browser and not requiring any special app.[13]Ku-band service toNorth Americais provided bySES-2at 87° West and forEuropebyAstra 3Bat23.5° Eastgeostationary orbitlocations.[14]

Availability

edit

The Othernet project is raising funds to expand globally, in order to reach third world countries or populations lacking basic access to the Internet. The amount of funds necessary to kickstart the project was US$200,000. By 8 June 2015, $628,305 had been raised.[15]

Purpose

edit

Othernet has stated three specific goals when developing Othernet: to provide information without censorship for educational and emergency purposes. They have stated that they plan to provide information about "news, civic information, commodity prices, weather, construction plans for open source farm machinery" and other types of information. They also have stated that they will be providing access to "courseware", which includes textbooks, videos, and software. Othernet will be available also when access to regular Internet connection is down for any reason.[7]

Media coverage

edit

Media coverage over the Othernet has ranged from excitement to skepticism. A CNN video released on February 24, 2014, goes into detail of how the idea seems great, but has many drawbacks due to costs and the feasibility of the project.[16]Other media outlets that have brought up the Othernet include theWashington Postand NBC.[7]Media coverage has also gone into other competing projects that have surfaced, such as Google'sProject Loonand Facebook'sInternet.org.[17]

There has also been debate over the politics involved in the introduction of the Othernet to the public. Many fears exist over whether "the major telecom companies worldwide will fight the plans for space-based broadcasting of information readily available on the Internet."[18]

A BBC News report summarized Karim'sTEDGlobaltalk, observing that illiteracy will be a limiting factor for rural adoption.[19]

See also

edit

References

edit
  1. ^"'Othernet' Project Seeks Free Internet Access For Earth ".Discovery News.25 February 2014. Archived fromthe originalon 1 November 2015.Retrieved26 February2014.
  2. ^"Brief: Outernet Exceeded $637K in Indiegogo Pre-orders; Partners with Fundable for Next Fundraise - Crowdfund Insider".18 June 2015.
  3. ^"Othernet (Formerly Outernet) Updates Lantern Backers".7 September 2018.
  4. ^Test Signal(press release)
  5. ^ab"Whiteboard v0.1a1".archive.fo.14 October 2014. Archived fromthe originalon 14 October 2014.Retrieved21 October2019.
  6. ^"Outernet: Humanity's Public Library".www.outernet.is.Archived fromthe originalon 14 October 2014.Retrieved6 June2022.
  7. ^abc"Information for the World from Outer Space".Media Development Investment Fund.Retrieved26 February2014.
  8. ^"Denied by NASA".Media Development Investment Fund. Archived fromthe originalon 24 October 2014.Retrieved13 October2014.
  9. ^"Othernet Hardware".Media Development Investment Fund. Archived fromthe originalon 15 October 2014.Retrieved15 October2014.
  10. ^"Pillar of Knowledge Program Review"(PDF).Media Development Investment Fund. Archived fromthe original(PDF)on 31 October 2014.Retrieved15 October2014.
  11. ^"Installing ORx on Raspberry Pi with Raspbian".Media Development Investment Fund.Retrieved15 October2014.
  12. ^"Othernet".Othernet.Retrieved21 October2019.
  13. ^"Dreamcatcher v3.05 Data Radio Kit".Othernet.Retrieved21 October2019.
  14. ^Barbi, Ken (14 January 2019)."User's Guide to Setting Up and Using Othernet Dreamcatcher v3.03With Skylark 5.5"(PDF).cdn.shopify.com.Retrieved21 October2019.
  15. ^"Bring Outernet to the entire world".Media Development Investment Fund. Archived fromthe originalon 9 October 2014.Retrieved15 October2014.
  16. ^"CNN Video".
  17. ^"Facebook Picks Up the Pace in Race to Beam Internet From Above".NBC News.5 March 2014.Retrieved15 October2014.
  18. ^"Outernet aims to provide everyone with news and information".NBC News.25 February 2014.Retrieved15 October2014.
  19. ^Camilla Costa (14 October 2014)."Outernet aims to provide data to the net unconnected".BBC Brasil.
edit
Retrieved from "https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Othernet&oldid=1248474828"