Dear GKD Members, As some of you may know, I've worked with LEOsats for email store-and-forward applications.
I am now investigating wireless mail and instant message networks in regions without power or telecommunications lines or availability of mobile networks. What I would really like now is any comparative analysis of the different technologies available and their actual costs when implemented in remote regions, and any comments on their reliability based on experience. Ideally this would be freely available from a development organisation, but I would also like to know of any reports from commercial research analysts. The data volumes are low - even old fashioned amateur packet radio would probably do for the 9600 - 56000 bps range of speeds. I think we'll need always-on (which is why I am looking outside my pacsat experience), but latency of a few seconds should not be a problem. Distances are 1-10 Km. I *think* line-of-sight may be always available, but that may be simply imposed by the capability of available solutions. Power consumption has to be low enough to be supportable by renewable power; this obviously has cost implications in that solar panels may be more expensive than the comms equipment! I have no bias or preference for OS - DOS, Windows, Linux, or unusual ones like Psion, etc. I am expecting most real-life case studies to be networks of remote PCs or laptops or handhelds networked to a central server, but our interest is in message alerts rather than bandwidth-heavy software applications. For that reason, I would also like to hear from anyone who has used wireless for remote data collection, eg from water meters, weather observatories, or similar. Cost is a parameter rather than a cut off point. Having said that, I think we will probably exclude the most expensive broadband satellite solutions, but circumstances alter cases and some locations may have the budget for that. I'd like to hear from others who have implemented working networks in this area. I know of some from previous contacts, but I'd like to put out this call to refresh my awareness. Regards Patrick O'Beirne, Systems Modelling Ltd. http://www.sysmod.com/ ------------ ***GKD is solely supported by EDC, a Non-Profit Organization*** To post a message, send it to: <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> To subscribe or unsubscribe, send a message to: <[EMAIL PROTECTED]>. In the 1st line of the message type: subscribe gkd OR type: unsubscribe gkd Archives of previous GKD messages can be found at: <http://www.edc.org/GLG/gkd/>
