We are a group of academics, students and industry research professionals who want to use our technological expertise to improve the quality of life and opportunities for people in less affluent communities around us. We believe that affordable internet access and infrastructure for local content creation and sharing are key enablers for education, economic inclusion and tackling issues of interest to the community. It is our mission to provide the technology that can realise these benefits.
To this end, our research focuses on Dynamic Spectrum Access and Wireless Mesh Networks for low-cost wireless back-haul infrastructure and local cloudlet services to provide low cost, low latency access to local content. Out work involves a mix of creating solutions using network theory and systems combined with trial networks that provide tangible measurable results. The goal is to devise infrastructure and methods for sharing information in less affluent areas using these alternative technologies that are customized and eventually expanded by the communities we serve. Our current focus for deployments is peri-urban (township) areas in Cape Town but we believe these solutions will be applicable in any area with a combination of similar factors such as limited income, poor connectivity or lack of affordable connectivity.