Airjaldi
Encyclopedia
Social enterprise
A social enterprise is an organization that applies business strategies to achieving philanthropic goals. Social enterprises can be structured as a for-profit or non-profit....
dedicated to the development of affordable broadband connectivity solutions for rural communities in developing countries. AirJaldi consists of two related organizations: AirJaldi.org, a non-profit organization which performs applied research and knowledge dissemenation via training programs and conferences, and AirJaldi.net, which operates networks commercially.
AirJaldi develops and implements innovative F/OSS-based technological solutions which enable the creation of robust and viable networks that provide high quality broadband internet access and related services.
The AirJaldi networks make use of small-size, low power nodes mounted on low masts and are characterized by a very low ecological footprint
Ecological footprint
The ecological footprint is a measure of human demand on the Earth's ecosystems. It is a standardized measure of demand for natural capital that may be contrasted with the planet's ecological capacity to regenerate. It represents the amount of biologically productive land and sea area necessary to...
and ability to operate under the most demanding environmental conditions.
AirJaldi built one of the largest rural WiFi
WIFI
WIFI is a radio station broadcasting a brokered format. Licensed to Florence, New Jersey, USA, the station is currently operated by Florence Broadcasting Partners, LLC.This station was previously owned by Real Life Broadcasting...
networks in the world — the Dharamsala Wireless Mesh Network as a community network for The Tibetan Technology Center (TibTec). The network interconnects over 2,000 computers in a difficult mountainous terrain within a radius of 70 kilometres (43 mi) around Dharamsala
Dharamsala
Dharamshala or Dharamsala is a city in northern India. It was formerly known as Bhagsu; it is the winter seat of government of the state of Himachal Pradesh and the district headquarters of the Kangra district....
, a town located in the Himalayan region of northern India
India
India , officially the Republic of India , is a country in South Asia. It is the seventh-largest country by geographical area, the second-most populous country with over 1.2 billion people, and the most populous democracy in the world...
, which is also the center of the Tibetan community in exile
Central Tibetan Administration
The Central Tibetan Administration , is an organisation based in India with the stated goals of "rehabilitating Tibetan refugees and restoring freedom and happiness in Tibet". It was established by the 14th Dalai Lama in 1959 shortly after his exile from Tibet...
.
AirJaldi works in close cooperation the with the Tibetan Children's Villages Schools (TCV) who host AirJaldi's India office at their campus in Dharamsala.
AirJaldi Summit 2006
The first AirJaldi Summit, held on 22–25 October, 2006, focused on ways in which wireless solutions can be used to provide affordable Internet access to rural communities, and the contribution of these networks to local livelihoods, quality of education, governance and health-care, and sustaining local cultures.Following the summit, the World Summits on Free Information Infrastructure Association lead a two-week workshop on various aspects of wireless technologies, aimed at providing hands-on training for conference participants and the public at large.
AirJaldi summit