This small device promises free access to the internet. Outernet wants to make the internet free and easily accessible for those still lacking in connectivity. (via Outernet)
Chicago... That's my kind of town. Here is a Chicago startup about to make waves.
Everyday more people are connected to one another via the internet. Depending on your age, you may not remember life before the world wide web. Even though internet access is readily available there are still a lot of people who don't have it. Not only does it limit people from one another, but it also limits them from important news, such as natural disasters. So what can we do? One company has a pocket sized solution named Lantern. This small device is made to provide connections to those with lack of internet access by using satellite-broadcast radio waves. Outernet, the company behind Lantern, hopes to provide users with an anonymous, portable library that receives free data from space.
Not having to pay upwards of $50 a month for internet sounds pretty good, so how does it work? Lantern, which the company describes as a radio and Outernet is the radio station, continuously receives radio waves emitted from space by their satellite transmitters. From there it transforms these signals into digital files, like videos, music, and webpages. It can then get and keep any type of digital file. All users have to do to access them is turn on the device's wifi-hotspot and connect it with a wifi enabled device. Just open up your browser of choice to get it going. And no need to worry about another outlet hog; Lantern has its own solar panels for charging.
The catch is users aren't actually accessing the full internet. Instead they're getting a curated package of information provided by Outernet. They're open to receiving requests from users for what they want to access. Along with providing essentially free internet, they also want to eradicate information poverty and censorship around the world. On the device's Indiegogo page, where it was successfully funded, they point out how it's small so it can be used discreetly. They even go so far to say if users can't afford the $149 price tag, Outernet will show them how to build one.
Aside from offering free internet the company has bigger ambitions too. They hope to some day provide standard two-way internet service. For now the company is focused on their promising pocket sized device. They promise to deliver a real time feed of what's being pushed to the devices. Some of their content includes information on disaster preparedness and homeschool resources. If Lantern actually works the way the company believes it will, it could be a huge step forward in making sure people around the world have free access to the internet. If anything, it's worth it to keep your eye on Outernet to see where they'll take their concept next.
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