Free Wi-Fi to entire world

A US organisation is planning to build an 'Outernet - a global network of cube satellites broadcasting Internet data to all on the planet - for free.

The idea is to offer free Internet access to all people, regardless of location, bypassing filtering or other means of censorship, according to the Media Development Investment Fund (MDIF).

It will use a network of small satellites to transmit selected internet data – audio, video, text and applications – to any Wi-Fi-enabled device, including mobile phones, anywhere in the world at no cost, says the the New York based non-profit organisation.

“Outernet will bypass censorship, ensure privacy and offer worldwide access to information for everyone, including those who today are beyond the geographic reach of the internet or can’t afford it,” MDIF’s CEO Harlan Mandel said in a post on its website.

Terming the Outernet as the ‘modern version of shortwave radio’, its founder Syed M Karim said the initiative aims to address a ‘deep social problem’.

“As the world moves towards a global knowledge-driven economy, more than 3 billion people are excluded by cost, geography or jurisdiction.

Outernet will increase opportunities for everyone to access digital news and information, allowing greater opportunity and education than anything that currently exists,” said Karim, MDIF’s Director of Innovation.

The Outernet would be one-way - data would flow from feeders to the satellites which would broadcast to all below.

The timeline for the project calls for deploying the initial cube satellites as early as June 2015.

New York-based MDIF provides financing and business assistance to independent news outlets in challenging environments, helping them to become financially sustainable.

It has so far invested in 96 independent news businesses in 31 countries since 1996, according to MDIF’s website.