No one can choose what they look like, where they’re born, or where they’re raised. All you can try to do is educate yourself as best you can and try to improve yourself on a daily basis. However, not everyone is given the same privilege in all parts of the world. The Internet has given us the ability to learn a myriad of new things every day, but not every has access to it.
If you wish you could help the world become more connected, then why not take an active role in helping that happen? The Lantern receives radio waves broadcast by Outernet from space. This device turns these signals into files such as videos, pictures, news articles, and much more. It’s like having a library in your pocket. Whenever you want to use it, activate the Wi-Fi hotspot, and connect with any Wi-Fi enabled device. It’s free to use, and not only has a ton of information, but is updated constantly.
This isn’t something you’ll need to worry about plugging in, as it has solar panels to help it stay juiced up. Seeing that this essentially gives you access to the internet offline, this could mean great things to all the people in the world who are willing to learn but don’t have the means. You’ll be able to download information for free without censorship (aside from parental controls for your kids), which is kind of a big deal. Getting the Lantern will cost you $99, but the company that came up with this idea has their eyes set on a much larger goal.
4.3 billion people on Earth - the combined populations of Europe and the United States TIMES FOUR - do not have access to the Internet. The majority of humanity does not have access to the enormous library of useful information that we take for granted. Books, courseware, weather information, disaster updates, uncensored news, entertainment, language learning software. What if there was another way to give that to everyone on Earth for free?
Enter Outernet.
Current System: "A Library In Every Village"
Proposed System: "A Library In Every Pocket"
Information should be a public good available to everyone. This new broadcast frequency will enable global coverage to a pocket-sized device. That device is called "Lantern.
What Could Our Species Accomplish?
Imagine if every person could learn for free.
Imagine if there were no more dark patches of people without access to information.
Imagine if the lights came on.
Never before in human history has there been an opportunity to raise the bar for everyone at once so dramatically. Outernet is such an inflection point.
Currently, Outernet is broadcasting from geostationary satellites thousands of miles above the Earth. This is a Ku-band signal with a footprint which reaches all of North America, Europe, the Middle East, and North Africa. We launched this first phase of Outernet on August 11, 2014 to test various elements of the technology, allow users to build receivers and validate our work while providing us with useful feedback.
We are ready for our next step.
How Does Outernet Work?
Below is a nifty infographic that the L.A. Times put together about Outernet. You can see the original with its animation here.
How We Decide What Gets Broadcast
The Outernet broadcast is made up of three components:
The Core Archive is a collection of content selected by Outernet because of its importance to humanity. This will include news, educational content, and disaster updates, when applicable. It is publicly viewable, dynamically edited, and subject to continuous discussion and review.
We are currently compiling a first draft of the Core Archive, which we will publish in November. Here is a sample of what it will include:
Wikipedia, Linux distributions, such as Ubuntu, Fedora, and Arch Educational courseware of EdX and Khan Academy, Project Gutenberg books, Open Source Ecology plans, audio and video literacy lessons, regular digests of the Bitcoin Blockchain, compiled news bulletins, disaster updates, OpenStreetMap, commodities information, weather information, and much more. The entire Core Archive will be less than 1 TB. Pared down versions will be considerably smaller.
The Queue is content that is requested and voted on by global citizens. Anyone can request content and we are constantly endeavoring to create more channels for users to submit requests. Content request channels include SMS, Facebook Zero, Twitter, and the Outernet website. A combination of popularity and origin of the request (higher priority being given to areas where there are greater barriers to making a request) determine broadcast eligibility and frequency.
Sponsored content can be submitted by anyone. Think of it like an ad in a newspaper; you pay to have your content distributed alongside organically selected material. Sponsored content is flagged as such and its sponsor is identified. To add your content, select the $25 reward above. After IndieGoGo, this feature will remain available on a per MB basis.
For a more in-depth discussion on this, see this piece in Quartz by Outernet's Archive Editor, Thane Richard.
Outernet's Funding
Outernet is supported by the Media Development Investment Fund, an impact investment fund which provides financing to ventures that provide the news, information and debate that people need to build free, thriving societies. Since 1996, MDIF has invested $130 million in 105 different companies in more 36 countries. Outernet is thrilled to be supported by such a knowledgable and impactful organization.
published by Derlich-Herman Systems Engineer @ DCS.
scan and get hold of me 
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