Rhizomatica suitcases for internet connectivity win Mozilla contest

Rhizomatica

• Internet connectivity can fail when natural disasters strike,
  and it is not available in some rural areas to begin with.
• Since early 2017, Mozilla and the National Science Foundation
  have partnered for the Wireless Innovation for a Networked
  Society Challenges to help make the internet more accessible.
• This year’s winner of the Off-The-Grid Internet Challenge is
  a company that provides internet infrastructure to areas hit by
  disasters.
• Rhizomatica uses suitcases, short-wave radio, and GSM
  technology to let people make local calls and send text messages
  without using cables or satellites.

Communication networks are often the first to fail when natural
disasters strike. More than 30 millions people in the United
States
already do not have quality internet connectivity, and this
number rises by millions during a disaster.

In an effort to make the internet more resilient, Mozilla runs
the Off-The-Grid Internet Challenge, which rewards new ideas for
deploying wireless communication to areas where internet access
is unavailable. A company called Rhizomatica took home the
$400,000 prize this year for HERMES, or the High­-frequency
Emergency and Rural Multimedia Exchange System.

HERMES does not rely on cables or satellites. Instead, it uses
short-wave radio and Global System for Mobile communications
(GSM) technology, which makes it reliable in rural areas and
disaster scenarios, according to Rhizomatica. The system,
contained in two suitcases, allows people to make local calls and
send text messages, and it allows people who are not at
disaster sites to relay information to those affected.

“In an emergency, you want to be able to tell people you’re
okay,” Rhizomatica
said in a statement. “HERMES allows you to tell anyone,
anywhere with a phone number that you’re okay. And that person
can respond to you over text or with a voice message.”

Rhizomatica’s main user-facing technology is 2G GSM, the most
common digital communication technology worldwide. It also lets
people connect to the network for a longer period of time, as it
drains the battery minimally. 

“By investing in affordable, scalable solutions like these, we
can unlock opportunity for millions of Americans,” Jim Kurose,
head of the Directorate for Computer and Information Science and
Engineering at the National Science Foundation, which sponsors
the competition, said in a statement.

The version of HERMES presented at the Off-The-Grid Internet
Challenge cost about $7,000, Peter Bloom, general coordinator at
Rhizomatica, told Business Insider. Bloom said the company
believes it can lower the cost significantly by using different
hardware, and it hopes to offer HERMES for $1,000 one day.

Rhizomatica has not yet decided whether it will sell HERMES as a
standalone product for the public, Bloom said. It’s more likely
that the company will deploy the suitcases to organizations.