Public Wi-Fi Business on Remote Power Lines
Peter O. Akuon*, Daniel Kiniti+ and George Rading*
*School of Engineering, University of Nairobi
+Kenya Power & Lighting Company
Nairobi, Kenya
akuon@uonbi.ac.ke, akuonp@yahoo.com, grading@uonbi.ac.ke
Abstract— Wi-Fi network is a well-known infrastructure that can be used to connect the public in a remote region to the internet. Electricity grid connection to the public in Kenya is growing by the day. This paper discusses the need and the methods that can be used to exploit the readily available electricity grid connections in order to supply more secure Wi-Fi network. Such a hybrid network is possible since most power sub-stations in Kenya have optical fiber cable (OFC) terminations. Two key implementation methodologies are discussed: WiMAX radio network and fiber-to-the-X (FTTX) with street Wi-Fi. The paper reviews the following issues: market study, technical requirements, business plan, bench-marking and implementation strategies.
Index Terms — Public Wi-Fi network, FTTX, Business Plan
