[p2p-research] Afrimesh: an IP network for rural areas

[Paul D. Fernhout]

Regarding the subject of DIY/P2P physical networks people like Ted and Marco 
have recently written about.

 From a blog run by Antoine van Gelder:
   http://generation7.wordpress.com/2009/02/24/afrimesh/
"""
The ability to easily create an IP network in rural areas, developing 
countries and disaster zones can significantly contribute to the ability of 
people to communicate with each other.
   Afrimesh builds on top of the most excellent B.A.T.M.A.N. project to 
provide a simple management dashboard which enables network operators to 
create and sustain a resilient communications network with a minimum of fuss.
   For the first release we are working hard towards simplifying common 
tasks such as managing clients, maintaining network maps, monitoring the 
network and managing bandwidth. ...
   Future development direction will be largely determined by demand from 
users but some ideas that have already come up include customer billing 
management, telephony integration and support for building social apps that 
connect mesh users with each other. ....
"""

Google code project:
   http://code.google.com/p/afrimesh/

Antoine says this work is also being used by another interesting project 
supported by the Shuttleworth Foundation:
   http://www.villagetelco.org/
"Village Telco: an easy-to-use, scalable, standards-based, wireless, local, 
do-it-yourself, telephone company toolkit"

So, maybe Africa will help save the Western world from itself, as regards 
the P2P issues and Google DNS and over-centralization that we've just been 
discussing? :-)

--Paul Fernhout
http://www.pdfernhout.net/