The Solar Powered Internet School — a product of Samsung’s corporate-social responsibility initiative — has solar panels on the roof that can generate nine hours of electricity a day, says C/Net. It powers the electronics inside — a 50-inch electronic board, Samsung Internet-enabled solar-powered notebooks, Samsung Galaxy tablets, and Wi-Fi cameras.
Though Samsung installed the school last year, the company only recently shared extensive details of it on its official global blog. Earlier this year, the school was named African Solar Project of the Year by the Africa Energy Awards.
Up to 21 students can use the classroom at one time, and the entire curriculum is stored in a central computer server. Samsung aims to reach 2.5 million learners on the African continent by 2015.
Other solar related shipping container conversions include; Space (Solar Powered Adaptive Container for Everyone), ZubaBox (a mobile solar powered internet connectivity solution), Beautiful Earth (built using two re-purposed steel shipping containers), and Renewable Energy Powered Portable Data Centers (which enables solar or wind-powered POD’s to be installed at sites with optimum exposure to sunlight or high winds).
Both Excede (ViaSat-1) and HughesNet (Jupiter-1), can deliver satellite internet access that will dwarf their predecessors in space.
The ViaSat-1 satellite, and EchoStar’s Jupiter-1 have about 10 times the capacity of previous internet satellites.
- ViaSat’s broadband service called Exede, has one-time set-up fee of $149.99 and $9.99/month equipment lease fee, plus the monthly service fees and taxes, which range from $50-$129/month.
- The Hughes SPACEWAY 3 was previously the world’s largest traffic-carrying Ka band commercial satellite system, according to Hughes, with 10 Gbps throughput. ECHOSTAR XVII will provide over 100 Gbps.
- DishNET’s satellite internet service starts at $40 a month, for 5 Mbps down & 1Mbps up with a 10GB data cap. Dish says it offers customers the convenience of one bill, one installation, one customer service number.
- Lemko’s Distributed Mobility Wireless Network may enable 4G/LTE systems to use a satellite backbone for both military and public safety markets. LTE over satellite is not a general consumer product, but it enables interoperability across networks and devices. Lemko’s distributed mobile wireless network has connected hundreds of 2G and 3G GSM, CDMA, UMTS, and EVDO commercial and tactical networks via satellite.
The $60,000 to $70,000 SPACE container (below) uses 20-30, 175 Watt Panels, or 3.5 kW to 5 kW producing an estimated 15-18 KWh/ Day. The SPACE container’s 20 cantilevered solar panels are capable of generating 3.5 kilowatts and 12 batteries to store that juice. It can run for 3-5 days without the sun’s rays.
Adding an external WiFi antenna with a dozen repeater nodes, as well as a White Space transmitter could provide local internet access. Meraki’s outdoor WiFi and mesh networking can encompass large areas using unlicensed WiFi bands. Containers can be easily moved and activated.
Related DailyWireless Space and Satellite News includes; Satellite Backhaul for LTE , Dish Turns On Satellite Broadband, EchoStar XVII Broadband Satellite Launched, Hughes/EchoStar: Broadband Satellite Prepared for Launch, ViaSat Announces Commercial Satellite Operation, FCC Promotes Rural Broadband Solutions, EchoStar XVII Broadband Satellite Launched, ViaSat-1 Passes Test, ViaSat-1 Launched,
