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WiBE Shared Hotspot Pitched For Rural Broadband in UK

Posted by timothy on from the until-the-cows-come-home dept.

justice4all writes "A British company claims to have solved the problem of delivering a reliable broadband connection to people in rural communities. Deltenna has developed a small, self-installable gadget called the WiBE (Wireless Broadband Enabler) that uses the 3G mobile network to create a 2Mbps web hotspot. The device sounds similar in concept to devices like Novatel's MiFi, but Deltenna claims it works even in places where a 3G mobile phone wouldn't register a signal. The WiBE has five times the range of a 3G dongle, and can deliver 30 times data throughput compared to a 3G USB modem dongle, Deltenna believes."

3 of 51 comments (clear)

  1. There's one that works perfectly. by Securityemo · · Score: 3, Interesting

    Long-haul optical fiber combined with DSL/a reasonably modern landline phone system for more remote sites; taxpayer money funds the backbone, and the goverment (that isn't hideously corrupt and can be trusted not to use the lines to strangle kittens as soon as you take their eyes of them) leases the last mile to private companies. But of course, there's no profit in that, so such a thing can't possibly exist outside of covert communist dictatorships such as those found here in Sweden. And Japan, to take a ideologically neutral example. Actually, both Japan and Sweden's networks came about through cooperation and understanding between the public and private sectors, more than anything else; it would never have been pulled it off as good as it turned out if the gov. actually had appointed a public sector company in charge as ISP.
    *Pets his RJ/45 jack connecting to a 100mbps line in an appropriately condescendingly smug manner*

    --
    Emotions! In your brain!
  2. Re:Slashvertisement by xaxa · · Score: 4, Interesting

    Yeah, and has anyone ever had any reception in a 'rural' area?

    This is UK-rural, which isn't really that rural.

    See, for example, the yellow bits on this map.

  3. Re:Slashvertisement by EdZ · · Score: 4, Interesting

    I'd be surprised if it wasn't. You house generally doesn't move about all that much, so it's trivial to point a high-gain antenna towards the nearest mobile phone mast/strongest local reflection. You can even stick in on it's own mast to increase line-of-sight.