Satellite based Internet for the developing world

Google Tech Talks April, 22 2008 ABSTRACT History has shown that access to the internet advances many facets of life including education, economic growth, and health care. Currently, only approximately 20 percent of the world population has access to the internet, which is mainly focused in North America, Australia, and Europe. More specifically, Africa being the most unconnected continent in the world has only 5 percent of its population utilizing the internet, whereas 70 percent of the population uses the internet in North America. It is predicted that these unconnected areas of the world will soon be serviced via land lines in the coming decades. However, no short term solution to this problem currently exists. The students from the Space Systems Engineering program at the University of Michigan have worked on designing a low-cost system that fulfills this "gap" in internet connectivity. This presentation will focus on their proposed solution to delivering such capabilities to the rural populations of Africa. In addition, upcoming technologies will be discussed that will impact similar missions in the future. Speaker: Prof. Thomas Zurbuchen University of Michigan Dept. of Atmospheric, Oceanic, and Space Sciences Associate Professor Director, College of Engineering Center for Entrepreneurial Programs Ph.D., M.S., University of Bern