Critical.
Authoritative.
Strategic.
Subscribe to CIO Magazine »

Mobile phones without towers coming soon

A Flinders University project to build a mobile phone system without towers could be a boon in remote Australia

A mobile phone communications system that doesn't need towers is being developed at Adelaide's Flinders University.

The Serval Project was inspired by the 2010 Haiti earthquake in which the phone network crashed as infrastructure went down.

Creator Paul Gardner-Stephen said the earthquake showed the lack of resilience in a communications system that relied on infrastructure.

"If the towers are knocked out, mobile phone handsets become useless lumps of plastic in our hands," he said.

"The Serval Project has proven that there is no reason for that to be the case."

The Serval system allows mobile phones to communicate with each other to create a virtual network where no network cover exists.

In Australia it could allow people travelling in the outback to call each other for free.

It could also provide a limited mobile phone network for remote communities.

Dr Gardner-Stephen has just won a $400,000 fellowship from the Shuttleworth Foundation to take the technology of a proven concept to the product stage.

He expects to have free software available to the public within 12 months.

Join the CIO Australia group on LinkedIn. The group is open to CIOs, IT Directors, COOs, CTOs and senior IT managers.

More about: Creator, etwork, Flinders University, Flinders University

Comments

Post new comment

The content of this field is kept private and will not be shown publicly.
Users posting comments agree to the CIO comments policy.
Login or register to link comments to your user profile, or you may also post a comment without being logged in.
Related Coverage
Related Whitepapers
Latest Stories
Community Comments
Tags: communications, Flinders University, mobile phones, Paul Gardner-Stephen, Serval Project, telecommunications
Latest Blog Posts
Whitepapers
  • Seven Steps to Effective Data Governance
    Creating a framework to ensure the confidentiality, quality, and integrity of data – the core meaning of data governance – is essential to meet both internal and external requirements, such as financial reporting, regulatory compliance, and privacy policies. At its best, data governance roots out risk – both business and compliance risk – by increasing oversight. This white paper provides seven steps for taking such an approach, concluding with a real world example, taking an incremental approach using a repeatable framework that is a practical, proven strategy that any size organization can implement to suit their immediate and long-term needs and budget.
    Learn more »
  • Case Study: Keeping information on the move: Clearswift protects Maman, the logistics experts
    Time is money. Every minute a consignment is held up in transit costs money and causes problems. Web and email are mission critical business tools that enable Maman, and their customers, to efficiently collaborate with partners across the globe. Spam, and other web based threats can result in delays that ultimately lead to missed deadlines - keeping the lines of communication open is therefore a key priority for Maman. Read on.
    Learn more »
  • Government Communications 2.0
    The problem with data is that it’s only useful if you share and use it. Equally, the more data we share electronically, the greater the risk of it falling into the wrong hands. Public sector organisations can’t function without legitimately gathering and using personal information about the citizens they are mandated to serve. Technology has made a significant contribution to that process, but has also brought new risks. Read on.
    Learn more »
All whitepapers
rhs_login_lockGet exclusive access to Invitation only events CIO, reports & analysis.
Recent comments