Sustainable Development by Internet Backpack in the Democratic Republic of the Congo, Liberia and Costa Rica

Wireless grid research and innovation - what we now call cloud to edge or Internet of Things cyberphysical systems research - spearheaded by Syracuse University School of Information Studies (iSchool) with diverse partners and with support from the National Science Foundation's (NSF) Division of Engineering, and Computer and Information Science and Engineering (CISE) has led to the invention of an Internet Backpack which is capable of bringing connectivity anywhere, sustainably. The Internet Backpack is also a microgrid with a solar panel and battery included. This paper focuses on preliminary findings from ongoing Internet Backpack pilot deployments which were initiated in the Democratic Republic of the Congo in 2017, in Liberia in 2018 and in Costa Rica in 2019. We find that by design, the Internet Backpack's cloud to edge cyberphysical platform is capable of flexible and affordable connectivity across more than 11 physical and software-defined/cyberphysical networks, for over 90% of the planet. Further, we find that Internet Backpacks as a service can significantly contribute to accelerating the availability of affordable Internet access for the 3.5 Billion people presently excluded from full participation in realizing their individual human development due to, among other things, lack of Internet access. The paper concludes that Internet Backpacks and other Community Network platforms will likely become more readily available for education, disaster preparedness and other humanitarian uses because of their paradigm-shifting potential for connectivity cost reductions and service enhancements for many people and regions around the world presently largely excluded from sustainable development.