Drive-by internet buses bring internet to cheap skate rural types
Sure, we're all about sneakernet, but this is the first time we've seen "busnet" employed to such effect. In rural India, internet infrastructure is too expensive to make it out to remote villagers, so the United Villages project is bringing the internet to them on four wheels. Apparently, Indian interests in the internets are relatively limited at present: "They want to know the cricket scores, they want to see the new Aishwarya Rai photos, and they want to hear a sample of the latest Bollywood tunes." That's according to Amir Hassan, founder of UV. So the bus loads itself up with such data, and drives out into the country, spreading the info via WiFi. If someone does want a more unique tidbit of info, they can order it for a few extra rupees, and receive it the next time the bus heads their way. There's even a form of e-commerce -- the bus carries an electronic catalog, and orders are delivered by the bus the next time it's out. Sound's pretty hip-cool, but we suppose we'll stick with our WiFi / EV-DO / HSDPA / telepathic internet connection we've got going for the time being.
[Via Slashdot]
