Setting Long Distance WiFi Records: Proofing Solutions for Rural Connectivity

Abstract

802.11 WiFi technology is commonly used for creating wireless networks with a range of about one hundred meters. With careful planning and proper antennas, this same equipment can be used to make point-to-multipoint links of tens of kilometers and point-to-point links of hundreds of kilometers. This paper presents some experiments at distances of up to 382 kilometer  that were performed in Venezuela from April 206 to July 2007, as well as an affordable instrument setup for long distance antenna alignment.