SpeedNet

Making your network speed faster and stronger for the value of money. 

My solution is a device that can amplify users' internet signals, increase internet speeds and reduce internet traffic. By deploying it in strategic and populated areas to maximise its impact on many users at one time. My device will be fitted in the electricity distribution boxes found on the power lines connected to houses. The device is fitted into the distribution boxes because of its widely deployed existing infrastructure. 

The device will be interconnected to efficiently distribute the internet traffic from users. The devices will be directed towards the nearest cell phone tower in the region allowing for more internet infrastructure to exist in these areas with slow internet speeds. This increase in internet infrastructure will improve users' internet speed. The device uses WiFi booster technology to connect wirelessly to users' devices and rebroadcast their existing network signals. 

The problem I'm solving is the slow internet speed is mainly in rural and poor areas in South Africa. There is a huge inequality in the internet speed between poor and richer areas in South Africa(currently rated 59th for mobile networks in the world and 99th for fixed broadband). But all these areas pay the same internet data prices. Anyone who uses the internet in these poor areas experiences slow internet speeds compared to their counterpart in a richer area. 

The main factors for these slow internet speeds are inadequate internet infrastructure(cell phone towers) in these poor areas and bandwidth throttling caused by the immense internet traffic from users. 

The consequences of this problem are the inability of people in these affected areas to use the internet effectively and the people in these areas pay expensive prices for inadequate internet services. 

My solution impacts the digitally active population of South Africa in rural and poor areas(mainly students, remote-working people and others). These people pay expensive prices for internet data while receiving slow internet speeds. 

For example, students need adequate internet speed to engage in remote learning via online meeting platforms without any buffering or lagging internet speeds. They currently struggle with lagging internet services while paying for the high prices. 

This solution will ensure people don't struggle with lagging internet speeds and have a seamless experience on the internet by amplifying their internet signals and increasing their internet speeds.   

I have done surface-level research on the problem but I recognize that they are an underlying need by these people in these affect areas to have adequate internet service for the expensive prices they pay. I have not worked with any existing organization working on this problem but I do plan to study this problem further in my educational career. 

Currently, I have not engaged any potential users in the design and development of the solution but I have engaged with people who express the same problem I am solving. 

The unmet need is more internet infrastructure so that internet services provided to users is more adequate(faster and stronger) for the prices these users pay to internet providers in South Africa. 

I have researched the problem stated and the existing potential solutions to solve this problem. I am researching the feasibility of the solution and the potential partnerships with internet providers. I have engaged with some targeted customers and have drafted a business model which is a business model that includes internet providers paying a commission on the number of users using our devices. 

My project relies on the technology of WiFi boosters that can redistribute internet traffic among its network to improve the internet signal of a user and increase their internet speed. The technology has to bridge the wide gap in the internet infrastructure in poor and rural areas. Potentially giving more people access to the internet where there is none. 

I plan to serve 100 people in a small community to test the prototype. I currently do not serve anyone but once the prototype is built. I plan to build 3 to 5 prototypes to test the interconnection between devices and their ability to improve the internet signal and increase the internet speeds of a user. 

My goal is to improve users' experience with their internet services and potentially save them money by spending less on internet data. I plan to engage with other people passionate about resolving the problem I experience. Then I plan to design and construct the prototypes and test them in an area with inadequate internet service and slow internet speed. 

Beyond the next year, I plan to partner with the government, internet providers and private companies to expand the business to the majority of the country and expand to provide internet to people who do not have access to the internet. 

The first indication is the feasibility of the solution. I want to provide a solution that is cheaper than the current technology. The cheaper the solution is produced, the cheaper than consumers can consume the solution provided. 

The second indication is its potential scale of impact on the communities it serves. I want my solution to impact as many people as possible and that can be done through an effective distribution system. 

The third indication is the quality of the solution. I want to constantly upgrade the software within the solution. That means ensuring the hardware can allow updates for the software. The solution does not need to be perfect but should be good at improving as time goes by. 

The first barrier is knowledge and skills to build the prototype, test the prototype. The second barrier is securing funding to build the prototype. The third barrier is market barriers and the regulation within that market. We can have an oligopoly between a few sellers and they have the financial support so they can restrict more sellers from entering the market.