Outernet: Discover the Free Internet Access Worldwide

In 2011, the United Nations (UN) publicly stated that internet access should be treated as a human right. If we think about the utilities of the network in a broader way, it is easy to understand the positioning of the organization: the web is nowadays the most widespread and one of the most reliable means that a citizen can enjoy. It facilitates the exercise of democracy, can be considered an excellent educational tool and is able to assist the individual at various times in his life.

However, it is estimated that 4.3 billion people around the world do not have internet access and therefore cannot consume information just as we all can. Whether due to geographical conditions or unfavorable socioeconomic status, these citizens cannot enjoy free books published on the web, weather information, disaster news, uncensored journalistic material, educational content and everything else we are used to finding in a quick Google search.

It is not necessary to think of distant countries and remote regions to understand this situation - even here, in Brazil, a broadband connection is still very expensive for a large part of the population. In addition, the internet is somewhat unstable: we all risk running out of digital information in the event of natural disasters (an earthquake or storm, for example, can damage the infrastructure of a wired connection or mobile network antenna). So we have a big problem here: how to offer digital information in a cheap, affordable, stable and secure way? The answer may lie at Outernet.

What is Outernet? Founded by Syed Karim, Outernet is a company and can also be viewed as a social project. It is a kind of “alternative internet”, free and offered by satellite, which aims to bring high-quality digital information to regions where the conventional network has little penetration for various reasons.

Its working scheme may seem a little complicated at first, but the concept as a whole is quite simple and doesn't use any kind of mind-boggling technologies - in the words of the project team itself, Outernet simply uses existing resources as smartly as possible. .

First, Outernet's operations team selects content it deems important to humanity, such as news, educational content, and other relevant material. This includes not only web pages, but also videos, music, and even software (Linux distributions, for example).

This jumble of data is called "Core Archive," or "Central Archive," in free translation. Along with Core Archive, Outernet managers also select content suggested by the general public (“Queue” or “Queue”) and paid to be in that collection (“Sponsored” or “Sponsored”).

Once all this information has been collected, it is handled in Outernet's own database, making it lighter and less “broken” (a selected Wikipedia page cannot link to other unselected pages, for example). This massive block of data is then sent to geostationary satellites belonging to Outernet and relayed to Earth.

Currently, the company has two satellites that were abandoned and were adapted for this purpose: the Galaxy 19 and a Hot Bird. This pair is capable of transmitting information to much of the earth, but the project foresees the launch of cubesats (miniaturized satellites) to increase its area of ​​operation.