The record for point-2-point WiFi transmission is now 382 kilometers (pdf). The transmission was made from Platillon to Aguila in Venezuela. This news comes to us via The Foundation Latin American School of Networks website.
The researchers behind the project used the WRT54 Linksys router in their experiment. If they are able to make long distance connectivity work in a stable manner and are able to keep the equipment cheap this could make a huge difference in connecting emerging markets.
Connectivity will make the OLPC even more important and make the use of SMS servers (Radar post) even more interesting. Hacker Friendly Books (Radar post) has continued releasing books that aid emerging markets in building out effective networking infrastructure.
According to Internet World Stats, only 12.8% of Venezuela’s population is connected. It’s not surprising that the record was broken in a country that is still finding its internet footing. The dominant US method of most people paying for their connectivity will not work in an emerging market.