OpenRoaming connects remote First Nations communities

Some of Australia’s most remote and marginalised communities are gaining vital access to online healthcare, education and secure communications, with the arrival of a public Wi-Fi network with the seamless, high-speed connectivity of OpenRoaming.

The Wireless Broadband Alliance (WBA) — the global industry body dedicated to improving Wi-Fi standards and services — recently announced the launch of a breakthrough OpenRoaming deployment in five remote Central Australian communities and 11 ‘town camps’ in Alice Springs, providing hundreds of residents with free, secure internet access through Easyweb Digital’s solar-powered Community Wi-Fi Hubs. The deployment will provide the largely Indigenous residents with seamless switching between a growing number of Easyweb networks that support OpenRoaming in towns and community centres across Central Australia.

OpenRoaming allows users with varying technical skills to easily move between different Wi-Fi and cellular networks through a profile installed on their mobile device, which automatically authenticates them while ensuring the highest standards of security and data privacy. By allowing users to automatically connect to the nearest Community Wi-Fi Hub without repeated logins, OpenRoaming will provide uninterrupted connectivity.

A powerful combination of OpenRoaming, Wi-Fi, and geostationary and LEO satellite backhaul will provide redundancy and reliability in a region long characterised by poor communications and social disadvantage. Each of the autonomous assets deployed in the project will be powered by a standalone solar headend and ‘weather-proofed’ against the extreme desert environment.

The project, delivered by Easyweb via WBA members Encapto and Cambium Networks, is focused on delivering ‘place-based’ telecommunications infrastructure to improve digital connectivity across remote communities in Central Australia. Residents of these small communities are highly mobile, regularly travelling 300–500 km round trips to neighbouring communities or Alice Springs to visit family, participate in sports or cultural events, or access essential services.

“In the past, people in these towns could walk for a whole day to check their bank balance or access eGovernment services,” said Darryl Clarke, CEO of Easyweb Digital. “This OpenRoaming solution will deliver an all-in-one solution for these previously forgotten people to gain easy and secure online access in any local community. As we grow our OpenRoaming coverage across the region, people will be able to connect wherever they go — so they’ll never have to plan their day around where they’ll be connecting.”

The OpenRoaming network will offer seamless ‘cellular-like’ access to broadband speeds of up to 300 Mbps, while the system’s advanced redundancy will prioritise low-latency Voice over Wi-Fi calls and essential health, education and emergency services — all of which depend on stable and accessible internet connections. Voice over Wi-Fi is a particularly important feature as communities such as Haasts Bluff/Ikuntji and Nturiya have no cellular service.

The deployment of Community Wi-Fi Hubs with OpenRoaming is based on Cambium Networks’ XV2-2T0 outdoor Wi-Fi APs and XV2-21X indoor APs, Encapto software, and Easyweb managing and deploying the end-to-end solution, which includes solar-powered cabinets and mesh network backhaul for continuity of service, using GEO and LEO satellites. The mesh capability means these networks can also be cost-effectively scaled through the installation of simple nodes to deliver premium-grade Wi-Fi to community halls, health centres, schools and other public buildings. In addition, the Encapto platform enables mesh networks to be extended to in-the-home Wi-Fi services using a ‘freemium’ model that ensures free access to basic services, and commercialisation opportunities for premium levels of connectivity.

A mesh node on a pole.

“Providing connectivity to these regions has been notoriously challenging in the past, due to their remoteness, high levels of social disadvantage and low levels of digital literacy,” Clarke said. “For First Nations communities, smartphones are the primary way of accessing online services, but in the past connectivity has been slow, unreliable and expensive. Providing free connectivity to residents in these communities is a critical first step in enabling them to access the services they need.”

“Internet connectivity empowers remote communities and allows them to access basic services and thrive,” concluded WBA CEO Tiago Rodrigues. “For these communities, Wi-Fi is as critical as water. It is a must for social and economic development that OpenRoaming projects across the globe are driving up digital inclusion. This project is already showing how having a global connectivity infrastructure that reaches all communities has the potential to transform civilisation.”

Top image shows one of the installation sites.