Cold Computing Turns Hot(spot)
Intel employees deploy wireless networking near the North Pole.
Scarlet Pruitt, IDG News Service
Two employees at Intel Russia recently erected what may have been the world's most northerly Wi-Fi hotspot--just about 80 miles from the North Pole.
The hotspot was built in the Arctic Region at the Barneo ice camp, a tent complex used by scientists, researchers, and rescue crews during the month of April, when ice conditions are safe.
Still, the camp environment is never ideal for computer devices, as the air temperature rarely rises above -30 Celsius, according to Intel.
Such extreme conditions are bad for computer equipment because humidity inside the living tents, a result of the differences between indoor and outdoor temperatures, causes condensation to form on components. What's more, batteries lose power rapidly in low temperatures.
Battery Life Challenged
Despite the challenges, the employees installed a 802.11b/g access point at the camp's headquarters and then established a WLAN (wireless LAN) using four laptops with Intel's Centrino mobile technology, the company says. Another computer was placed outdoors and connected to a satellite phone to provide the network with Internet. The hotspot could be accessed by anyone at the camp who had a mobile or pocket PC, Intel says.
The equipment survived the cold and worked reliably, according to Intel Russia's Vsevolod Sementsov. The main problems were battery life and "backseat drivers," Sementsov says.
Though the hotspot has already been taken down, one Centrino-based laptop was left for polar researchers at the "North Pole 33" ice-drifting station, which is expected to deploy its own WLAN soon, Sementsov says.
Intel points to the experiment as an example of how mobile technology allows users to work anywhere. Where better to test new equipment than the North Pole, the company asks.
