INTERNET BACKPACK

Internet backpack or democratizing internet access is a project between Syracuse University faculties, SU students, DemoLab members, and ISOC foundation members. The project aimed to provide internet access to those who lacked access to the internet whether by disasters or poverty.

Meet the Team

Danielle Taana Smith

WiTec Faculty Advisor, African American Studies, Director of Renee Crown University Honors Program

Danielle has research focused in Gender studies; population displacement and migration; post-conflict reconciliation and reconstruction; global health/development; Africa and its diaspora; the United States

Jane Asantewaa Appiah-Okyere

WiTec Facilitator, Functional Business Analyst, Technical Services - Division of Enrollment and the Student Experience

Jane is a Doctor of Professional Studies student at Syracuse University’s School of Information Studies, and she is also employed as a Functional Business Analyst at the same institution. As a doctoral student, her research focus is on Internet of Things (IoT) and Smart Grids; more specifically, as they relate to Digital Inclusion. For example, she is interested in how the use of the Internet Backpack can promote education, specifically, learning in Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematic (STEM) in rural communities to improve well-being. As an employee, some of her responsibilities are to maintain multiple batch processes and feeds sent to vendors, performing regression testing.

Eva Gabriella Colon

Research Assistant for the Internet Society Foundation Resiliency & Emergency Response project

Eva holds an MPA from the Maxwell School of Citizenship and Public Affairs at Syracuse University. She has a background in International Relations and has worked in the non-profit sector.

Marien Alvarado

Research Assistant for the Internet Society Foundation Resiliency & Emergency Response project

Marien Alvarado is a Fulbright Hubert Humphrey Fellow from Guatemala at Syracuse, she has a master’s degree in humanitarian action and a master’s degree in business administration, she is a chemical engineer. Her work experience is in the Public Sector, as a High Impact Project Specialist and Process Expert in the Finance Ministry of Guatemala, as well as consultant and professor in the University of Mariano Galvez of Guatemala. She is currently working on projects for addressing the digital divide in the region of Central America with the School of Information Studies of Syracuse and the Internet Society and is part of DAI as intern for green fiscal policy.

Catherine Forrest

Ex-President of WiTec

Catherine Forrest is a ‘22 BS Information Management & Technology major specializing in data analytics and web design at Syracuse University. Catherine is the ex-president of the tech entrepreneurship club WiTec and co-founder and ex-president of CryptoCuse, the official SU cryptocurrency club. She has received grants to apply her skills in creating digital twin security solutions and frameworks for ethical data security and management on two research projects. Catherine is working to realize her dreams of developing software solutions to help defend the nation.

Abdullah Naimzadeh

Communication and finance head

Abu is a second year graduate student studying Applied Data Science at Syracuse University. He earned his Bachelor's degree from Western Washington University with a background in Physics. He's worked as a Production Technician at Safran and a Data Analyst at Syracuse University.

Lee McKnight

WiTec Faculty Advisor, iSchool Professor

Lee W. McKnight is an Associate Professor in the iSchool (The School of Information Studies), Syracuse University, Faculty Advisor to the Worldwide Innovation Technology and Entrepreneurship Club (WiTec)

Peerapong Saksommon

Research Assistant

Peerapong or Peter is a research assistant under the supervision of Dr. Lee McKnight. He's a current graduate student at Syracuse University studying information management. Currently the one managing witec-cuse website.

Cecilia Jingqi Wang

Research Assistant

Cecilia is a first year graduate student studying Computer Science. She earned her bachelor’s degree from UC San Diego, with a background in Sociology, law, and Japanese. She is looking forward to combine her passion for technology, social science, and languages to create positive social impacts in the world through digital innovations.

Quick Infographic

Internet Backpack Core Components

Brief Information

The Internet Backpack allows for internet and cellular connection. The BGAN connects to the satellite, which makes it the most expensive option for connectivity. This type of connection has a data limitation due to the high cost. Ideally, we want to connect through cellular networks (LTE 2g, 3g, 4g) using the Cradle Point.

The Cradle point allows for this type of connection and so, it is the main tool we will be focusing on. For the Cradle point, we want to have a local data sim to connect easily. Another component of the backpack is the battery, which takes about 8-10 hours to fully charge. The battery works for a couple of days based on simple usage. It can be charged by plugging it into a car/cigarette adapter. However, there are solar panels that can charge the battery. It is best to not use the backpack when it is charging.

Finally, the goTenna Mesh are paired with the phones that come with the backpack and they allow for a cellular network even if it is completely down because it uses mesh networking. It is important to note that the phones of the backpack have the iHub app where you can access Workspace 1, which is a VM tool used to control what software are installed and used. This means that you are not able to install new apps.

How to Operate a BGAN?

Step 1

Press the power button on the BGAN, which is located next to the sim card slot and the two small LED lights.

BGAN 1.mp4

Step 2

Allow the BGAN to search for a connection, which will take some time. You may have turn/rotate the BGAN several times for the purposes of finding a connection. The BGAN will make sounds as it is trying to search for a satellite connection. Each sounds have different frequencies that indicate how the connection is going:

• Pulsing like a heartbeat normal frequency: Searching for connection

• Pulsing like a heartbeat faster frequency continual: It is closer to finding a connection.

• Continuous high pitch squeal: The connection has been found.

BGAN 2.mp4

Step 3

In order to make sure the BGAN connection is working, you will need to access the app Explorer Connect. This is also the same app you will use to control the BGAN itself.

First, open the Explorer Connect app and click the settings tab in the lower right corner. You will need to register the phone. This will require you to make a username and input the password, which is the serial number on the back of the BGAN.

After registering yourself, access the phone settings and click the WIFI tab. This is where you will connect to the BGAN hotspot by same password used to register (the serial number on the back of the BGAN). The BGAN connect is called EXPLORER510.

After you are connected, open the Explorer Connect again and select the “Terminal Access” where you will select “standard data”. Once the icon is green, this means that you are connected and can access the Internet. Another note is you will find that on the top of the phone screen, the WIFI icon will have a number next to it. This shows how many devices are connected to the BGAN hotspot.

BGAN 3.mp4

BGAN 4.mp4

How to Operate Cradle Point?

Step 1

Turn on the battery and press the AC button, holding it for a few seconds until a green light appears.

LED Lights for WIFI

Green (WIFI is operating normally)

Yellow (WIFI needs attention)

No light (WIFI is not connected)

Cradle Point 1.mp4

Step 2

Turn on the phone by pressing the third side button.

Cradle Point 2.mp4

Step 3

Verify if the Cradle Point connection shows on the WIFI tab in the phone's setting. If it is the first time connecting, you will need to input the password (*imcondemo) on the phone’s WIFI settings. The connection of the Cradle Point will be VMWare Demo 2.4g.

Cradle Point 3.mp4

How to Charge the Internet Backpack?

The battery can be charged in 3 different ways: plug into the wall, plug into a car adapter, or use the solar panels. The battery takes about 8-10 hours to fully charge. Here's a video showing how to use the solar charging.

Solar Battery Take 1.mp4

How to Install goTenna Mesh?

Charge goTenna Mesh fully before initial operation via the micro-USB port found beneath the power button. The indicator light on the front of the device will light up during charging and will turn off, when fully charged.
Install the goTenna app from the App store or the Play store onto your respective iOS or Android device.
Follow the instructions within the app to setup your goTenna Mesh.
Turn ON goTenna Mesh by pressing and holding the power button for ~3 seconds. Release the button and watch for the indicator light to slowly pulse. goTenna Mesh is now ready to pair.

How to Operate goTenna Mesh?

Follow instructions within the goTenna app to set up your goTenna contact number. Using your phone number as your goTenna contact number is recommended.
Proceed to text, share GPS location, or send other data over the app using regular text-messaging app conventions.
We recommend placing goTenna Mesh in an unobstructed position, preferably as high up as possible on your body. For example, goTenna will work best when attached externally to the upper back of a backpack using the provided attachment strap.

Net Cloud Manager

The Net Cloud Manager is the application that can be used to control and manage the Cradle Point connection. It allows you to upgrade and check the health of the units through a 1 or multi-year license. You can see all the connected carriers (e.g., Claro, AT&T) and see the data usage by day (item-Home).

The login page can be accessed via this link

Home – includes reports for online/offline devices, data usage for WAN, WiFi as WAN, and ethernet WAN.
GeoView – displays a map showing the physical location of devices in an account (devices must have location services enabled to appear on the GeoView map). Those with exclamation points (!) signify that they are not connected at the moment. Green means the device is connected.
Uptime – for WANs, groups, and routers.
Modem Usage – modem data usage by carrier, group, and device, connected modem counts.
Clients – reports on clients connected to devices.
Traffic – traffic reports by categories, applications, routers, and clients.
Security – information about intrusion events and other security details.
Data Usage - breaks down data usage by devices, the number of clients connected per day and the type of device they are using (Desktop, laptop, etc).

For more information: link

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