Data-ferrying disconnection-tolerant networks allow remote rural areas to access the Internet at very low cost, making them viable alternatives to more expensive access technologies such as DSL, CDMA, and dial-up. In such a network, an Internet-based proxy gathers data from the Internet and sends it to a set of edge nodes called "gateways", from which data ferries, such as buses and cars, opportunistically pick up the data using short-range WiFi as they drive past, and deliver it wirelessly to kiosks in remote villages. In this context, we pose the following question: assuming knowledge of ferry schedules, when and to which gateway should the proxy send each data bundle so that the overall delay is minimized and the bandwidth is shared fairly among competing kiosks? We show that a well-known schedule-aware routing scheme proposed in the literature, i.e., EDLQ [11] is far from optimal. Moreover, EDLQ does not provide means to enforce bandwidth allocations. To remedy these problems, we employ a token bucket mechanism to decouple fairness and delay minimization concerns. We also describe a utility-maximizing scheduler based on the classical minimum-cost network flow problem, that finds optimal schedules. Through simulations, we show that our scheme performs at least as well as EDLQ in scenarios that favour EDLQ, yet achieves up to 40% reduction in delay in those that do not.

Rural Internet kiosks in developing countries can cost-effectively provide communication and e-governance services to the poorest sections of society. Unfortunately, a variety of technical and non-technical issues have caused most kiosk deployments to be unsustainable [1]. KioskNet addresses the key technical problems underlying kiosk failure by using robust ‘mechanical backhaul’ for connectivity [2], and by using low-cost and reliable kiosk controllers to support services delivered from one or more recycled PCs. KioskNet also addresses related issues such as security, user management, and log collection. In this paper, we describe the KioskNet system and outline its hardware, software, and security architectures. We describe a pilot deployment, and how we used lessons from this deployment to re-design our initial prototype.

Rural kiosks in developing countries provide a variety of services such as birth, marriage, and death certificates, electricity bill collection, land records, email services, and consulting on medical and agricultural problems. Fundamental to a kiosk's operation is its connection to the Internet. Network connectivity today is primarily provided by dialup telephone, although Very Small Aperture Terminals (VSAT) or long-distance wireless links are also being deployed. These solutions tend to be both expensive and failure prone. Instead, we propose the use of buses and cars as "mechanical backhaul" devices to carry data to and from a village and an internet gateway. Building on the pioneering lead of Daknet [15], and extending the Delay Tolerant Networking Research Group architecture [24], we describe a comprehensive solution, encompassing naming, addressing, forwarding, routing, identity management, application support, and security. We believe that this architecture not only meets the top-level goals of low cost and robustness, but also exposes fundamental architectural principles necessary for any such design. We also describe our experiences in implementing a prototype of this architecture.