MIT Solve

Solution Overview

Solution Name:

AURANET

One-line solution summary:

Low-tech and low cost broadband internet for the un/under-connected in Nigeria

Pitch your solution.

AURANET is an Internet service platform created not only to offer users an affordable, high speed internet service but also enables users to share and automatically monetize their own Internet bandwidth. We are the first peer to pay ISP in Nigeria.

AURANET enables communities to develop and manage their own autonomous ISP networks thereby creating opportunities to earn income, acquire new skills and expand broadband access to un/under-connected areas and communities.

Film your elevator pitch.

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What specific problem are you solving?

There is and inefficient distribution of internet access in rural and urban areas in Nigeria. The costs of deployment of the required technological infrastructure in currently under-connected areas has been traditionally challenging due to the correspondingly low income-per-capita levels of the populations of such areas (over 60% of the Nigerian population lives on $1/day).

Additionally, Nigerians tend to need multiple phones/data plans to ensure internet access due to inconsistency in network quality and service delivery from telecommunications providers - who provide the most common means of accessing the internet in the country. 80% of the population uses mobile phones.

Lastly, the cost of high quality (wired) internet access - primarily driven by the high infrastructure and customer premises equipment costs - has prevented this segment of the ISP sector from growing. Only a handful of enterprise users and middle-to-high incomes population segments are able to utilise these networks.

The foregoing describe a landscape where internet access is concentrated in specific (urban) areas, with (local quality) mobile internet networks being the main way of participation, and the majority of the population still not being able to enjoy high speed broadband due to connectivity costs.

AURANET solves these challenges.

What is your solution?

AURANET is a holistic, multi-stakeholder system that empowers communities (particularly in under-connected areas) to sustainably build and manage their own networks, quicker and more affordably. With our solution, anybody in the community is able to expand and improve the network and get paid for investing in faster equipment.

AURANET's price-aware routing protocol makes sure that traffic takes the cheapest path, enabling a router to get the best prices, second by second. Our networks are made up of nodes owned by the people who use them. Communities can therefore get faster, cheaper internet by cutting out the middleman.

Value adds:

1. Incentives to build and grow networks - our decentralized revenue sharing structure rewards network organisers and relay nodes with a small percentage of all revenues generated on their networks;

2. Low entry point to help foster adoption - due to our franchising structure (which negates requirement for organisers to obtain their own ISP licences from Nigerian telecoms regulator); and low cost of CPE required to establish a network or node;

3. Resilient delivery and Unbeatable rates compared to the competition - by securing better backhaul deals users are able to enjoy more competitive data prices.

Who does your solution serve, and in what ways will the solution impact their lives?

Individuals between 16 and 45 living in low income and/or rural areas and are currently unconnected or under-connected. SMEs requiring high quality and competitively priced broadband access and seeking to make a passive income from providing internet access to those in their immediate vicinity and wider local area

Which dimension of the Challenge does your solution most closely address?

Provide low-income, remote, and refugee communities access to digital infrastructure and safe, affordable internet.

Explain how the problem you are addressing, the solution you have designed, and the population you are serving align with the Challenge.

Our solution enables communities to develop and manage their own internet networks.

We provide regulatory cover by enabling network organisers to operate under a franchise model involving supervision and ensuring that minimum quality standards and other regulatory compliance is maintained.

Additionally, our low cost customer premises equipment is paid for by users through a finance model that integrates equipment payments with monthly subscription fees for a fixed period.

Lastly, the Althea blockchain protocol that underpins the solution enables users to generate passive income from their contributions to the network - said contributions being relaying data packets to further expand the network.

All these features of our solution will provide opportunities to disenfranchised and under-connected segments of the population for self empowerment, education and economic autonomy.

In what city, town, or region is your solution team headquartered?

Lagos, Nigeria

What is your solution’s stage of development?

Pilot: An organization deploying a tested product, service, or business model in at least one community.

Explain why you selected this stage of development for your solution.

Our solution is currently being piloted in three communities in Nigeria, in Abuja (North Central region), Lagos (South Western region) and Port Harcourt (Southern region) respectively. We have 125 total users across all the pilot networks that have been using the solutions for 9-12 months on average.

Who is the Team Lead for your solution?

ALIYU SHELLENG