-------- Forwarded Message -------- Subject: UW CSE Colloquium / Tuesday, March 3, 2015 / Heimerl / UC Berkeley / Community Cellular Networks Date: Fri, 27 Feb 2015 14:03:25 -0800 From: Info about upcoming UW CSE Colloquia <talks@cs.washington.edu> Reply-To: talks-request@cs.washington.edu To: tperrier@cs.washington.edu Next Tuesday... UNIVERSITY OF WASHINGTON Computer Science and Engineering COLLOQUIUM SPEAKER: Kurtis Heimerl, UC Berkeley TITLE: Community Cellular Networks DATE: Tuesday, March 3, 2015 TIME: 3:30pm PLACE: EEB-105 HOST: Richard Anderson ABSTRACT: Cellular networks are one of the most impactful technologies of the last century, with over 3.5 billion active users in just under 25 years of operation. However, over a billion people, primarily in rural areas, still live without this basic service. There are two primary reasons for this: First, rural areas are difficult for incumbents to cover profitably, as costs are higher and revenue is lower. Second, current cellular regulations only allow for incumbents to bring coverage, forbidding other organizations from covering underserved areas. In order to resolve these concerns and bring coverage to communities, we developed three core technologies. The first is "Community Cellular Networks": small-scale, locally owned and operated cellular networks. The second is Virtual Coverage, a mechanism for reducing the cost of rural cellular through smart duty cycling. The third is GSM White Space, a technology and regulatory framework for community cellular networks utilizing spectrum sensing available on standard GSM phones. We demonstrate the value of all three technologies through an ongoing, sustainable, 2 year long installation in rural Papua, Indonesia, which generates over 1000 USD/month in revenue for the local community while supporting over 400 subscribers and handling over 500,000 communications. Lastly, we discuss the future of cellular in the context of our company Endaga, the broader Community Cellular movement, and opportunities in disaster relief. Bio: Kurtis Heimerl is a postdoctoral researcher in UC Berkeley's TIER group as well as the CEO and cofounder of Endaga. Kurtis received his BS in Computer Engineering from the University of Washington and his MS and Ph.D in Computer Science from UC Berkeley under Professors Eric Brewer and Tapan Parikh. Kurtis's research focuses on enabling rural cellular access through empowering local entrepreneurs to set up and manage their own community cellular networks, for which he was named to Technology Review's 2014 list of "35 under 35" Innovators Heimerl profile Kurtis has previously worked on education (Metamouse, a system for converting single-player educational games into multiplayer games) and crowdsourcing (Umati, the crowdsourcing vending machine). He has published widely and won numerous paper awards including best paper at CHI and DySPAN and a community award at NSDI. Refreshments to be served in room prior to talk. *NOTE* This lecture will be broadcast live via the Internet. See http://www.cs.washington.edu/news/colloq.info.html for more information. Email: talk-info@cs.washington.edu Info: http://www.cs.washington.edu/ (206) 543-1695 The University of Washington is committed to providing access, equal opportunity and reasonable accomodation in its services, programs, activities, education and employment for individuals with disabilities. To request disability accommodation, contact the Disability Services Office at least ten days in advance of the event at: (206) 543-6450/V, (206) 543-6452/TTY, (206) 685-7264 (FAX), or email at dso@u.washington.edu.