The Øresund based company Terranet has developed a technology based on the peer-to-peer model meaning users can call even though there isn’t a base station for mobile phones around. And no external network or operator is needed, writes PC för Alla.

The technology is designed for remote areas of the countryside or desert where base stations are less feasible.

The idea for TerraNet came when its founder Anders Carlius was on safari in Tanzania in 2002, and found that poor connectivity meant he could not call friends riding in another jeep only a few meters away.

”All of us had modern mobile phones and still couldn’t call each other. But it seemed to me that it should be possible and started thinking of different solutions. The year 2004 I came up with an idea and started Terranet,” says Anders Carlius.

The new technology enables phone-to-phone calls instead of the calls being rerouted through a base station. The handsets must be within a kilometer of each other.

“The cool part of the technology is that all units can forward calls. If you try calling me, and I’m too far away, the call can still go through thanks to another user in-between us forwarding the call. That way a call can reach up to ten kilometers,” explains Anders Carlius.

This collaborative routing of calls means there is no cost to talk between handsets.

The technology is to be introduced in South America next year and in Africa and Asia the year after.

TerraNet is a based at Ideon Science Park in the city of Lund, Sweden. Its technology provides peer-to-peer wireless networking and with no need for base stations, antenna installations or infrastructure.

For more information, visit www.terranet.se