CNET's Amanda Termen looks at the non-profit organization Green Wi-Fi, which is bringing Internet access to schools in developing countries via cheap, solar-powered Wi-Fi networks.

"Green Wi-Fi's two co-founders have initial funding from One Laptop Per Child, whose goal is to build and distribute a $100 laptop for developing countries," Termen writes. "Green Wi-Fi's first full-scale pilot project starts this summer in Northern India, where one school has a cable connection but no reliable electrical power source."

The idea is straightforward -- to create a network consisting of affordable Wi-Fi routers powered by solar panels.

"The 10-watt solar panel, a Shell ST10, was designed to withstand hail storms, which means it is not easily torn or broken," Termen writes. "The battery, no larger than a motorcycle battery, is sealed in a protective gel and built for heavy-duty use and many recharges. The system's Netgear WGT634U router is off-the-shelf, demands low power and accommodates variable bandwidth."

To keep the router going when there's little or no sunlight, Green Wi-Fi has developed a system it calls elegant degradation. "We put the router on a diet," says co-founder Marc Pomerleau. An intelligent charge-controller regulates power to the router depending on the charge level of the router's battery and the amount of incoming sunlight.