"Cursor Cowboy" Hughes bringing connectivity to far-off places
From Tuesday, January 21, 2003
Funded with grants from the National Science Foundation, 74-year-old Dave Hughes has set up wireless connections "in small towns, an Indian reservation, the Wisconsin woods, the Mongolian steppes and Puerto Rican jungles. His pioneering in "packet radio" put Mr. Hughes far ahead of the current explosion in the wireless Internet," according to this Wall Street Journal story (subscription required).
"Col. Dave Hughes, USA, Ret., is the only character who has popped up in the plot every time I've investigated the roots of a technology revolution," futurist author Howard Rheingold wrote in "Smart Mobs," his 2002 book about the sociology of constant Internet connectivity.
...These days, Mr. Hughes is helping Sherpas in Nepal set up wireless Internet connections, including one for a cybercafe at the Mount Everest base camp. Soon climbers will check e-mail at 18,000 feet before trying to reach the top of the world.