Techies pitch in on tsunami help

By New Year's Day, the Aceh Media Center had reestablished Internet connectivity in Banda Aceh - even before the state telecom company PT Telekomunikasi Indonesia lumbered into action.

More Air Putih members joined the advance team in the next few days. Two members scouted the city, still scattered with corpses, for sites to set up a wireless broadcasting device. They spotted a tower atop an Internet cafe and persuaded the distraught owner to let them use his equipment. Not long after, on Jan 5, Aries began climbing.

"I just want to contribute my skills," says the sprightly Aries before climbing out a window to connect another wireless device on the roof of a Toyota showroom that has become a makeshift headquarters for the Red Cross and Red Crescent.

The Aceh Media Center has set up free Internet sites at Banda Aceh's main post office and the governor's residence, which serves as the headquarters for government operations. The team has also set up an outdoor Internet tent where journalists can log on for free.

Air Putih members say they've had to improvise with local materials, grabbing nearby pipes and using long wooden poles to hook up radio towers. They battle regular blackouts and, above all, say they need more bandwidth, which would allow them to transmit more data.

International organizations say the work of Air Putih has been invaluable. "They were an enormous help in the first days," says Ian Woolverton, a spokesman for the Red Cross and Red Crescent.

"It's desperately needed," said Alvis, an Indonesian coordinator with the same group. "For movement, reporting of the names of the dead, the numbers of the dead, the number of camps, and for open communication."

The group says it is taking its "wireless freedom" concept to the shattered city of Meulaboh, which was in the direct path of the tsunami. They also want to jump to such isolated areas as the island of Simeuleu.

And they have help. Three IT veterans landed in Banda Aceh to help Air Putih achieve its vision. The silver-bearded Earl Campbell of New Mexico is a specialist in ham radio. Peggy Townsend, an Internet specialist from Michigan, and Jeremy Parr of the Bahamas are providing backup. The three answered a plea for help from Mr. Idris sent out to Internet service providers in the US.

The Aceh Media Center is still recruiting help to drive its expansion across the province, asking donors for 40 to 80 laptops, five global-positioning systems, five satellite phones, six pairs of wireless communications, and 20 walkie-talkies, among other things. They also want a solar panel and electrical generators to power the venture.

To avoid tsunami tragedies in the future, they are currently negotiating with the government's meteorology and geophysics department for wireless assistance to the early-warning system.

Anjar, sitting crosslegged amid a circle of five laptops at the Toyota dealership, says they plan to connect as many wireless "hot spots" as possible. "Until all our equipment is gone," he says.

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