+ Ed

+ Ed
Access to Education for All
Dear schools and educators. We are reaching out to you to tell you about the BRCK+Ed program.
This is program focused on bringing access to education to every student around the world.
Overview
Schools around the world need for access to information; both for student education, and for their
teachers and administrators to stay connected to the best educational content. Access to the web
levels the playing field for students, creating a wide gap between the connected and the unconnected,
often referred to as the digital divide.

Schools face foundational issues that create this divide: access to basic power, reliable access to the
web, and access to the highest quality open educational resources for their students. We aim to fix
that.

BRCK - The Solution

BRCK is a device for internet connectivity in low-infrastructure environments, where either power or
internet are unreliable. It was designed and engineered in Nairobi, Kenya for just this purpose, and
has been extensively tested to ensure it meets African requirements for rugged and reliable
internet. The BRCK has an on-board hard drive and can couple with a Raspberry PI (a local server)
to run applications and deliver content both online and offline.
As a standalone product, the BRCKs inbuilt battery can last for 8-hours without charge, and when
paired with a solar panel, can last indefinitely. The device allows for caching of content for use by a
school, but also the ability to store information to be uploaded later in case of internet outage. It fails
over gracefully to a secondary source of power or connectivity when its primary infrastructure goes
down, guaranteeing you are online more than with a typical router or modem.
The device allows any classroom that can get 2G access for a few hours a week the ability to have
access to the wealth of information and tools available on the internet.
BRCK+Ed
The BRCK+Ed program is focused on providing a platform that works for schools worldwide,
particularly in emerging markets, from urban to rural areas. Its a stack of technology that allows for
both local accessibility and cloud-base syncing, depending on what is needed by the school. It is a
platform that is a modular, allowing institutions to deploy whatever they need from solar power to a
local server.

BRCK and Other Solutions

There are certainly other solutions for getting online, the primary ones being a mifi device, directly
through mobile, or with a regular home router that creates a wifi network. The key thing to understand
is that BRCK uses the same large scale infrastructure systems that these tools use, the mobile
network (mobile towers) and the wired network (Ethernet). The BRCK however adds 1) much more
reliability and intelligence when used in places with poor infrastructure and 2) adds capabilities that
allow for working both online and offline.

The Packages:
These are four different technology packages that we recommend for different use cases. These
packages can all be easily adjusted for the specific needs of a school, whether that is more
computers, off-grid power solutions, or otherwise.

The Classroom (5 - 20 devices):

This is to connect a single classroom anywhere in the world.
x
x
x
x
x
x
x

BRCK: $250
+Pi: $200
+Xtender: $120
Antenna: $20
5 Chromebooks/Tablets: $1,000 (Optional)
Total = $590 + computers/tablets + tax and shipping.
$400 Power solutions (Solar) available for add-on if needed.

Grade Level (25 - 100 devices):

This solution is meant to connect a number of rooms within a school anywhere in the world.
x
x
x
x
x
x
x

5 BRCKs (up to 100 students simultaneously online): $1,125

5 Antennas: $90
5 +Pi: $900
5 +Xtender: $540
25 Chromebooks/Tablets: $5,000 (Optional)
Total = $2,655 + computers/tablets + tax and shipping
Custom Power solutions (Solar) available for add-on

School (100 - 400 devices):

This solution is to connect an entire school anywhere in the world (depends on the size of the school
and should be adjusted based on number of students)
x
x
x
x
x
x
x

20 BRCKs (up to 400 people simultaneously online): $4,250

20 Antennas: $340
20 +Pi: $3,400
20 +Xtender: $2,040
100 Chromebooks/Tablets: $20,000 (Optional)
Total = $10,030 + computers/tablets + tax and shipping
Custom Power solutions (Solar) available for add-on

Rural Starter System (2 - 10 devices):

For the rural, offgrid school looking to bring the web to their classroom.
x
x
x
x
x
x
x

BRCK: $250
BRCK+Pi: $200
High Gain Antenna: $100
Cables and Mounting Bracket: $50
2 Chromebooks/Tablets: $400
Solar System: $400 (Optional)
Total = $1,000 + solar + tax and shipping.

Our Thanks
We thank you for your interest in BRCK+Ed. Our vision is a world connected, where the last-mile of
internet connectivity is as seamless for a student in Africa as it is in Europe or the US. Schools are in
every city, town and village around the world, and our children represent the future. The BRCK+Ed
program is committed to creating the best EdTech solution to work worldwide, and we thank you for
your support.

Technical Appendix
Core BRCK
BRCK is comprised of an integrated enterprise-class wifi/ethernet router, high-speed 3g modem with
open SIM card access, a large rechargeable 8000 milliamp battery that can charge on anything from
a solar panel to a car battery, a global SIM on the board, and an AVR processor (Arduino compatible),
all in a drop, dust, and water resistant housing. It can be powered by solar panels, an outlet, or even a
car battery. It can connect using mobile connectivity (2G or 3G) from any GSM SIM card (works in
140+ countries), WiFi bridging or through an ethernet cable.
BRCKs come with onboard storage (basic is 4gb, but can be bumped up to 32gb if needed) and links
to the BRCK Cloud. This allows the BRCK to run applications just like a smartphone, easily sync
online content, and to locally cache data to reduce bandwidth costs.
More information on can be found at www.brck.com/specifications
Microserver Stack
To the BRCK you can add a remote server designed for the edge of the grid. The BRCK team has
done this with a RaspberryPi device. This RaspberryPi MRTR also has a USB port for keyboard and
mouse and an HDMI port for display. The BRCK and RaspberryPi are networked together, so the
BRCK appears as an ethernet link to the internet. It also comes stock with a battery and drive
installed
Remote Microserver Stack
You can extend the BRCK with a satellite connection for truly off-grid areas. With funding dedicated
to this, a satellite connectivity MRTR can be implemented with the BRCK within a few months, though
it can currently work with a working SatCom solution via its Ethernet port. The BRCK can help
reduce satellite data costs by switching to 3g or Edge if and when it picks up a network.

Fourth Floor, 146 Buckingham Palace Road, London, SW1W 9TR, UK

0044 (0)20 7824 7040
www.ecis.org
ecis@ecis.org