It should be no surprise that a company in a sunny area such as Florida first came up with the idea for solar-powered wireless routers long before a company in Seattle or the Northeast would, but Solis Energy plans to market the new devices. Environmentalists may harp on the "green" feature of the product but for those who want to be wireless or where wires do not exist the products have a distinct advantage over current technologies which need to be directly wired to a network, the solar routers are wireless eliminating the need for extra chords.

State governments and municipalities look towards the new technology as a way to reduce greenhouse gases, but the Solis routers may also help to restore communications after an earthquake or similar natural disaster. The panels which power the router are similar to other solar powered devices. Photosensitive panels are placed over batteries. The panels generate an electric charge which powers that batteries and the batteries in turn power the device. The array of panels used to power does store more power than the router will require while the device is basking in the sunlight, but as sunlight is not available all the time, the remaining panels are used to store electricity to power the routers until solar energy can once again be used as a power source.

Solis has not made the costs for the new unit available to the public. A spokesperson for the company says having one of their technicians install these into an area will be significantly less than having an electrician come out to install a solar panel in a house. (Houses, typically, are already wired to the electric grid.) It may be a while before the average consumer sees these devices on the market and in many areas, it simply may not be practical to install them. It is more likely they will make their way into the hands of state and local governments first until the price drops low enough for the average consumer to afford one. Does anyone wonder if someone in Holland is working on wind powered wireless devices?