Skype Red: Ground Penetrating Wi-Fi

Just because you're dormant doesn't mean you're offline. New advances in Ground Penetrating Wi-Fi (802.11gp) let your mobile phone or laptop stay connected to Skype and the rest of the Internet while you're six feet under. Your persistent Skype chats and voice mails will be all queued for you at dusk.

Cemeteries are a growing market for Skype partners Linksys, Cisco, and others making routers supporting the new technology. The gold standard is the D-Link Red, above, able to deliver 100Mbps two meters under soil at a distance of 25 meters.

Coffin makers are also equipping their products with batteries and uninterruptable power supplies. Laptop and smartphone batteries still have trouble making it from sunrise to sunset without a charge.

Cemeteries are racing to zone plots with Wi-Fi coverage, hoping to charge tenants a premium.

On the down side, privacy advocates urge caution, warning most graveyards have lax security, even online. 

cc-by: TheeErin