Vanu Inc., in Lexington, Mass., harnessed cellular technology to reach people living with little or no service. Focusing on the radio components of wireless networks, Mr. Bose developed durable cellular sites that could run on solar power and that required only small amounts of energy.

That technology has been used around the world, particularly in rural areas. In Africa alone it is found in Rwanda, Mauritania, Ghana and the Democratic Republic of Congo.

Mr. Bose recently took his technology to Puerto Rico after it was lashed by Hurricane Maria and used it to help desperate residents locate family members. Through his company he donated more than three dozen cellular base stations to the island, each covering about a three-mile radius.

The month before he died, Mr. Bose spoke about that effort with The Boston Globe. “It’s been so motivating for our employees, because everyone watches the news and says, ‘I wish I could do something to help,’ ” the paper quoted him as saying. “Suddenly we have a way to help.”

That desire to help motivated much of Mr. Bose’s work, his friends and colleagues said. Andrew Beard, the chief operating officer of Vanu, said Mr. Bose had spent a formative year working with Project Orbis, which operates a hospital in a DC-10 aircraft to provide eye surgery to economically devastated regions. Summers spent visiting his extended family in India, witnessing extreme poverty and deprivation, also informed his work.