Why support free networking?
The goal of the SeattleWireless project is to create a community owned and maintained wireless network around the city. The network is being built using standard protocols and open-source mesh routing software, making it easy for anybody to participate using inexpensive off-the-shelf hardware. SeattleWireless is completely free to use, and does not rely on the internet, or any traditional telephone/cable service providers.
But why?
Why should anyone invest in creating such a network? If everyone already has a broadband connection to the internet, why do we need something else?
So why support free networking? There have to be an endless number of reasons, but I’d like to start by explaining why I do. My hope is that you can then come up with your own reasons, and help the project grow.
First of all, it’s fast. The latest standard for wireless networking is 54 megabits per second. That’s around 6.75 megabytes per second. In contrast, most people pay around $45 per month for access to a network that’s limited to 4 megabits per second, or 512 kilobytes per second. And wireless networking is only going to get faster. The next wifi standard, known as 802.11n, is currently being finalized, and claims to support a maximum of 540 megabits per second. Even verizon’s new fiber service stops at 50 megabits per second down, and at a mere 5 megabits per second up!
So, we’ve got a fast network, now what can we do with it?
Many things, including access the internet.
Say your grandparents live a few blocks away, and want to be able to use email, instant messaging, and the web. They don’t need an amazing amount of bandwidth, but also can’t stand to be on dialup. The only options right now are overpriced slow DSL, or overpriced fast cable.
But what if you had a wireless link over to their house? You could share out a limited amount of your internet access so they could stay in touch with family for free, and put the would be monthly cost of DSL to better use, such as travel… or what ever else grandparents do these days.
Or maybe you’ve just moved across town. Imagine being able to stick an antenna out your window and instantly be connected to all of your friends, any of which could easily become a gateway out to the internet for you to use, either temporarily until you get settled, or indefinitely. Give your friend half the cost of what you’d pay for DSL/Cable each month, and split the cost of a significantly faster pipe. Community wireless networks are not dependent on the internet, nobody is required to provide internet access, but it gives individuals a new platform to provide access as they see fit, something that is not currently available.
But local content is just as important.
Imagine walking around the city with your laptop, and wherever you happened to stop, you’d be presented with a list of people who live in the area, along with their photos, blogs, podcasts, or any other content that they have created. Or instantly see what restaurants are in the area, or what events are happening that night. But why stop there? Reach out across the network to other neighborhoods and learn about what’s happening over there. All free, all fast.
Free networking has the potential to make this possible.
And much more.
These are some of the reasons why I support community networking.
What are yours?
Categorized as Technology, SeattleWireless, Technology
What’s your take on the approach taken by FON for spreading wireless?
You have to divide nominal rates by at least 2 to get real wireless rates and that’s if you’re at less than 10 meter of open space from the antenna. Add a wall and it’s less than 1 Mb/s.
Ok, so upon further investigation, you are right to some extent. TCP connections over 802.11g/a generally run at no more than 20mbps in ideal conditions.
When doing point-to-point links with good antennas and good radios, I don’t think it’s unrealistic achieve speed around this. 20, or even 15, is still significantly faster than my cable connection…
The problem is modulation, and interference, there are only 11 channels, 13 on some cases, and everyone has a wifi ap around, there are some providers that do, with far more powerful devices and antennas. So the spechtrum is kinda saturated.
Also 802.11g modulation seems no good for long distances as far as my work experience tells me, an 802.11b link seems more reliable in any case than an 802.11g, and even on b links, sometimes it’s a good idea to go down to 1 or 2mbps.
In third world countries like mine, it’s still a great idea, networking here is expensive, we are still in the sub mbit era here, with 800kbps around $80, if someone is willing to come here to Ecuador and develop a free net, please do, i’ll give my full support
Jorge,
If you use the madwifi driver for atheros cards under linux, you can use athctrl to change ack timings. This allows outdoor links using 802.11g and 802.11a.
50 kilometer links with 18mb throughput is possible using 802.11a and a pair of high gain antennas.
Interference can be a big problem, but it’s amazing what you can do with high gain directionals.
YEs, but 802.11a!, i was mostly refering to 902.11g links.
With high gain antennas, all you do is cause trouble to weaker links, it’s the same as using an amplifier.
interesting stuff…..has anyone gotten that stuff to actually work ?
cheers
Yes!! and fairly well, it’s all matter of studying it a bit.