Hi John, I'm curious about progress on Archreactor/hackspace, but I can wait on that until someone posts an update on the SLUUG listserv.
WasabiNet is conceived as a neighborhood-scale co-op mesh wifi service. http://sites.google.com/site/wasabinetwifi http://goawasabi.net I'm hoping to base the business model off an agricultural supply co-op, in that the collection of mesh routers and possibly also the internet uplinks (DSL accounts, etc) would be owned by the co-op, and subscribers would be able to decide on how their mesh is operated, e.g. how much to charge in subscription, whether to have a captive portal, ads on the captive portal. Nevertheless, in the interest of KISS, I am hoping to keep the organizational model as simple as possible, while still maintaining the co-op model to push down cost of operation (zero profit margin). The proposal you see on the website was originally developed for a $25k seed money grant offered to the Benton Park West area, although that grant ultimately went to another proposal. Right now I'm building out a small-scale, proof-of-concept deployment on Cherokee Street with volunteers and primarily 2nd-hand equipment (i.e. hacked FONeras). It should be ~10nodes by the end of this month, tho naturally I'd like it to be larger. We just sent off an application to DailyKos for a $5k microgrant, but it sadly turns out DailyKos didn't have the funding in place. We presently have $1500 in start-up funds from the Incarnate Word Foundation, and we're actively seeking another $5k microgrant to sustain a 30-40node mesh on Cherokee. http://sites.google.com/site/wasabinetwifi/Home/updates/updateddailykosgrantapplication The model for WasabiNet could be readily applied in other neighborhoods, whether under the label 'WasabiNet' or not. What you are need are... 1. A group of willing residents, whose houses are ideally arranged in clusters to facilitate wifi propagation. 2. DSL connections or some other sort of Internet uplinks. A ratio of 5-10 subscribers per DSL uplink is ideal. -> AT&T and Charter technically forbid this sort of cost sharing in their ToS, although I'm uncertain to what extent they would actually disconnect people. If you can start from scratch, then you can buy DSL service from Speakeasy.net, who allows cost sharing. 3. The routers, which cost $50-60 new, preferably with enlarged 9dB antennas. You can see what routers are compatible here: http://sites.google.com/site/wasabinetwifi/Home/how-do-i-sign-up These are what I'm specifically seeking out for WasabiNet (besides more subscribers in the Cherokee St. area). 1. Microgrants or other such funding opportunities to build out the Cherokee mesh. 2. Help with grant writing for #1. 3. Help with coding a binlgual, Drupal-based captive portal and web presence. I would certainly look forward to coming by Byteworks sometime soon to see how to get y'all hooked up! P.S. Look forward to a new website at this address: http://goawasabi.net On Wed, May 20, 2009 at 5:38 PM, PYROcomp <rexmo...@gmail.com> wrote: > > > Hi Ben, > I was at the archreactor meeting last night and ran into Nate from > byteworks.org He gave everyone a tour and we got to talking about > affordable internet access and I remembered seeing your page while doing > some research. I couln't remember the link but promised to get it to > them. Is there any chance of expansion into the area around Shanendoah > near the byteworks? He was also asking about anybody willing to volunteer > over there. > GREAT to stumble into you this way! > John Fred Gilster > (also on discuss list and i was the lucky winner at the free software expo) > REXMO > http://rexmo.net/sig.html > > On Wed, May 20, 2009 at 11:09, Ben West <westbyw...@gmail.com> wrote: > >> >> >> Oh hi! That's me! I posted this to the list maybe sometime late last year. >> >> This project is still seeking start-up funding and more subscribers in >> the Cherokee St area, although it's model may readily be applied >> elsewhere. >> >> Hoping to put 3 more routers online this week and next! >> >> 2009/5/20 PYROcomp <rexmo...@gmail.com <rexmollc%40gmail.com>>: >> >> > >> > >> > http://sites.google.com/site/wasabinetwifi/ >> > >> > REXMO >> > http://rexmo.net >> > >> > [Non-text portions of this message have been removed] >> > >> > >> >> -- >> Ben West >> westbyw...@gmail.com <westbywest%40gmail.com> >> >> > > [Non-text portions of this message have been removed] > > -- Ben West westbyw...@gmail.com
