Re: [WISPA] Speed test volunteers anyone?
Hi all, I'd be curious if folks have tried using the measurementlab.net speed test and what you're getting from this platform. Let me know, --Sascha ___ Wireless mailing list Wireless@wispa.org http://lists.wispa.org/mailman/listinfo/wireless
Re: [WISPA] Philadelphia's municipal WiFi network to go dark
Date: Wed, 14 May 2008 09:43:28 -0500 From: Brad Belton [EMAIL PROTECTED] Subject: Re: [WISPA] Philadelphia's municipal WiFi network to go dark To: 'WISPA General List' wireless@wispa.org Damn, there goes any hope for free water service too... grin Brad Don't forget, Philly was a for-fee service -- so the correct retort would be, Damn, there goes any hope for paid water service too... ;) --Sascha WISPA Wants You! Join today! http://signup.wispa.org/ WISPA Wireless List: wireless@wispa.org Subscribe/Unsubscribe: http://lists.wispa.org/mailman/listinfo/wireless Archives: http://lists.wispa.org/pipermail/wireless/
[WISPA] [Fwd: Re: Wireless industry slams NAB's white space 'misinformation']
Hi everyone, Date: Thu, 17 Jan 2008 22:26:54 -0800 From: Marlon K. Schafer [EMAIL PROTECTED] Subject: Re: [WISPA] Wireless industry slams NAB's white space 'misinformation' To: WISPA General List wireless@wispa.org Cc: [EMAIL PROTECTED] I've sent a note to WIA and asked if they'd be interested in a discussion focused on finding common ground between them and us. It's my belief that WISPA needs to fight tooth and nail to keep personal portable devices out of the whitespaces band. At least at first (really forever as far as I'm concerned). Anyone have a problem with that as a firm stance? marlon I'm all for firm stands, but not for self-destructive ones. Having been working on white space devices since 2004 and been here in DC working daily on the issue since last August, I can tell you that what Marlon is proposing would play directly into the hands of the same telcos that would love to eliminate competition from folks like independent WISPs. NAB doesn't want _any_ unlicensed devices -- whether portable or fixed -- they're interested solely in a) no access to this spectrum and b) licensed access if the first notion fails. If you jettison unlicensed portable devices you will lose the political support of both the industry players as well as the public interest community working to open this spectrum. At which point you'll have WISPA fighting against NAB (who'll then go to the telcos and say Hey, you can have regional and/or national spectrum access if you join our side). Unlicensed portable WSDs might not be the optimal solution for WISPA (though I think that's debatable), but access to this spectrum would be a huge boon to WISPs across the country. What's being proposed would put WISPA on the wrong side of this battle, hurt our chances to get _any_ access to the spectrum, and may inadvertently end up harming WISPA members. This is an incredibly complex political issue; more importantly, WSDs are built to be spectrum-aware, which means that a lot of the messiness we've seen in 802.11 will be alleviated -- keep in mind we're also talking about a huge swath a spectrum with propagation characteristics that are quite different from 2.4 and 5GHz. I'm just worried that WISPA is about to weigh in on something without doing the necessary due diligence to know the ramifications of these actions. In the meantime, I would encourage folks who are interested in learning about WSDs to read New America Foundation's policy backgrounder: http://www.newamerica.net/files/WhiteSpaceDevicesBackgrounder120607.pdf In solidarity, --Sascha WISPA Wants You! Join today! http://signup.wispa.org/ WISPA Wireless List: wireless@wispa.org Subscribe/Unsubscribe: http://lists.wispa.org/mailman/listinfo/wireless Archives: http://lists.wispa.org/pipermail/wireless/
[WISPA] Community Wireless Summit May 18-20, 2007 -- Washington, DC.
FYI: Contact: Sascha Meinrath Executive Director CUWiN Foundation [EMAIL PROTECTED] 217-278-3933 x31 INTERNATIONAL SUMMIT TO ADDRESS FUTURE OF BROADBAND -- Community Technology Leaders from Six Continents to Participate -- Champaign-Urbana, I.L., April 18 -- The CUWiN Foundation and the Center for Community Informatics (CCI) will host the International Summit for Community Wireless Networks (http://WirelessSummit.org) from May 18-20, 2007 at Loyola College in Columbia, Maryland. The summit is the largest gathering of wireless network developers, technology and policy experts, and community organizers working to build universal, low-cost broadband networks around the world. We are proud to host an event that brings together technologists and activists committed to universal access to informatics, said Marco Figueiredo, CCI Director. The International Summit for Community Wireless Networks explores the opportunities and challenges facing the growing movement to build community and municipal broadband networks, said Sascha Meinrath, co-founder and Executive Director of CUWiN. This event showcases cutting-edge technologies and develops political strategies to increase digital inclusion. Since the first National Summit for Community Wireless Networks in 2004, over 300 Community Internet and municipal broadband projects have sprung up in the United States alone. The Summit will focus on how these networks can better serve their target populations, the policies needed to support broader deployment of community wireless systems, and the latest technological and software innovations. Presenters at previous summits have included FCC Commissioner Jonathan Adelstein, Jim Baller of the Baller Herbst Law Group, Annie Collins of Fiber for Our Future, Mark Cooper of the Consumer Federation of America, Harold Feld of Media Access Project, Robert W. McChesney of Free Press, Matt Rantanen of Tribal Digital Village, Greg Richardson of Civitium LLC, Paul Smith of the Center for Neighborhood Technologies, Jim Snider of the New America Foundation, Dana Spiegel of NYCwireless, Esme Vos of Muniwireless.com and many other luminaries. High-speed broadband access is the electricity of the 21st century, yet many rural and poorer urban communities are being left off the grid, said Ben Scott, policy director of Free Press, the DC-based policy think-tank. The innovators and organizers at the International Summit for Community Wireless Networks are blazing the trail to make broadband affordable and available to everyone. About CUWiN (http://www.cuwin.net) The CUWiN Foundation is a world-renowned coalition of wireless developers and community volunteers committed to providing low-cost, do-it-yourself, community-controlled alternatives to contemporary broadband models. CUWiN is fiscally sponsored by Grassroots.org, a non-profit 501c3. CUWiN's mission is to develop decentralized, community-owned networks that foster democratic cultures and local content. Through advocacy and through our commitment to open source technology, CUWiN supports organic networks that grow to meet the needs of their communities. About CCI (http://cci.cs.loyola.edu) The Center for Community Informatics engages Loyola College’s students, faculty and staff in supporting the creation and deployment of informatics tools for community empowerment. CCI develops the Community Telecenter Free Software Toolset; promotes awareness events for the Loyola College community; offer courses in Community Informatics; promotes Digital Inclusion Conferences; researches and develops human-friendly technologies to facilitate inclusion in the New Society of Knowledge; and, evaluates, documents and develops sustainable models for Universal Access to Informatics. # # # -- WISPA Wireless List: wireless@wispa.org Subscribe/Unsubscribe: http://lists.wispa.org/mailman/listinfo/wireless Archives: http://lists.wispa.org/pipermail/wireless/
[WISPA] International Summit for Community Wireless Networks (May 18-20, 2007, Washington, DC): CALL FOR PANELS.
We're finishing up the program -- so please get panel ideas in quick! --Sascha *** PLEASE FORWARD *** CALL FOR PANELS -- Due May 1, 2007 International Summit for Community Wireless Networks May 18-20, 2007, Washington, DC Send panel proposals and questions to: [EMAIL PROTECTED] Register now online: http://www.cuwin.net/summit/registration Since the first National Summit for Community Wireless Networks in 2004, hundreds of community Internet and municipal broadband projects have sprung up in the United States and around the globe. Broadband access is increasingly important to all facets of civil society, but many communities are being left out of this communications revolution. High-speed broadband access is the electricity of the 21st century, yet many rural and poorer urban communities are being left off the grid, says Ben Scott, policy director of Free Press, a DC-based policy think-tank. The innovators and organizers at the International Summit for Community Wireless Networks are blazing the trail to make broadband affordable and available to everyone. The Community Wireless Networking (CWN) movement has evolved since its beginnings in the 1990s. Although it has made impressive strides in the area of developing autonomous mesh networks, the larger success of the CWN movement has been the encouragement of citizens, small businesses, and local governments to get involved in local telecom infrastructure as important stakeholders. More than ever we are taking hands-on approaches to ensure that our communities have the telecommunications infrastructure necessary for an inclusive, dynamic and socially just future. Although there is still a focus on the wireless, CWN's have served as rallying points for local movements for advocacy of the local public interest of telecom infrastructure. Wireless networking is about far more than Internet connectivity, states Sascha Meinrath, Summit Director. It's about building next-generation multi-media services for communities, fostering economic justice, and facilitating a vibrant arts and cultural scene. This year, Summit organizers are focused on the social and economic justice aspects of wireless technologies and the impacts of community broadband on civil societies worldwide. With this in mind, the Champaign-Urbana Community Wireless Network (CUWiN) and the Center for Community Informatics (CCI) are hosting the International Summit for Community Wireless Networks from May 18-20, 2007 at Loyola College in Columbia, Maryland and are looking for panel ideas from throughout the wireless community to flesh out the Summit program. The Summit focuses on how wireless networks can better serve their target populations, the policies needed to support broader deployment of community wireless systems, and the latest technological and software innovations in the field. We invite your submission and participation in this year's International Summit for Community Wireless Networks to discuss and exchange ideas on how to make universal broadband access a reality. More information is available at: http://www.wirelesssummit.org The Summit serves as a space were citizens, creators of technologies, businesspeople, policy advocates can gather to learn from one another and develop new ideas on how to support telecommunications infrastructures that serve the needs of communities. Please join us in Washington, DC, May 18-20, 2007. Register now at: http://www.cuwin.net/summit/registration CALL FOR PANELS: Interested presenters are encouraged to propose innovative panels focusing on the three themes for the Summit: technology, policy, and implementation. The International Summit for Community Wireless Networks distinguishes itself from typical technical and academic conferences by engaging all participants in an ongoing dialog that encourages a strategic approach to community wireless network development and telecommunications policy reform. Panelists will not simply present their own work and opinions -- they will also serve as facilitators of a process that records lessons learned and help produce a comprehensive to-do list of action items for the coming months and years. While three days is not long enough to develop a truly comprehensive strategic plan, panels at the Summit represent a significant opportunity for thinkers, developers, and stakeholders to produce substantial recommendations to support the development of community wireless networks. The Summit is, in essence, a gathering of leaders in the field and an opportunity to shape the future of this movement. Past panels can be reviewed at: http://www.cuwin.net/2006summit/2006schedule Panel ideas will be accepted on a rolling basis and must be received no later than May 1, 2007. Please send panel proposals and questions to: [EMAIL PROTECTED] Travel stipends are available for speakers with financial need. -- WISPA Wireless List: wireless@wispa.org Subscribe/Unsubscribe: http://lists.wispa.org/mailman
[WISPA] CUWiN Releases CUWiNware 0.7.0
From Team CUWiN: (more info at www.cuwin.net) CUWiN Releases CUWiNware 0.7.0 -- BETA. September 19, 2006 CUWiN announces a new version of its flagship software, CUWiNware 0.7.0. CUWiNware enables neighbors and communities to create a mesh wireless network that can share Internet connections, establish local VoIP services, and utilize peer-to-peer connections to improve their broadband experience. CUWiNware 0.7.0 makes community networking easier to use than ever before. CUWiNware is free open source software, which makes network deployment as much as 75% cheaper than proprietary systems. CUWiNware version 0.7.0 makes great strides forward in usability and reliability. Dual radio support is the most visible addition to CUWiNware, allowing a single node to provide a public access point in addition to providing network infrastructure. Network traffic is handled more reliably. It also makes gateway configuration more robust. Logging synchronization simplifies network administration, in addition to a test version of a web-based configuration tool. CUWiNware 0.7.0 also supports more diverse hardware. “The effect of version 0.7.0 will soon be felt in the local Champaign-Urbana community, as the City of Urbana converts their current nodes into dual-radio nodes, providing free wireless Internet hotspots in places like Crane Alley, the Market on the Square, and Lincoln Square Mall,” said CUWiN Outreach Coordinator Ross Musselman. “This release brings us another step closer to the kind of networks we envision: user owned and operated broadband networks.” For the technical community, CUWiNware 0.7.0 marks a major step forward in community wireless networking: * Dual radio allows a single node to act both as backhaul for the network and as an access point for public use. * Improved routing fidelity and routing daemon reliability, implements a more robust DHCPselect feature for gateway auto-configuration, * Syncing of HSLS daemon logs with Zebra logs for better debugging, * Non-i386 architectures support, including nascent support for the Atheros AR5312. * NodeConfig, a web-based graphical user interface that allows the user to change the node's settings through a web browser. Version 0.7.0 contains a beta version of this feature, which can be accessed by typing the IP of the node into one's browser. Release Notes: CUWiNware Version 0.7.0 was released on September 19, 2006. CUWiN’s three-part mission is to: - Connect more people to Internet and broadband services; - Develop open-source software for use by wireless projects world-wide; - Build support community not-for-profit broadband networks worldwide. For more information, contact: Ross Musselman, CUWiN Outreach Coordinator Email: [EMAIL PROTECTED] Tel: +1 217 278-3933 x.30 -- Sascha Meinrath Executive Director * Principal * President CUWiN *** The Ethos Group *** Acorn Active Media CUWireless.Net * EthosWireless.com * AcornActiveMedia.com -- WISPA Wireless List: wireless@wispa.org Subscribe/Unsubscribe: http://lists.wispa.org/mailman/listinfo/wireless Archives: http://lists.wispa.org/pipermail/wireless/
[WISPA] Durbin Bill Follow-Up.
Hi all, When I met with Durbin's staff at the end of July, we talked a lot about provisions 1 3 that are now in the bill. However, I've also just learned that there may be a poison pill in the bill that makes unlicensed use of the TV broadcast spectrum illegal (which is also something that me and a lot of other folks have been working on for quite some time), which would change my take on the bill rather dramatically. I'm following up with Durbin's folks this week, so if there's any message/info I should pass along, just let me know, --Sascha -- Sascha Meinrath Executive Director * Principal * President CUWiN *** The Ethos Group *** Acorn Active Media CUWireless.Net * EthosWireless.com * AcornActiveMedia.com -- WISPA Wireless List: wireless@wispa.org Subscribe/Unsubscribe: http://lists.wispa.org/mailman/listinfo/wireless Archives: http://lists.wispa.org/pipermail/wireless/
Re: [WISPA] BellSouth rescinds N.O. donation
Hi all, Date: Tue, 6 Dec 2005 10:33:00 -0600 From: Joe Laura [EMAIL PROTECTED] Subject: Re: [WISPA] BellSouth rescinds N.O. donation To: WISPA General List wireless@wispa.org And with bell having to rebuild their whole infrastructure here in New Orleans its a bigger slap in the face IMO. The hotel owners are pretty upset with this as well. Ya, the City has really ruffled some feathers over this move. Regardless of whether or not the City of New Orleans government needs a spanking ;) -- I have a fairly different take on this matter, one less focused on the specifics of the New Orleans/BellSouth fiasco and more oriented toward BellSouth's general business strategy. BellSouth is clearly attempting to leverage it's market dominance in one area (wireline communications) to prevent competition in a different realm (in this case, wireless networking). This is exactly the type of dynamic that anti-trust laws were intended to keep in check. BellSouth's actions in New Orleans are just the most recent manifestation of a strategy that _will_ be utilized against folks like us (e.g., independent ISPs). BellSouth has systematically attempted to prevent any sort of competition within their service areas -- their New Orleans tantrum is only the latest example. I wrote up a brief piece about some of their most recent actions here: http://www.saschameinrath.com/2005dec04bellsouths_shame I'm sure there are numerous ways in which the City of New Orleans needs reforming -- but BellSouth's actions are targeted against any and all competitive entities -- they will certainly focus on WISPA members down the road. Instead of blaming New Orleans for what is obviously a widespread business strategy, I'd recommend focusing on BellSouth, who clearly isn't interested in playing well with others and has a well-documented history of using its market power to bully others. --Sascha -- Sascha Meinrath Policy Analyst* Project Coordinator * President Free Press *** CUWiN *** Acorn Active Media www.freepress.net * www.cuwireless.net * www.acornactivemedia.com -- WISPA Wireless List: wireless@wispa.org Subscribe/Unsubscribe: http://lists.wispa.org/mailman/listinfo/wireless Archives: http://lists.wispa.org/pipermail/wireless/
