Ben West
Wed, 20 May 2009 20:24:21 -0700
Ooops, mistyped the URL: http://gowasabi.net/
On Wed, May 20, 2009 at 10:22 PM, Ben West <westbyw...@gmail.com> wrote: > 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 > -- Ben West westbyw...@gmail.com