Juuso Koponen
Tue, 28 Aug 2001 02:44:05 -0700
................................. To leave Commie, hyper to http://commie.oy.com/commie_leaving.html ................................. Hey, this sounds cool. > http://www.infoworld.com/articles/hn/xml/01/08/24/010824hnfreewireless.xml?0827mnam > > giessel > > By Ephraim Schwartz > August 24, 2001 4:34 pm PT > > AN UNDERGROUND MOVEMENT to deploy free wireless access > zones in metropolitan areas is taking hold. If it turns out to be > successful, wireless network operators may be fighting against a > grounds-up movement that could undermine their multibillion-dollar > campaign to offer next-generation 3G (third-generation) wireless services > in major metro areas. > > The movement, called by some the "parasitic grid" and by > others more simply the "free metro wireless data network," has already > installed itself in New York; San Francisco; Seattle; Aspen, Colo., > Portland, Ore., Britis Columbia; and London. > > "If you have enough of these in place and spread out > effectively, you have created what is referred to as a parasitic grid: > multiple wireless-served areas. If you have enough you would have > connectivity nationally," said J. R. Bibb, a technology advisor to Shell > Oil in Houston. Bibb was offering his own opinion as a technologist and > was not speaking for Shell Oil. > > What it is all about is the use of a technology called > 802.11b, a standard for wireless Ethernet that works on an unlicensed > portion of the wireless spectrum. At a performance of 11Mb per second, it > is in fact five times faster than the best speeds promised by all the > major wireless network operators for 3G services. > > "The major goal is to build up the 802.11b infrastructure > inside the city. If you have a home that is connected to the Internet, for > example, I use your connection and you can use mine," said Matt > Westervelt, one of the originators of what he likes to call a "symbiotic > grid" rather than a parasitic one. > > Westervelt talks about a network of volunteers deploying, > at their own expense, a wireless access point on the outside of their > home, or at worst at a window, with the access point connected to the > volunteer's PC. > > The access point, as the name implies, gives users within > range of any one of these access points who have a wireless LAN card in > their mobile device a connection to any other device or node on the same > LAN. > > Once a more or less complete grid of access points are put > up around a city, grid participants could connect into the LAN to access > numerous services, including a free alternative to fee-based cellular > networks. Voice services over 802.11b are typically referred to as VoIP > (voice over IP). > > Other services envisioned include information distribution > for city services, free e-mail for all citizens, and, for a > budget-strapped city government, inexpensive access to Internet terminals > in public places such as libraries. > > "Presumably these free metro wireless access could help to > erase the digital divide," said Scott Kennedy, one of nine candidates for > mayor for the city of Seattle and owner of the BitStar Caf in the city. > > The concept is based around community-minded volunteers, > who would, for example give anyone within range of their access point, > about 300 feet in all directions, a connection to the Internet using the > volunteer's ISP. > > "Internet access will be the primary mover for these free > networks. Sharing a cable modem or a DSL line might annoy some folks > [broadband providers], but it's probably legal," said Phil Belanger, vice > president of wireless business development at Wayport Inc. in Austin, > Texas, a for-profit provider of 802.11b services at airports and hotels. > > Belanger sees the free metro access movement as a good > thing for wireless in general. > > "There will always be venues where it is free and venues > where you get dinged for it, and that is where WayPort will play," > Belanger said. > > "I like the idea of citizens creating a bottom-up approach. > The network is owned by the users. The idea is there and the talent is > there. This is a story about wireless technology that cannot be ignored. > It is like Linux. It is not going away," Kennedy said. > > Contributing to its mass appeal are the low-cost solutions > available. For less than $100, a volunteer can buy an access point, and > Kennedy says he uses a Pringles potato chip can in his coffee shop to > enhance network performance. Performance degrades the farther away from an > access point a user is located. > > "Since I put in the Pringles can, I get a really strong > signal," Kennedy said. > > No doubt, says an antenna specialist at AT&T Labs. > > "Imagine the Pringles can is a telescope and you are > looking through it. You put a stub of wire poking in the middle of the > can. The aluminum foil on the inside lining of the Pringles can acts like > a wave guide. Put some pieces of metal inside, and for pennies you have a > high-gain antenna. It magnifies the signal along the line of site from > the Pringles [can] to the access point," said Bruce McNair, a technology > consultant at AT&T Labs in Murray Hill, N.J. > > On the West Coast, the movement started in Seattle Capitol > Hill neighborhood, which already had a large concentration of technically > oriented residents, according to one of its founders, Matt Westervelt. > > "It started as a community thing -- a network designed on > the idea that you trust your neighbor to route your network and they trust > you. It says a lot about your neighbors. I am going to point my antenna, > and we can exchange traffic," he said. > > The main goal, according to Westervelt, is no transit fees > for Seattle. > > "We are building a transit-free network," he said. > > Another benefit that Westervelt sees is for small > businesses. Anybody can put up a server on the community network and put a > shopping cart on it, and it doesn't cost you several thousand dollars. > Even small businesses that want to employ at-home workers can use the > network as a low-cost telecommuter solution. > > Kennedy says it is hard to predict where these free > networks will go, but one thing is certain: They are not going unnoticed > by the giant wireless network operators. > > "We are aware of the free services springing up and are > considering 802.11b wireless access as well, not in place of currently > scheduled rollouts but as an adjunct," said an AT&T Wireless > spokesperson. Other major infrastructure providers to the wireless rollout > in public places, such as at airports and hotels, are also poised to > connect together metropolitan areas around the country. > > There are these "aggregators," points out Wayport's > Belanger, "still in stealth mode" who will take these public access > networks and connect them all together. > > The aggregators have designed software that resides in the > mobile device and can find any available network and connect the user to > it. It identifies all the access points in range. > > "It even would be able to say, 'Here is a list of the > networks found' and indicate which are free and which charge a fee," > Belanger said. > > "It would let the user decide which one they want to > connect to," Belanger said. > > The movement started by people such as Westervelt and used > by early adopters such as caf owner and mayoral candidate Kennedy > certainly has a 1960s ring to it. Belanger said some call it the "hippie" network. > > Certainly there is a lot of strong feeling that may carry > the "parasitic grid" far beyond what the giant wireless > providers may think of now as a minor annoyance into a > full-fledged competitor to its own services. > > "The idea is that we can be what we want it to be instead > of what they want it to be. I want to be a part of this. I don't want to > be a reason why it doesn't happen," Kennedy said. >