I've put up a Google site my collaborators to seeking public comment on the Cherokee St. wifi proposal. Forwarding along for those curious...
---------- Forwarded message ---------- From: Ben West <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> Date: Mon, Nov 24, 2008 at 1:57 PM Subject: Seeking input and comments on WasabiNet proposal for low-cost neighborhood Wifi on Cherokee St. Hi All, The group which presented last week a Mesh-Node Wifi network on Cherokee St. has been collecting its notes to further develop the proposal, and to address questions posed during the presentation. Here is our abstract: This is a proposal for installing low-cost Wi-Fi Internet along Cherokee Street using Community Mesh-Node Wifi, for an initial cost of $25,000. Since 2005 large companies like Google, academic researchers, and individual hobbyists have used Mesh Node Wifi to bring inexpensive Broadband access to their communities. This proposal also includes plans for a captive, multi-lingual portal to provide Wifi users a convenient information outlet about their neighborhood, along with a prototype Wifi-driven touch screen public kiosk that offers the portal to visitors and passers-by. The immediate social and cultural benefits will be: Neighborhood-wide Internet access which would help bridge the Digital Divide and connect its residents with essential resources like online education training, job databases, diverse entertainment media, and even low-cost international phone calls. Finally, this proposal advocates placing ownership of the WiFi network in the hands of subscribers themselves, to give them say in how the network is run, and to let them use their collective buying power to negotiate operating and equipment costs fairly. You can visit our collaboration site here to read up more on the proposal. http://sites.google.com/site/wasabinetwifi/ We welcome your comments! -- Ben West [EMAIL PROTECTED] http://savetheinternet.org
