>The Seattle Wireless Network had a huge meeting yesterday with >presentations by founders and leaders of most of the large wireless >networks in the world. Amazing group of guys, one after another from >BAWUG (www.bawug.org), the London Consume net, NY wireless, BC, >Portland, etc. including developers of the 802.11x specification, >Nocat (http://www.oreillynet.com/pub/a/wireless/2001/11/09/nocatauth.html) > >These guys are building fabrics that will route at 10Mbps all over their >regions for free. The meeting was streamed over the internet live. >There are photos which you can find in the list archives of Seattle Wireless, >http://www.seattlewireless.net/index.cgi/FrontPage There were approx. >100 people. > >My understanding was these folks had all come to Seattle for meetings, >to working on global coordination of IP spaces, routing, stuff like that. > >There are some fascinating technical differences between the >wireless networks in different cities. > >Driven by circumstances >------------------------ >In the UK for example, Wireless ISPs (WISPs) cannot happen because >802.11 is strictly nonbusiness. And, 802.11 is limited to 10 milliwatts >(1/10th of the US). Internet access is killingly expensive; many APs >are underground activities. > >NY for example has a horrible deficiency in line-of-sight connectivity >between buildings, and a relative surplus of megabit internet access by >corporations so it has mostly access points (APs) hanging off DSL and T1 >lines. > >Driven by culture/technical differences >------------------------------------------ >Seattle generally regards DSL sharing as out of scope and generally >distasteful. Seattle seems to be building a routed network with lots of >APs supported by lots of crosstown links with highly directional >antennas. Seattle says they're just going to build a whole parallel, free, >internet. PersonalTelco in Portland seems to believe in an ideological >purity of omnidirectional antennas, with a long term vision of mesh >networking. I seem to understand Seattle would have Nocat portals as >the prevailing practice? Where Portland would be more like a self- >organized Nokia Rooftop network >http://www.wirelessnewsfactor.com/perl/story/12619.html (Rooftop >constructs mesh networks on the fly. None of the free wireless networks >are anywhere near the "Rooftop" capability.) > >My understanding is that the mathematics of mesh networks and swarmcast >demonstrate an interesting phenomenon that the more nodes who stick >their antenna into the cloud, the more routes appear and there is a >virtuous circle of improving performance. > >Instead of heat death, from congestion you get a virtuous cycle of >greater capacity. Fsckin unbelievable. Unregulated, and all but >unregulatable. Just like oral speech and visual eyesight-- except >having unlimited range. > >I sat next to Tim Pozar, got a free 20-mnute tutorial on long distance >links. His team has transbay links of 15-20 miles in the >http://www.bawug.org community. We need some 5 mile links across >a lake to reach SWN. Tim's a founder of BAWUG and his papers are >at http://www.lns.com/papers/ > >Imagine the possibilities! No. Plan on them. > >Todd > > > > >------ Meeting Announcement -------- > >From: [EMAIL PROTECTED] >Subject: SeattleWireless: Special Meeting 01/06/2002 > >Sunday! Sunday! Sunday! >Wireless Meeting in Georgetown! > > http://www.seattlewireless.net/?SummitJanuary2002 > >The WirelessSummit is your chance to meet organizers, contributors >vendors and enthusiasts from other wireless groups across the western >world. If you can only make it to one meeting this month, this is the >one >to be at! > >You will hear from group leaders and contributors, See cool hacks, >Check out the latest hardware and software and you may even get FREE >STUFF! > >Which Wireless groups will be represented? > > - BAWUG (San Francisco) > - BCWireless (Vancouver, BC) > - Consume > - NoCat (Sebastapol, CA) > - NYC Wireless (New York City) > - PersonalTelco (Portland) > - Austin Wireless (TX) > - and of course, SeattleWireless :) > >...
