Interesting thread and I keep hoping someone more knowledgeable will post, perhaps just the URLs, of how neighborhood wifi has been set up in cities already using MESH and similar technology.
There appears to be a need to recognize the many existing and nearing maturity software that enables free wifi, including bandwidth improvements. To think the city's firm doing the feasibility study would recommend writing software, expensive at that, even if done for free, when that wheel is already invented, and working in dozens of cities, if not hundreds throughout the world, and has been for years, I do not feel the firm will even think of that approach. This firm is going to get someone to supply something out of the can, turnkey, that the city can go with, sooner, not later. IMO. Also, recognition of the "many" audiences for free wifi, as if bandwidth hogs who have posted on this list to date, will really have this wifi "free." Perhaps, I am deceiving myself thinking the primary motivation behind free wifi is for those who can not afford the current telco copper wire net access monthly fees. Certainly, Juno.com provides free modem access, still in business, proving the ad revenue business model works for free access, that piggy backs on existing copper POTS. The points of the cost of upgrades reflects more on the perceived uses of the individual poster, a power computer user by the sounds of it, and a power net user. MESH can supply this level of bandwidth, though the last mile might be a burden on their neighbors. It's not like DSL and cable broadband do not have that issue already. Only fiber approaches solving the bandwidth issue. A client of mine in Ohio got fiber last week. 29meg/sec download, soon changing to 41. AT&T's u-Verse TV on demand service. Up to 3 channels/movies and 16meg/sec net access simultaneously. Wifi can do 54. It still beats fiber? Huh, go figure. Sure paid access "might" be faster. I was hoping to see others post on the Digital Divide motivation for free wifi. I was hoping someone would point out that free wifi means better education for the communities' children, thus better communities to live in, fewer gang shootings, etc, etc, etc. I was hoping someone would have read more of the city wifi site and realized most of the posting here has not reflected the reality of the direction the city is moving. And that some discussion of other possibilities for the city to go would be mentioned on this list. I was hoping to find advocates to join forces with to approach the city's selected feasibility firm and talk with them about alternative approaches they may not be considering. Infrastructure that is durable and lasting, and low cost, meaning in ten years it will still be present would be a powerful direction, and allow for future funding to superior speeds, by not spending a ton of money now, when the costs are the highest, and improvements just around the corner. Instead of piggybacking on the cities' street lighting for copper connectivity, perhaps fiber should be run in all new city construction? But is that needed? Why not an entire wifi network with even the backbone carried on wifi to a few NOCS where it means fiber? This means an antenna farm on top of street lights. Is the city's feasibility firm even considering this? But do I want that level of additional EMF density? I surely do not. I want more directional wifi, with less power, not more. So, likely I will be appalled by any alternatives that get proposed. I see the issues more in need of hardware solutions at this time. Software... that runs on top of the hardware, and certainly needs to be specified early, perhaps even before the hardware, as is typical in big business. Is the feasibility firm doing it this way? The proper way? Who is going to the meetings in a few days? Please post back here what directions this group, or just little old me, might be able to contribute. --~--~---------~--~----~------------~-------~--~----~ You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google Groups "SOCALWUG" group. To post to this group, send email to [email protected] To unsubscribe from this group, send email to [EMAIL PROTECTED] For more options, visit this group at http://groups.google.com/group/SOCALWUG SOCALWUG website: http://www.socalwug.org -~----------~----~----~----~------~----~------~--~---
