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I'm considering doing some research into setting up a publicly available
wireless mesh network for my local community. I don't have any
experience in this area though, and was wondering if anyone had starters
tips. I'd like advice both on the social aspect (getting people to
join/contribute) and the technical aspect (security, hardware, software,
logistics, costs, etc...).

--
Daniel Pitts' Tech Blog: <http://virtualinfinity.net/wordpress/>

Daniel Pitts wrote:
> I'm considering doing some research into setting up a publicly available
> wireless mesh network for my local community. I don't have any
> experience in this area though, and was wondering if anyone had starters
> tips. I'd like advice both on the social aspect (getting people to
> join/contribute) and the technical aspect (security, hardware, software,
> logistics, costs, etc...).
>

First off: I know Jeff doesn't particularly favour wireless meshes (for
good reason), nor do many others. I'm going to assume that you're going
to establish one anyway.

Are you certain one doesn't already exist? Most cities have a mesh
project of their own already up and running - check to see if there is
one, and if so inquire about joining.

Basically, on the hardware side, you're going to need your own "base"
then provide services from this (ie. Internet, streaming radio/video).
And then you're going to need to get nodes to transmit these services
over a wide area. The way BrisMESH did this in one instance was to get
an educational institution whose premises are on a large hill behind the
project. In the end they let the mesh put antennas up on the top of
their roof (near the commercial antennas) and those are capable of
reliably transmitting up to 1km away in each direction, given LOS.

Hardware will be quite expensive in the end, so if you're doing this on
your own for the community's benefit it doesn't look like it's worth it.
You'll be needing a server, an AP (WRT54G's are favoured because you can
put custom firmware on them easily) or two, and then antennas. You'll
probably need to mount the AP's outside too, on your roof perhaps (if
this is in a residential situation).

Then your nodes are going to be needing at the very least an AP and a
good antenna. You're also going to be needing good, strategic places to
put your nodes. Use Google Earth to find possible sites - you'll also
need to analyze the elevation, LOS and Fresnel clearance.

That leads on to the next issue, community involvement. Have a look at
the BrisMESH node database - http://www.itee.uq.edu.au/~mesh/db2/index.php
The actual Brisbane mesh (and most of the nodes on it) were established
well before my interest in the project, but a database such as that one
can really help you work out potential nodes and their availability, as
well as help "recruit" folks to your mesh. So you let people add
themselves to the database (they become interested in letting you put
their equipment on their property) and then you work out how to get them
connected.

I hope I've given you a bit of an idea of what you need to do or at
least pointed you in the right direction for some examples of what
others have done.

All the best.

Daniel Pitts wrote:
> I'm considering doing some research into setting up a publicly available
> wireless mesh network for my local community. I don't have any
> experience in this area though, and was wondering if anyone had starters
> tips. I'd like advice both on the social aspect (getting people to
> join/contribute) and the technical aspect (security, hardware, software,
> logistics, costs, etc...).

By all means hire a professional for this.

EVEN the years of experience, it is not a trivial deployment
for even a professional.

For starters:

Free or advertisement biased subscription won't work, as Earthlink
and others have figured out.

* Figure an AP on ever third lightpole if you aren't using outside
mounted antennas an $1,000 for each light pole mounted AP.
* If outdoor mounted equipment, figure on $350 per subscriber your
cost, minimum.
* Figure on $500 per T1 that will support only 100 casual users.
* Figure on a full time IT professional for support.
* Figure $5,000 for a CALEA solution if you have paying subscribers
if your not comfortable rolling your own. And a mandatory 24x7
"SPOC" phone (single point of contact).

"Daniel Pitts" <(E-Mail Removed)> wrote in message
news:(E-Mail Removed). ..
> I'm considering doing some research into setting up a publicly available
> wireless mesh network for my local community. I don't have any experience
> in this area though, and was wondering if anyone had starters tips. I'd
> like advice both on the social aspect (getting people to join/contribute)
> and the technical aspect (security, hardware, software, logistics, costs,
> etc...).
>
> --
> Daniel Pitts' Tech Blog: <http://virtualinfinity.net/wordpress/>

Check out http://meraki.com/

Adair

Adair Winter wrote:

>
> Check out http://meraki.com/
>
> Adair
>
>
They rather upset a few of their customers earlier this year.
http://gigaom.com/2007/10/07/meraki-price-hike/
<http://forums.meraki.com/viewtopic.php?t=1841&postdays=0&postorder=asc&star t=0>

That sucks, had not noticed that.

Adair

"LR" <(E-Mail Removed)> wrote in message
news:(E-Mail Removed)...
> Adair Winter wrote:
>
>>
>> Check out http://meraki.com/
>>
>> Adair
> They rather upset a few of their customers earlier this year.
> http://gigaom.com/2007/10/07/meraki-price-hike/
> <http://forums.meraki.com/viewtopic.php?t=1841&postdays=0&postorder=asc&star t=0>

Daniel Pitts wrote:
> I'm considering doing some research into setting up a publicly available
> wireless mesh network for my local community. I don't have any
> experience in this area though, and was wondering if anyone had starters
> tips. I'd like advice both on the social aspect (getting people to
> join/contribute) and the technical aspect (security, hardware, software,
> logistics, costs, etc...).

From fiercebroadbandwireless.com edition Thu, 20 Dec 2007

[quote]
Meanwhile, the muni-WiFi market, which hit the upper curve of the hype
cycle in 2006, came crashing to reality as providers realized there
isn't much of a business case in offering free access to residents. The
technology's limitations became apparent. WiFi isn't meant to be a
high-scale network, and the cost to blanket a city is more than what was
ever anticipated.

2. The muni-WiFi market implodes

Headlines across the country announced the implosion of the muni-WiFi
market as EarthLink, one of the service's largest cheerleaders, pulled
back on its initiatives and some cities scrapped their WiFi plans.
EarthLink is now looking for strategic alternatives for the business,
aka sale, and several municipalities have canceled planned projects. The
problems: Usage is low in many cases, scalability has been a challenge,
devices and capabilities have been found to be wanting and business
models promising free community access have proven not to be be viable,
for the most part.

Is this a sign that the muni WiFi market has failed or is the industry
settling into a more rational period of deployment based on securing
cities as anchor tenants rather than free WiFi access for the masses? We
are seeing examples of muni-WiFi done right when the service is used to
better municipal services.

Daniel Pitts <(E-Mail Removed)> hath wroth:

>I'm considering doing some research into setting up a publicly available
>wireless mesh network for my local community. I don't have any
>experience in this area though, and was wondering if anyone had starters
>tips. I'd like advice both on the social aspect (getting people to
>join/contribute) and the technical aspect (security, hardware, software,
>logistics, costs, etc...).

Wireless mesh sucks.

Go unto:
<http://pdos.csail.mit.edu/roofnet/doku.php?id=interesting>
and read. It's a bit dense, but I think you can get the idea that
speeds are low, thruput sucks, capacity is limited, and error rates
are sky high. Mesh networks don't scale but that's not covered in the
test conclusions. See:
<http://wifinetnews.com/archives/003972.html>

See:
<http://isp-wireless.com>
for a mailing list that covers wireless ISP's. Yes, you're building
an ISP (internet service provider), with all the political, social,
economic, and business complications of running an ISP, with the added
enjoyment of a totally unreliable means of delivery.

I can offer more specific denunciations of mesh after you get some
numbers together. How big a community? What level of service are you
expecting to deliver? Who is paying the bills?

Incidentally, the "social aspect" of a WISP is primarily answering the
support phone, at odd hours, from irate customers. Running a WISP is
a great way to convert friends into irate customers.

--
Jeff Liebermann (E-Mail Removed)
150 Felker St #D http://www.LearnByDestroying.com
Santa Cruz CA 95060 http://802.11junk.com
Skype: JeffLiebermann AE6KS 831-336-2558

Jeff Liebermann wrote:
> Daniel Pitts <(E-Mail Removed)> hath wroth:
>
>> I'm considering doing some research into setting up a publicly available
>> wireless mesh network for my local community. I don't have any
>> experience in this area though, and was wondering if anyone had starters
>> tips. I'd like advice both on the social aspect (getting people to
>> join/contribute) and the technical aspect (security, hardware, software,
>> logistics, costs, etc...).
>
> Wireless mesh sucks.
>
> Go unto:
> <http://pdos.csail.mit.edu/roofnet/doku.php?id=interesting>
> and read. It's a bit dense, but I think you can get the idea that
> speeds are low, thruput sucks, capacity is limited, and error rates
> are sky high. Mesh networks don't scale but that's not covered in the
> test conclusions. See:
> <http://wifinetnews.com/archives/003972.html>
>
You could add this to your list as it also covers dual and multiple radios.

<http://www.belairnetworks.com/resources/pdfs/Mesh_Capacity_BDMC00040-C02.pdf>



> See:
> <http://isp-wireless.com>
> for a mailing list that covers wireless ISP's. Yes, you're building
> an ISP (internet service provider), with all the political, social,
> economic, and business complications of running an ISP, with the added
> enjoyment of a totally unreliable means of delivery.
>
> I can offer more specific denunciations of mesh after you get some
> numbers together. How big a community? What level of service are you
> expecting to deliver? Who is paying the bills?
>
> Incidentally, the "social aspect" of a WISP is primarily answering the
> support phone, at odd hours, from irate customers. Running a WISP is
> a great way to convert friends into irate customers.
>

On Fri, 21 Dec 2007 20:33:36 +0000, LR <(E-Mail Removed)> wrote:

>You could add this to your list as it also covers dual and multiple radios.
><http://www.belairnetworks.com/resources/pdfs/Mesh_Capacity_BDMC00040-C02.pdf>

Sure. Ummm... what list?

Thanks for the white paper link. I hadn't seen that one. BelAir was
one of the first vendors to sell dual radios, that don't have the
performance problems associated with single radio repeaters. I just
skimmed the PDF but it looks like they have the benefits fairly well
covered. However, they presented a large number of graphs without the
slightest clue as to how they were derived or where they were borrowed
from. I can't even tell if they're test results or MathCad/Matlab
simulations.

I just found the 2004 Philadelphia muni wireless mesh network business
plan at:
<http://www.phila.gov/wireless/pdfs/Wireless-Phila-Business-Plan-040305-1245pm.pdf>
The techy gibberish is at the bottom. I've read it several times and
fail to understand what they're doing (or trying to present). Anyway,
it's worth skimming if you're considering a large system.

More on Philadelphia:
<http://www.wirelessphiladelphia.org>
I gotta admit they're off to a fair start with coverage:
<http://www.wirelessphiladelphia.org/coverage_area.cfm>
15 square miles currently covered. Only 120 square miles to go. Oh
well.



--
# Jeff Liebermann 150 Felker St #D Santa Cruz CA 95060
# 831-336-2558 (E-Mail Removed)
# http://802.11junk.com (E-Mail Removed)
# http://www.LearnByDestroying.com AE6KS