Community Wireless Networks, the Digital Divide,

1
Community Wireless Networks, the Digital Divide,
the Case for Mesh

• Sascha D. Meinrath
• Champaign-Urbana Community Wireless Network
  (CUWiN)
• Institute of Communications Research, University
  of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign
• Available Online http//www.saschameinrath.com/wr
  itings.html
• Correspondence Sascha Meinrath
  sascha_at_cuwireless.net [phone]
• 115 West Main Street, Second Floor
• Urbana, IL 61801
• U.S.A.
• Presented as a part of Municipal Wireless
  Networks Bridging the Broadband Digital Divide.
  Washington, DC. Feb. 22, 2005

2
Hub Spoke Networks

• Centralized
• Relatively expensive
• Bandwidth-intensive
• High-power
• Single point-of-failure

3
Community Media Historically

• 1700s Newspapers
• 1840s Telegraph
• 1900s Telephone
• 1920s Radio
• Post WWII Television/Public Access TV
• Today Broadband (Internet) Connectivity

4
The Rationale Behind Community Wireless Networks
I
Data Collected by Prof. Christian Sandvig
ltcsandvig_at_uiuc.edugt

• Low SES
• Medium Density
• Government Subsidized Housing

5
The Rationale Behind Community Wireless Networks
II
Data Collected by Prof. Christian Sandvig
ltcsandvig_at_uiuc.edugt

• Medium SES
• Medium Density
• Immigrant Community

6
The Rationale Behind Community Wireless Networks
III
Data Collected by Prof. Christian Sandvig
ltcsandvig_at_uiuc.edugt

• High SES
• High Density
• Young Professional Neighborhood

7
Mesh Networks

• Decentralized
• By-passes obstacles
• Relatively cheap
• Low-power
• Very fast

8
Closed Networks

• Proprietary
• Expensive software
• Immature technology
• Factionalizes communities

9
Open Networks

• More secure
• Cheap/free software
• Open source
• Allows community resources on the network

10
Static Networks

• Fragile
• Non-scalable
• Time-intensive

11
Dynamic Networks

• Robust
• Scalable
• Adaptable

12
Community Wireless Networks

• Small locally-based
• Often non-profit, unincorporated, municipally
  supported, hybrid partnerships
• Usually utilize off-the-shelf hardware
• Action/results-oriented
• Mission to support both social economic
  development

13
Social Benefits

• Every citizen has the opportunity to be a media
  producer broadcasting Internet radio,
  self-publishing journalism, displaying art
  projects, etc.
• Universities, colleges, and K-12 classrooms can
  cheaply establish wireless networks creating
  tremendous infrastructure and maintenance savings
  versus wired networks.
• Health-care providers can transfer information to
  patients with limited mobility as well as
  exchange patient information among doctors,
  clinics, pharmacies, and hospitals.
• Wireless networks facilitate e-government
  initiatives such as online voter registration,
  directions to polling stations, bill payment,
  access to tax advice, and public service
  announcements.
• Wireless infrastructures offer job creation
  opportunities as businesses take advantage of
  lower barriers to market entry and the advantages
  of high-speed, low-cost communications.

14
CUWiNs 4-Part Mission

• Connectivity
• Provide Internet connectivity to network users.
• Development
• Program software and build hardware for use by
  other wireless projects throughout the United
  States and around the globe.
• Dissemination
• Distribute open-source software and hardware
  specs to interested people and organizations.
• Implementation
• Build and support sustainable, not-for-profit
  communications networks in communities throughout
  the world.

15
CUWiN Network (Sept. 2004)
16
Downtown Urbana Wireless Plan
17
Conclusions

• Mesh CWNs offer more (and faster)services to end
  users at cheaper prices.
• Mesh CWNs are a viable technological alternative.
• Like the Internet itself, Mesh CWNs create new
  media production and information dissemination
  opportunities limited only by our own
  imaginations.

18
For More Information

• Sascha D. Meinrath CUWiN Free
  Press
• sascha_at_cuwireless.net www.cuwireless.net
  www.freepress.net/communityinternet
• Power Point presentation will be available online
  at
• http//www.saschameinrath.com/writings.html

19
Other People's Networks (OPeN)
Blue circles standard consumer WAP Red
circles CWN w/ OPeN enhancement Purple
details are links created across blue WAPs Red
(CWN) nodes act as clients. Blue nodes only used
for layer 2 transport In this example a route is
created over OPN from A-D D-E E-C etc. that
by traditional methods would not be possible