Wireless community network

Wireless community networks or wireless community projects are the largely

hobbyist-led development of interlinked computer networks using wireless LAN
technologies, taking advantage of the recent development of cheap, standardised 802.11b
(Wi-Fi) devices to build growing clusters (group of the same or similar elements
gathered) of linked, citywide networks, or in rural areas where conventional DSL services
are unavailable. Some are being used to link to the wider Internet, particularly where
individuals can obtain unmetered internet connections such as ADSL and/or cable
modem at fixed costs and share them with friends. Where such access is unavailable or
expensive, they can act as a low-cost partial alternative, as the only cost is the fixed cost
of the equipment.

Most wireless community network projects are coordinated by citywide user groups who
freely share information and help using the Internet. They often spring up as a grassroots
movement offering free, anonymous Internet access to anyone with WiFi capability.

Community networks differ from other wireless hotspots, which are usually put up for
commercial purposes, often offering paid-for internet. They also differ from independent
privately owned open wireless access points offering anyone within range free internet
access.

Many of these community networks are run on a voluntary basis and can be compared to
other voluntary groups focussed around local issues. Like other voluntary groups they
have sometimes found their greatest challenges are not technical (e.g. developing
affordable internet access in a local area) but social; encouraging and sustaining volunteer
input, a critical mass of users, and devising a sustainable organisational model. Some
groups have splintered as individual participants follow their own goals, or found it
difficult to maintain a user base when large corporate internet service suppliers have
reduced the price of broadband connectivity and increased availability.

An alternative to the voluntary model is to use a co-operative structure. This is the model
which has been encouraged by Community Broadband Network in the UK. A successful
example is the Alston Cybermoor in Alston, UK.

It may be that community networks represent an alternative model to corporate

broadband provision in niche markets, or that they represent the early adaptor phase of a
new technology moving into the marketplace.

The biggest community network is CZFree.NET, which connects more than 20,000
computers in Prague and other cities.
In the U.S. many government efforts to develop public-private partnerships or sole efforts
in pursuit of the community wireless and wired network have ended in drastic failure.
When initially voted in by the public they are sold as utopian endeavors. However, once
financed they may fail to deliver due to poor implementation, competition and poor
product offerings.[1]

There are three distinct generations of wireless mesh networks being employed in
community mesh networks today. In the first generation one radio provides both backhaul
(packet relaying) and client services (access to a laptop). In the second generation, one
radio relayed packets over multiple hops while another provided client access. This
significantly improved backhaul bandwidth and latency. Third generation wireless mesh
products use two or more radios for the backhaul for higher bandwidth and low latency.
Third generation mesh products are replacing previous generation products as more
demanding applications like voice and video need to be relayed wirelessly over many
hops of the mesh network.