SeattleWireless Node Fundraiser

[Casey Halverson]

SeattleWireless is not a "free internet hotspot provider".  We are
simply not in this business.  Although many of us do operate open,
free access points in high profile locations as a jump-on point to our
network -- and perhaps the internet too.

SeattleWireless is in the business of building lots of point-to-point
pipes in the Seattle area.  Transit on these pipes is, of course,
free.  What do you do with these pipes?  well, its up to you.  Think
of it as a giant LAN that spiderwebs across the city.

VoIP, video conferencing, high speed data transfers, games, etc. --
all at nearly no latency.  Some of our sites are/can have backup
power, which also makes our network resilient against natural or
man-made disasters.

A bunch of linksys hot-spots scattered around a city connected to
commodity internet is completely useless during these times -- or any
for that matter.

The problem with building such a network in the Seattle area is the
limitations of line-of-sight.  We simply have not found a high enough
location yet to really reach any point in the city.  This new tower
will give us this ability.

This new tower can also facilitate ad-hoc tie-ins, when needed.  This
will not only make next field day a blast (yes, its happening again
next year, i promise), but it makes emergency response a breeze
because it is so flexible.

All that is required is a small, book-size directional antenna and a
linux router that runs on about the same power as a nightlight.  Or
perhaps a laptop with a book-size antenna attached.

Sounds exciting to me!

On 11/29/05, Daevid Vincent <daevid at daevid.com> wrote:
> Can someone explain to me how this "works". What I mean is, there are plenty
> of free coffee shops and such. I almost never have trouble getting online in
> the city.
>
> What happens when you put this node up? Is it just a 'free node' sitting
> there and I'll be able to jump on it from anywhere in range? What is that
> range? And how do these other nodes in the network apply? Can I drive around
> the city and be online without interruption? Where exactly is it (on a map)?
> What is the radius of this proposed node alone? What will be the coverage
> area with this new node in place and considering all the other nodes that
> will be linked to it (on a map)?
>
> The Wiki page doesn't really answer any questions...
> http://seattlewireless.net/fundraiser/
>
> I'm all about supporting a good cause. And I'm all about the belief that
> wifi should be free (I run a Linux box with 8dbi antenna in Redmond, and
> it's an open node). I'm not trying to troll, I'm just confused as to what
> the benefit of this is when there are thousands of open nodes in the city
> (albeit not linked together).
>
> Sincerely,
>
> Daevid.
>
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