Community Wireless in Vancouver - FON, Meraki, something else?
So, in recent discussions with folks like Darren Barefoot as well as David Vogt of Mobile Muse (and, of course, kicking the idea around the Bryght offices), it's become clear that community wireless in Vancouver is something that really should happen. We've got the Olympics in 2010 staring us in the face, and it seems like that's a good deadline to try and accomplish a variety of innovative things.
BC Wireless has been around for quite some time, but hasn't really crossed over from the geek side. Actually, I need to give it some more time. I reactivated the wiki account I have there and spent some time looking at the various projects going on. The "to do" of analyzing the various hardware access points that are available looks promising.
While involvement from the various Vancouver municipalities would be ideal, there are other things that can happen from a grassroots perspective. This led me to start poking around some of the technology pieces.
Both FON and Meraki look interesting. Anyone have pointers to similar, off-the-shelf inexpensive wireless access points? Mesh solutions
FON is closely related to voice / VoIP "stuff" and has a compact router for $30US including shipping. That's cheap enough to pick up a couple just to mess around with. Oops! Except their store only lists the US under North America...The discussion of "what is FON" which describes the range of sharing to pay users is a good place to start. If there is interest (leave a comment) I'll try and get a contact with FON about doing a bulk / special order to Canada. Or at least, Vancouver for starters.
Meraki has had some investment from Google and is currently in beta for both pricing and the service. The hardware units are tied to a back end management system for which they also charge for. I sent an email asking about the beta program and got a price list. The nice thing is that they also have ruggedized outdoor units as opposed to the cheap indoor FON units. As well, they are a mesh solution, so can seamlessly cover wide areas.
I sent a follow up email essentially asking "Why Meraki?"...I guess I'm leery of getting locked into a backend management system that charges fees. FON of course has a system as well, but doesn't charge end users directly.
I'll leave it up to Darren to post a poll / survey asking if you would share your home and/or business data connection in order to help blanket Vancouver in wireless...
Other interesting community wireless projects in Canada include Wireless Toronto and île Sans Fil (Montreal).
Similar
- Vancouver.FreeTheNet.Ca - Community Wireless in your neighbourhood
- Vancouver Wireless Cadre Kick Off Meeting
- Congrats to John and Igor at Handimobility - LiveVote launched
- Media appearance: Tod Maffin's CBC technology column - more on FreeTheNet.ca
- Vancouver.FreeTheNet.Ca - how to buy your wireless mesh node
Comments
Meraki for Mesh
Like you, I am also very interested in this inexpensive mesh technology.
As far as I can tell, the FON is not a mesh router so it wasn't a good solution for me.
I have ordered 3 Meraki Mini's as part of the beta program. They work great, although I have not been able to test them out much since I am limited in space at my house. I did have one opportunity to spread the 3 routers out to their limits. Everything worked as expected, and the management system works fine.
It is true that you have to pay a monthly fee. It is feasible that there will be free open-source management code to replace the mini's current software. I read that Carnegie Melon has released a free port of their mesh software for the Meraki.
I am with a non-profit in Atlanta that is working to build apartment-wide mesh wireless networks in low-income areas so users can share Internet costs. We were inspired by the group NetEquality (http://www.netequality.org) who is doing the same thing in Portland. They exclusively use Meraki routers and have reported great success with them.
Awesome
Thanks so much for your feedback, Tyler.
I think that both FON and Meraki have their space. I plan to experiment with both, although getting FON is going to be more challenging since they don't currently ship to Canada. The FON option really is more of a consumer / home user option. People can be encouraged to just try it out on their own. With Meraki and the mesh, you can plan to cover certain areas.
The news about the Carnegie Mellon angle is great. Will have to investigate that more...
Agreed
You're right, they probably both have their place. But in the future, hopefully we will see more of these products establish some sort of open network. As far as I know, right now if you want to join an existing Meraki mesh network, you have to have a Meraki min. Fon has the same type of thing with it's network of subscribers. This is a pretty sound marketing strategy for them, but not ideal for the rest of us.
Also, I need to correct what I said about Carnegie Mellon, it was actually Champaign-Urbana. Here is their wireless project (which has been ported to the Meraki mini): http://www.cuwireless.net/
Keep us informed on how things go. Cheers,
Tyler
Meraki very tempting
I jumped on the bandwagon and ordered myself a fon box (sure with the intention of loading DDWRT - but thats besides the point)
Fon's model has broadband subscribed users sharing their capacity for the freedom of freely surfing other fellow FONero's when they're outside the home.
There is nothing in the way of detailed monitoring that I can see. I have the eval unit in Toronto if you'd like scans of the docs or anything.
Especially since the detailed coverate in Engadget, I've become more interested in Meraki. I'm sold, except for the monetization aspect. What does a "login" mean to a user. In Toronto our beloved Toronto Hydro OneZone has us loging in and leaving windows open each time we want access. Do users have the option (mini) to port this into a router with a DSL or PPPoE type login?
It seems to me your main objection was the pay-for backend. Im getting the feeling that this "dashboard" has become a free roll in. Is this the case or am I missing the fine print.
The Meraki model of total shared capacity and limited end-user investment is extremely appealing, and would seem like an easy sell. It's this looming question mark about an ongoing cost back to Meraki.
Can anyone shed some light?
Would you consider bumping this back to the main page for additional discussion? I've googled around and cant seem to find an reasonable walkthroughs.
Meraki
The Meraki equipment / backend software is really impressive - there have been quite a few changes since your post - I would check out netequality.org and the meraki forums to keep up on the latest info. One of the main roadblocks is the lack of "sharing" friendly ISPs in Vanocuver. I wasted 2 days hunting for a provider...the 2 I found (for Vancouver) were business only - Radiant.net ($100/month / $200 install - DSL) and Metrobridge (>$200 + big $$$ install - wireless).
If anyone out there knows about consumer DSL that allows sharing OR is interested in starting a Freenet project in Vancouver - get in touch with me - mwest at geodata . ca - i have started a few nodes in Kitsilano (using the Meraki system) and I can save you a hassle on the equip (watch out for duty if you order them direct!). I have only lived in Vancouver a short time, but it seems net neutrality /media consoidation / etc. are fringe issues here - especially sad since Shaw and Telus are cited globally as 2 of the worst ISPs and Vancouver might possibly be the most consolidated media in North America. I am sure if yoga or the "cute things for my baby or tiny dog" market was controlled by 1 company, people would be outraged.
cyber mesh launched meshzone in Vancouver
I don't know much about meshzone. Or how the revenue model works.
I have a fon wifi in Hong Kong. It works well, but the sign in is a pain and it does not mesh. As a result I can not recommend fon.
So as a result I have left my wifi router open besides the fon wifi. I did get a letter from my isp indicating that someone at some time downloaded a DRM p2p over it. They claimed it was my responability since I did not secure my wifi. But that was a load of crap, so I told them I would cancel my account with them. They backed down and admitted that an open wifi is not illegal. Currently I have a bandwidth limit on the wifi which seems keep p2p from being a significant problem. I do know there is p2p filtering software that can be used. But personally I don't care whether people download their openoffice or linux via p2p or ftp. So I wont' block it, I just limit the bandwidth.
Don't use Meraki
http://www.virishi.net/from-happy-hacking-screw-you-story-meraki
Better to use B.A.T.M.A.N.N or a RO.B.I.N based mesh setup from ACCON, sill looking for the manuals on how to flash the hardware but it's cheap ($50 / ap) and aimed at MAN's, Meraki will reflash thier firmware at will.