[mesh-dev] Progress update
April Glaser
april.glaser at riseup.net
Mon Mar 16 11:53:38 PDT 2015
Hey guys,
Yeah, that grant proposal definitely intertwined some aspirational
statements with our current progress. So maybe it wasn't the best
project update. But in any event, I think you're all really great. And I
think it'll be incredibly cool once we start to expand the network even
more.
I've sent out a handful of emails to folks who have been involved with
community network projects before to pick their brains about what stage
we are at, and I'll be in touch when they get back to me.
Two more questions:
-Are we fully switched at the Omni now to LMI?
-What do folks think about doing a test bed network here at xxxxxxxx
xxxxxx? There are a lot of people without Internet here because no ISP
will serve parts of the area because of weird zoning things. It makes it
hard for this community to organize and stay plugged in, and like at the
Omni, we'd have complete access to every house/cabin, mast, flagpole,
etc. That'd make it faster to install. And we'd buy our own equipment.
-- do we even need another test bed?
Peace,
April
On 3/13/15 3:23 PM, max b wrote:
> Hey Jenny,
>
> I really wish you wouldn't have publicly walked back April's statement
> like this. A number of people have different ideas for the next
> directions for this project, and I think one of the things we've
> realized lately is that when they don't align, we rely on eachother's
> good judgement and communication in order to not shout eachother down.
> In fact, I don't really agree with your statement:
>
> Namely, we're not intending to create a free-as-in-beer, fast,
> high-speed network, but rather the focus is on cultivating a
> community of participants sharing their existing bandwidth with a
> public, open network and developing local applications and
> services- all built by and for the people with resiliency in mind.
>
>
> I, for one, do intend in part to create a fast high-speed network
> which would allow folks to join with a sliding scale membership. I
> don't really think that anything in the grant proposal that April
> wrote up fundamentally contradicts our values or motives, so I'd
> prefer that if you have your own constructive additions you voice them
> without attempting to cancel out anyone else's.
>
> Thanks
>
> On Fri, Mar 13, 2015 at 12:30 PM, Jenny Ryan <tunabananas at gmail.com
> <mailto:tunabananas at gmail.com>> wrote:
>
> Hi Laura!
>
> Please use Marc's reply for the update - the grant application
> isn't a totally accurate portrayal of our goals, current progress
> and next steps. Namely, we're not intending to create a
> free-as-in-beer, fast, high-speed network, but rather the focus is
> on cultivating a community of participants sharing their existing
> bandwidth with a public, open network and developing local
> applications and services- all built by and for the people with
> resiliency in mind.
>
> Thanks for putting this together!
>
> On 03/13/2015 11:23 AM, Laura Turiano wrote:
> > Thanks Marc and April. This is so exciting and you are really being
> > thoughtful about the build out and testing.
> > Laura
> >
> > On 3/13/15 7:07 AM, April Glaser wrote:
> > > Hi Laura,
> > >
> > > To clarify, the $40 node isn't $40 a month for an Internet
> connection.
> > > It's the price of the antenna set up to connect to the network.
> > >
> > > So we're still working out the details on how we will distribute
> > > access to the network. Some parts of Oakland still report that
> less
> > > than 50% of residents have access to a reliable Internet
> connection.
> > > In those areas we might experiment with other methods of
> distribution.
> > > To that end, we're doing outreach to local organizations and
> the like
> > > to discuss how to best expand the network.
> > >
> > > Here's a description of our work that we used recently to
> apply for a
> > > grant, in case this also helps.
> > >
> > > *What's your project? What's below is about 30 words over. Can
> someone
> > > tighten it up?*
> > > We are a homegrown, community-owned network in Oakland, California
> > > working toprovide free Internet access at faster speeds than
> > > traditional providers.
> > > The People's OpenNetworkis dedicated to the idea that our
> community
> > > must have a central role in theoperation of ourcommunications
> > > networks. That is why we are building our own free network that
> > > provides high-speed, open access to the global Internet, while
> hosting
> > > local applications and services crafted by and for users in
> the East Bay.
> > > We are committed to universal, equitable, and unfettered
> access, free
> > > of unwanted surveillance and censorship. People's Openuses
> Sudo Mesh
> > > firmware, a free software project developed by
> > > volunteersenablingrobust, non-hierarchical mesh networks. The
> firmware
> > > provides a simple way for users to share a configurable portion of
> > > their Internet connection with the network – made relatively safe
> > > because the traffic from the shared connection is
> notassociated with
> > > the donor's IP address. Sudo Mesh is distinct from other opensource
> > > firmwaresbecause we prioritize both sharing andprivacy.
> > > Every aspect of People's Open is participatory, and every week
> we host
> > > three open meetings, including firmware development and community
> > > organizing. We're collaborating with local organizations and our
> > > diverse neighbors to co-create the network.
> > > *What assumptions will you test? *
> > > We hope to establish that a small-scale community-run network can
> > > provideservices currently assumed to be the province of large,
> > > top-down Internet providers. Specifically, we are exploring how local
> > > media and applications can be developed on such a network
> tobenefit
> > > local users. Examples of services include a local bulletin board,
> > > grassroots journalism outlets, local Voice-over-IP, archives,
> > > community asset maps, and Internet radio, all hosted on our local
> > > network.
> > > Instead of paid-subscribers, our goal is to have active
> participants.
> > > To that end, we currently offer training and hold open
> hack-nights at
> > > Oakland community hackerspaceSudoroom. Topics range from
> cryptography
> > > and network administration to antenna design and firmware hacking. We
> > > are actively designing our network through conversations with
> > > community partners, like Media Alliance, AspirationTech,
> > > ICSI/UCBerkeley, and others as part of our long-term outreach
> strategy.
> > > Access to the Internet is a human right, and we oppose
> practices that
> > > corner users into paying exorbitant rates to get online. Our
> network
> > > offers a free connection to anyone within range or willing to
> host a
> > > node. We challenge the idea that users need to trade personal
> data to
> > > engage with their community online, and People's Open
> encourages our
> > > neighbors to support other free software projects.
> > > *Who is the audience/user of this project? How will they be
> impacted? *
> > > The current model of Internet distribution in the East Bay isn't
> > > working for everyone. Many neighborhoods continue to report
> that over
> > > fifty-percent of residents lack a reliable home Internet
> connection.
> > > People's Open is partnering with community anchors, like churches,
> > > neighborhood gardens, schools, small businesses, and libraries, to
> > > mount antennas in underserved neighborhoods.
> > > This is a community network, and we're working with our
> neighbors to
> > > build and maintain it collectivity. We meet with local leaders and
> > > invite our neighbors to participate, fostering collective
> expertise
> > > and helping to ensure sustainability of the network.
> > > We are building a captive portal that directs users tolocal
> > > applications, such asa community calendar, grassroots media,
> maps, and
> > > bulletin boards. Working directly with activist groups to co-design
> > > trustworthy platforms, we're exploring ways to host local
> social media
> > > and digital classrooms. We are also in conversation with branch
> > > libraries and social service organizations about hosting
> information
> > > directories on the network. People’s Open is a grassroots media
> > > project, and we want to help meet the information needs of our
> > > communities.
> > > In sum, we provide a faster connection to the global Internet
> than a
> > > traditional residential ISP, while strengthening our community’s
> > > relationship with technologies that we depend on everyday.
> > >
> > > *What have you made so far? *
> > > For the past year and a half, most of our work has gone into
> > > developing and testing our firmware, which is a heavily modified
> > > version of OpenWRT. Our sources are on GitHub
> > > (https://github.com/sudomesh/)
> <https://github.com/sudomesh/%29>and
> > > are available for other communities wishing to create a similar
> > > network. We are finally at a point where we can begin to offer a
> > > reliable networking service.
> > > We have also deployed two testbed networks, one in Omni Commons, a
> > > giant community center which houses Sudoroom, and one in West
> Oakland,
> > > consisting of routers running our firmware.
> > > People's Open also has a long-term outreach and communications
> > > strategy, with the goal that the network will bloom and remain
> > > responsive to our communities. Our outreach strategy focuses
> on three
> > > tiers: large organizational partners, community anchors like
> churches
> > > and small businesses, and neighborhood mapping. In working with
> > > existing and trusted community groups, we hope to invite their
> > > networks to join and participate.
> > > Finally, we have a dedicated team in the project for the
> long-haul. We
> > > have three open hack-nights a week at Sudoroom, a well-known
> community
> > > center, where anyone is welcome to get involved at every level
> of the
> > > project. We frequently welcome new participants and keep our
> website
> > > up-to-date.
> > >
> > >
> > >
> > >
> > > On 3/13/15 3:04 AM, Marc Juul wrote:
> > >> On Thu, Mar 12, 2015 at 3:13 PM, Laura
> Turiano<scylla at riseup.net <mailto:scylla at riseup.net>>
> > >> wrote:
> > >>
> > >>> Hello meshers,
> > >>>
> > >>> I'm writing an update for Oaklandish about the Omni and
> would like to
> > >>> include info about progress on the mesh network. Can someone
> tell me
> > >>> how
> > >>> many nodes have been installed, any other accomplishments,
> what are the
> > >>> next steps, etc.?
> > >>>
> > >> Hi. Here are my thoughts. Other mesh folk, please correct or
> expand
> > >> as you
> > >> please.
> > >>
> > >> Next week we're activating a test network at the Omni to test
> our indoor
> > >> nodes in an apartment-complex-like setting, as well as a
> small six node
> > >> high-speed roof-to-roof network in west Oakland. We have been
> working
> > >> on a
> > >> new, friendlier, web admin interface as well as features that
> will allow
> > >> people to start out with an entry-level ~$40 node and upgrade
> their
> > >> coverage later by adding rooftop or street-facing nodes
> without any
> > >> extra
> > >> configuration.
> > >>
> > >> Over the next month or so we'll be stress-testing our two
> networks and
> > >> completing these new features. The next phase will be a beta
> release
> > >> where
> > >> we invite the adventurous to adopt nodes. I would like to see
> a beta
> > >> test
> > >> network with maybe 50-100 node locations. The beta test will
> be less
> > >> about
> > >> testing the technology (though there will be some of that)
> and more
> > >> about
> > >> understanding the problems and opportunities that arise when
> a diverse
> > >> group of people with diverse skill-sets have to run their own
> > >> network. If
> > >> the network is to succeed as it grows, then it cannot rely
> only on the
> > >> small group of volunteers that make up sudo mesh. We're going
> to have to
> > >> figure out how to communicate to node operators that this is
> not a
> > >> traditional ISP with a support line. Instead it is rather like a
> > >> community
> > >> garden where everyone helps out to make it succeed and we
> want so figure
> > >> out how to best facilitate that cooperation. During this
> phase we'll
> > >> also
> > >> be finalizing our automation tools for receiving orders for
> new nodes,
> > >> automatically configuring those nodes and shipping them out.
> Once we're
> > >> comfortable that everything is ready for a rapidly expanding
> network the
> > >> next phase might take the form of a large crowdfunding
> campaign where
> > >> people can get nodes as perks.
> > >>
> > >
> >
> >
>
>
> --
>
> Jenny
> http://jennyryan.net
> http://sudomesh.org
> http://thevirtualcampfire.org
> http://technomadic.tumblr.com
>
> `~`~`~`~`~`~`~`~`~`~`~`~`~`~`~`~`~`~`
> "Technology is the campfire around which we tell our stories."
> -Laurie Anderson
>
> "Storytelling reveals meaning without committing the error of
> defining it."
> -Hannah Arendt
>
> "To define is to kill. To suggest is to create."
> -Stéphane Mallarmé
> ~`~`~`~`~`~`~`~`~`~`~`~`~`~`~`~`~`~`
>
>
>
>
> _______________________________________________
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> mesh-dev at lists.sudoroom.org
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--
0x54FC570B
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