Community Wireless Networks, Participatory Media and Citizen-Empowerment.

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/writings.html

Correspondence: Sascha Meinrath sascha@cuwireless.net (217) 278-3933

115 West Main Street, Second Floor

Urbana, IL 61801

U.S.A.

Presented at the Educause Net@Edu Conference in Tempe, AZ, Feb. 6-8, 2005

Overview

• What are Community Wireless Networks?

• Mesh CWN example – CUWiN.

• What are the social/community benefits and technological possibilities?

• How do the technologies work and what are the different options available?

• Where can I find out more?

• But first… (literally)

Community Media Historically

• 1700s – Newspapers

• 1840s – Telegraph

• 1900s – Telephone

• 1920s – Radio

• Post WWII – Television/Public Access TV

• Today – Broadband (Internet) Connectivity

Community Wireless Networks

• Small, usually non-profit, unincorporated, municipally supported, hybrid partnerships

• Locally based

• Usually utilize off-the-shelf hardware, low-cost

• Action-oriented

• Mission to support social & economic development

• Highly experimental

CUWiN’s 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.

Social Benefits for Residents• Every citizen has the opportunity to be a media

producer – broadcasting Internet radio, self-publishing journalism, displaying art projects, etc.• Churches can webcast religious services & make

spiritual resources available online.

• Local libraries can become a hub for free, open access to information. Parks, swimming pools, beaches, sports facilities, airports, train stations, and other public areas can provide Internet access to users of these areas.

• Free wireless kiosks can be placed strategically around a municipality to provide information to tourists, visitors, and residents.

Social Benefits for Educators• Universities, colleges, and K-12 classrooms can

cheaply establish wireless networks – creating tremendous infrastructure and maintenance savings versus wired networks.• Teachers can design lesson plans collaboratively with

other classrooms, track student progress, and record grades on parent-accessible websites.

• Students can publish online newspapers/blogs, create a school web-radio station, or web-cast news produced in multimedia classrooms.

• Bridging the digital divide: low-cost wireless offer schools high-tech resources, as well as additional opportunities for adult education and distance learning.

Social Benefits for Public Health

• Health-care providers can transfer information to patients with limited mobility as well as exchange patient information among doctors, clinics, pharmacies, and hospitals.• Mobile home healthcare workers and social workers

can more easily chart their daily rounds and retrieve and send information to better serve patients.

• Physical therapists can demonstrate specific exercises to patients watching from their homes.

• Nursing homes can provide residents with entertainment, educational opportunities, and easy communication with family and friends.

Social Benefits for Government• 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.• Unemployment and social services offices can collect and

disseminate information about job opportunities, job training, and child care facilities available in a community to those in need.

• First responders and law enforcement officers can send data, audio, and digital video to command centers for evaluation and rapid response.

• CWNs can be utilized as a local broadcaster to webcast town meetings, city council sessions, local speeches, or cultural events.

Social Benefits for Business• 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.• CWNs promote mobile workforces with on-demand

information access at all points across a town or city.

• CWNs allow for cost-effective marketing strategies and new ways to present points of sale to targeted customers.

• CWNs create opportunities to increase broadband penetration, expanding options for reaching commercial audiences.

CWN Technologies

• Wired vs. Wireless

• Hub & Spoke vs. Mesh

• Closed vs. Open

• Static vs. Dynamic

Wired Networks

• 1840s technology

• Expensive

• Disruptive

• “Entrenched”

Wireless Networks

• Cheap

• Non-invasive

• Mobile/Portable

• Ubiquitous?

Hub & Spoke Networks

• Centralized

• Relatively expensive

• Line of site

• Bandwidth-intensive

• High-power

• Single point-of-failure

Mesh Networks

• Decentralized

• By-passes obstacles

• Relatively cheap

• Low-power

Closed Networks

• Proprietary

• Expensive software

• Immature technology

• Factionalizes communities

Open Networks

• More secure

• Cheap/free software

• Open source

• Allows community resources on the network

Static Networks

• Fragile

• Non-scalable

• Time-intensive

Dynamic Networks

• Robust

• Scalable

• Adaptable

CUWiN Network (Sept. 2004)

Downtown Urbana Wireless Plan

The Rationale Behind Community Wireless Networks I:

Christian Sandvig <csandvig@uiuc.edu>

• Low SES

• Medium Density

• Government Subsidized Housing

The Rationale Behind Community Wireless Networks II:

Christian Sandvig <csandvig@uiuc.edu>

• Medium SES

• Medium Density

• Immigrant Community

The Rationale Behind Community Wireless Networks III:

Christian Sandvig <csandvig@uiuc.edu>

• High SES

• High Density

• Young Professional Neighborhood

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

Conclusions

• CWN technology is accessible.

• CWNs are a viable technological alternative.

• CWNs are a cheap deployment option.• CWNs offer more services to end users.• CWNs are cheaper for end-users.• Like the Internet itself, CWNs create new

media production and information dissemination opportunities limited only by our own imaginations.

For More Information:

Sascha D. Meinrath CUWiN Free Press

sascha@cuwireless.net www.cuwireless.net www.freepress.net/wifi

Power Point presentation will be available online at:

http://www.saschameinrath.com/writings.html