[NCLUG] Need help identifying a mystery network

[Michael Dwyer]

marciot wrote:
> 
> >On the other hand, there is a sort of altruistic gift that some people
> >give.  Some people set up wireless access points for the express use of
> >other people.
> 
> On the flip side of altrusitic... How about setting it up so outside users get
> redirected to a web page that allows them to use PayPal or something to buy
> airtime in minute increments? Make money off your wireless access point ;) I
> personally wouldn't mind buying some airtime off my neighbors.

I *think* that is sort of how wireless access in Starbucks stores
works.  But I'm not entirely sure.  Personally, I'd like to buy a T1 and
resell it to my neighbors over 802.11, ethernet, or some other form of
fixed wireless.  That way, I would get T1 speed, and no unreasonable
usage restrictions.  If one of my neighbors starts sending Spam, or
attacking Norad, I can walk over and LART them personally, too!  But
again, I don't think my neighbors are all that progressive...  

Karma++ to ATTBI for upping the upstream bandwidth to 256k, though...
Too bad their AUP still stucks...

> Thanks for the netstumbler link. That's quite cool, but the thing that
> *really* caught my attention was the article "The Next 802.11 Revolution"
> that's on the front page. Just the other day I was thinking about a wireless
> peer-to-peer packet-hopping-type network and why nobody else had thought of

Actually, that kind of system is currently all the rage in the telecom
industry...  Nokia has a mesh system they are hawking
(http://www.broadbandweek.com/news/010416/010416_wireless_nokia.htm) and
there's another startup in California (www.apertonet.com) doing a
point-to-multipoint system.  SprintBroadband fell flat doing a similar
project, but I understand that the underlying technology is getting
resold to someone else...
My own father is looking into this with a fair amount of interest.  The
old hometown (Leadville) is well on the other side of the Digital Divide
-- No DSL, No cable, no ISDN... and only Amigo.Net dares to provide
dialup in the area.  But there is a perfect place to mount an antenna,
and most of the town is within a few miles of this highpoint...  It
would be perfect!  Assuming you could talk enough people in Leadville
into ordering broadband... :)

> it. Apparently they have. Goes to show you, whenever you think you've thought
> of something new, chances are someone else has already thought of it before.

That may be true, but it doesn't matter unless you can take the
technology to market.  I was once part of a group that wanted to start
their own ISP... I was leery of the whole thing because I was sure the
AT&Ts and USWests would eventually ramp up and kick our butts.  And this
pretty much happened to a lot of other mom-and-pop ISPs.  But if you can
saturate a small town with bandwidth, and make your customers happy... 
Hmmm.