About

Scott Beardsley and others are attempting to build a community wireless network in Elmhurst.

Goals

• Provide free wireless internet coverage for all residents and visitors of Elmhurst.
• Provide open access to all that agree to and abide by the Acceptable Use Policy.
• Provide ISP redundancy in case any one provider goes down.

Technology

Mesh network technologies will be used to connect all wireless access points to each other. Some of these mesh nodes will then be connected to the internet providing access to the internet for those that don't have access.

Gateway Nodes

One type of wireless access point is a gateway. This node will have a direct connection to the internet. The owner of the node has the option to share all or part of their internet connection with the community. This node will connect to other wireless nodes and end-users over the 802.1g wireless protocol. It will communicate with other nodes to advertise its gateway status and to determine the best route to another node.

Repeater Nodes

One type of wireless access point is a repeater. This node will connect to other wireless nodes and end-users over the 802.1g wireless protocol. It will communicate with other nodes to determine the best route to the internet or another node.

Policies

To be determined, but all ISP acceptable use policies will apply.

Strategy

This is mainly a two-prong effort. The community support is there but there are two groups that need to be convinced to lend support.

ISP Support

We have to work with local ISPs to change their AUP to be more open with the idea of community wireless networks.

Gateway Sponsors

Some of the people that are currently paying for internet access need to be convinced to buy a gateway node and open it to others.