496 Project 10K
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Background Information
Illinois $10,000 Broadband Grants
The deadline to submit a proposal to the State is 5pm on March 1st. Obviously, we do not have much time if we want to be realistically considered for the $10,000...
Mesh moves into the wireless office
One possible way to set up our wireless network is to create a "Mesh Network." A simple explanation is provided by wikipedia (link above). Basically, a Mesh Network works by sending out a signal from a wired node to many different wireless nodes by "hopping" from node to node. The nodes receive broadcasts from each other and automatically form a network. Mesh networks work well because they can cover a large area, and if a single node breaks down, the mesh network is self-healing. When one node breaks down, the remaining nodes find an alternative routing path, keeping the network alive. This may be useful in limiting downtime on our wireless network--one node's failure will not automatically destroy our network. Apparently, mesh networks tend to be cheaper than traditional "hub & spoke" models. The second linked article discusses advantages of mesh networks such as the ease of installation and the limited Ethernet cable required. The third link is a company providing equipment needed to set up a mesh network. This company was recommended by a network engineer from the Naperville School District 203 which I worked at.
---Chris
Output #1
Our first output will be contacting the four previous grantees (2005-2006), Ryan Croke at the Lt. Governor's office, and David Young at the Champaign-Urbana Community Wireless Network.
For the past grantees, we will introduce ourselves as a Service learning project that is hoping to aid more Illinois communities in their effort to increase community broadband deployment. Our inquiries will focus on what worked, how much the initial start up cost them, what partnerships they forged with local providers or suppliers, and perhaps what information would have been helpful to make the initial proposal smoother.
Since David Young is on our advisory board and CUWiN have successfully deployed a wireless network without a grant from the state, we are hoping to aim a few more directed questions at him regarding startup costs, design factors, and suggestions for future community deployments.
Finally we will contact Ryan Croke with regards to some of our future output projects and asking questions for where they need specific information. Currently we are all pouring over the Illinois Broadband Deployment wiki to gather information about past projects and other policy recommendations for future deployments.
Additional Contacts
In class today (Mon, March 3) we decided to find three more contacts apiece-thus totaling 15- that we can send our adapted email to. It looks like this will be a little more forward with our request for information regarding budgets and initial startup problems.
We are also awaiting a few listserves that Christian currently knows of. After we get the addresses for them, we can send this email out to them as well. Hopefully by casting a wide net, we will get a good variety of responses that will help us compile the final output for the group (which is still tbd, though we are shopping some ideas now).
You can just edit this page and add the names of your unique contacts below.
NYCwireless They have a contact space on their website. Check out their homepage; we can probably send them a request/psa type deal that others can respond to.
The Mesh "The goal of The Mesh is to assist in the collaborative foundation and promotion of community wireless projects in tropical or remote areas." Though a bit more remote than what we are trying, they could offer an interesting perspective.
Buffalo Wifi This looks like an interesting lead, too. On their homepage we can see their "sponsors" and "partners" for the project. Verizon is listed as "sponser" so they could offer a perspective of a public/private style network and how much it cost to get it up and running.
Broadband Properties Directory of Wireless Companies Directory of different wireless companies. Check out the different companies by clicking on their website link.
Output 1 A: Broadband Deployment Council
On Thursday March 6, 2008, Chris K. and I, Frank S., had the opportunity to attend the broadband meeting in the state capitol of Springfield. Speaking at the Lt. Governor�s Broadband Deployment Council meeting represented a chance to not only introduce our wireless project to a vast number of interested parties, but to also get a chance to see some inner workings of state government.
The day before the meeting, our team started a draft for the handout we would distribute at the meeting. Burning the midnight oil, Jameson O. and I began to refine the document. Lucky for us, Jameson has quite an eye for layout and some graphic design; he ended up producing this magnificent document in about an hour. Even though I was already happy to be attending the meeting, after receiving the final version of the document, I was ecstatic about our potential to make quality contacts at the meeting.
Upon our entry to Springfield, Chris and I were filled with anticipation and excitement to be presenting the start of our project. We were also optimistic regarding our chances to make a good impression on the Lt Governor�s council. We assumed seats around the u-shaped tables they had set up in the Stratton Building. Besides the thirty plus people attending in Springfield, nearly twenty people were videoconferencing with the meeting from Chicago, and another ten people were listening in via a teleconferencing line.
We were initially astonished at the great variety of projects and opportunities for broadband and wireless technology in the state of Illinois. On the national level, we learned that the USDA is offering grants ranging from $50,000 to $1,000,000 to furnish broadband service in rural communities under 20,000 residents that currently have no access to this service. Chris passed this information along to the Tribal Digital Village project group as a variety of groups can apply for the grants, including state and county governments, as well as Native American tribal governments and 501(c)(3) nonprofits.
Eventually the meeting approached discussion of the Community Wireless Grants that the Lt. Governor�s office will be giving out later this year. Ryan Croke, policy advisor for the Lt. Governor briefed the council on the remarkable interest in the grants, citing that nearly 50 communities submitted applications this year alone. They expect to fill 6 of those requests each for $10,000. After his progress report, Ryan introduced Chris and me.
Together we briefly discussed the class and the purpose of Project broadCAST, and mentioned the variety of projects making progress in the class. Chris covered our project of assisting communities hoping to setup wireless networks by putting together a freely accessible document that provides information for those most in need. Whether they are applying for the $10,000 grants from the state or applying for national grants, many underserved communities need help just getting the project off the ground. It is our hope to put together information regarding the initial planning stages of the network, including budgets, possible designs, and useful tips from those who have succeeded.
The brief time we had to speak flew right by in what felt like a few seconds. We continued listening to the variety of projects being instituted in the state of Illinois. One project that piqued our interest came from the southern tip of the state. Connect SI is a project to connect the two southernmost counties in the state of Illinois. Sadly, in percentage of broadband penetration Southern Illinois at 12% is lagging behind rural US average of 24 percent. In a little over a years time, Connect SI�s project has increased penetration by 25 %, bringing their total to 16 percent. Chris and I felt this showcased the need for a project such as ours, and provided us with some raw numbers to use as a reference point for how far the state needs to progress to keep up with the rest of the country and the world.
After the meeting ended, Chris and I were ready to walk out feeling like we did a great job introducing our project and group to a much larger, more influential audience. But, we could not escape too quickly. We were approached by four individuals wishing to speak with us further. With business cards in tow, a quick conversation and an exchange of excitement over future collaborations, we departed from the Stratton Building anxious to share our victories.
The meeting was a great opportunity for us both on a educational and professional level. It has increased our anticipation of getting more in-depth with the project and communicating with the contacts we met at the meeting, as well as others from whom we have tried to get information regarding setting up community wireless networks. Now it is time to put our nose to the grindstone, and get to work.
Output 1 B: Letter to Past Grantees
Dear XXXX:
My name is Chris K, and I am a member of broadCAST: the Broad Collaboration for the Advancement of Spectrum Technology. With the help of Professor Christian Sandvig at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, our team is attempting to devise a budget that would bring broadband technology to communities for less than $10,000. We hope to assist those applying for the 2008 Community Wireless Broadband grant to utilize their money as effectively as possible. We are currently in the initial stages of this project and are seeking information and people to help in the planning of such a network. According to the Illinois Broadband Deployment Policy Resources site, your proposal for a �Main Street Wireless Grant� was accepted and efficiently deployed, improving the quality of life and business affairs for countless residents. Because your network has proven itself to be very successful, I am hoping we can set up a time to further discuss some of the specifics of your program to help guide future grant recipients in implementing their budget in the most effective and efficient way possible. Our team has generated some specific topics we would like to speak about with you: 1) Information regarding the early stages of the application process, including your community�s specific needs, and things you wish you knew before applying. 2) Any information you can share about the size, type and installation of your network. 3) Partnerships with local or national businesses that helped reduce equipment, service or maintenance costs. 4) Positive and negative aspects of your plan and the resulting wireless network.
I recognize you have a busy schedule, but any information you can provide will help to bring a community a wireless network. I can be contacted at xxx.xxx.xxxx, or by email at xxxxx@uiuc.edu. Thank you for your time. I look forward to hearing from you.
Sincerely,
Chris K broadCAST (The Broad Collaboration for the Advancement of Spectrum Technology)
Output 1 C: Farm Week Newspaper Article
One of the contacts from the Broadband Deployment Council, Kay Shipman, contacted Chris and Frank for an interview about the Project broadCAST project.
A PDF of the newspaper article can be found here .
We are hopeful that this will produce some more contacts to aid in our final project.
Project Continued: New links and possible leads
Well we should be getting back to this project at this coming week.
Some new links and ideas that stemmed from a discussion with someone who has documented municipal wireless growth. MuniWireless looks to be a great source of possible contacts and information. They have a pages dedicated to funding options and wireless technologies. These pages get to the core of our project, helping people and communities understand the basics and benefits of a community wireless network.
The New America Foundation has an interesting video and links to reports they published regarding wireless networks, and even something on carterphones.
Ethose Wireless is a consulting firm prioritizing in affordable and accessible wireless internet. Sascha Meinrath, an advisor of ours, and Joshua Breitbart are principals behind the firm.
Civil Defense is a blog written by the aforementioned Joshua Breitbart.
I found Wi-Fi Net News's sister site WiMAX Net News very helpful when researching the hype behind WiMAX as the supposed next great technology. Glenn Fleishman appears very knowledgeable and particular about technicalities in some news reporting.
If we start with some of these links, and continue to hound our other contacts, hopefully we will make sufficient progress towards a quality output.
