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New York City Neighbors Build Cheaper Way to Connect to Web

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121–130 of 215 posts

Re: New York City Neighbors Build Cheaper Way to Connect to Web

#122
post #47

Earlier quoted context omitted.

It really bothers me to see nothing going on in the Phoenix, Arizona region, where I live. I'm planning on getting my Technicians HAM license sometime soon (I took one of the online practice tests "blind" and scored an 80 - so with some study it shouldn't be a problem). Maybe after that if I can find some like-minded people nearby...

A HAM license doesn't help you: you cannot legally use the amateur radio bands to transmit an internet connection. I suspect the Amateur HAMmers would detect and enforce that: I imagine there are HAM goonsquads.

I thought the rule was no encryption. They theoretically have an entire ip block available.

Re: New York City Neighbors Build Cheaper Way to Connect to Web

#123
post #66

Shameless plug: My company Althea ( https://althea.net ) is making router firmware that makes it easy to people to set up incentivized mesh networks in their communities. It allows routers to pay each other for bandwidth which means that everyone hosting a node earns money for the packets they forward. We have 2 networks live, one in rural Oregon and one in Medellin, Colombia. Also, 4 more networks people are current…

Great!

Re: New York City Neighbors Build Cheaper Way to Connect to Web

#124
post #120

Wait, how can internet start from $66 in NYC of all places? Where a teeny bit of extra cable can get the connection to hundreds of other subscribers? I smell a rort.

Doesn't NYC have a Times Warner monopoly for internet? If so, that's why.

Doesn't appear so. Haven't you seen this cool, allegedly-correct FCC tool:

https://broadbandmap.fcc.gov/#/location-summary?version=dec2...

Re: New York City Neighbors Build Cheaper Way to Connect to Web

#125

Earlier quoted context omitted.

TLS is layer 7, so any network will support it.

I wasn't making the assumption that their mesh was based on TCP. I should really just read the article and linked materials, but I am trying to ingore that temptation since I am supposed to be working :-P

I think it's very poor etiquette to make assumptions about the contents of the article while advertising the fact you haven't read the article.

Re: New York City Neighbors Build Cheaper Way to Connect to Web

#126
post #120

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Doesn't NYC have a Times Warner monopoly for internet? If so, that's why.

Doesn't appear so. Haven't you seen this cool, allegedly-correct FCC tool: https://broadbandmap.fcc.gov/#/location-summary?version=dec2...

Thats so cool! Learning about this made it worth being wrong.

Re: New York City Neighbors Build Cheaper Way to Connect to Web

#127
I worked as an IT tech in a school district with 9 buildings, each connected by directional antenna. The speed wasn't great but certainly usable enough, even for video. This was back in 2000 and the guy maintaining the network learned it all on his own as far as I can tell. Weather was a problem for the network as outages were fairly common. We had an outside tech who would come out to fix the radios once in a while. Overall it got the job done, but eventually the district ponied up for a fiber connection to at least a few of the larger buildings. I helped lay new wiring for most of the buildings.

Re: New York City Neighbors Build Cheaper Way to Connect to Web

#128

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Love the project! Why does my intuition suggest big ISPs are going to try to regulate this out of existence in the US. It's depressing.

It's already illegal twice over. Anyone "forwarding" packets from a connection to an ISP is almost certainly in breach of contract. Amateur packet radio service regulations state that you may not use it for applications that are available over commercial services.

[deleted]

Re: New York City Neighbors Build Cheaper Way to Connect to Web

#129

Earlier quoted context omitted.

It's already illegal twice over. Anyone "forwarding" packets from a connection to an ISP is almost certainly in breach of contract. Amateur packet radio service regulations state that you may not use it for applications that are available over commercial services.

> Anyone "forwarding" packets from a connection to an ISP is almost certainly in breach of contract. You can buy resaleable backhaul it's just a drag and expensive. NYC mesh gets free resaleable backhaul and it's a key thing for them. > Amateur packet radio service regulations state that you may not use it for applications that are available over commercial services. point to point long distance antennas on free spec…

>NYC mesh gets free resaleable backhaul and it's a key thing for them.

I feel like this is the key differentiator between community mesh projects that succeed and those that don't.

At the end of the day, without backhaul you're just saturating a few donors' residential bandwidth.

Re: New York City Neighbors Build Cheaper Way to Connect to Web

#130

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Love the project! Why does my intuition suggest big ISPs are going to try to regulate this out of existence in the US. It's depressing.

It's already illegal twice over. Anyone "forwarding" packets from a connection to an ISP is almost certainly in breach of contract. Amateur packet radio service regulations state that you may not use it for applications that are available over commercial services.

1) "Breach of contract" isn't illegal. It's a civil violation. Also, they may have "wholesale" internet connections that allow for re-sale.

2) They're using unlicensed spectrum, not amateur radio.

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