Open Connectivity

OpenConnectivity

Wireless Fidelity (WiFi) is a new populist technology that allows users to plug a single high-speed Internet connection like a cable modem with a $180 wireless base station and share it with scores of people in a building, park, cafe, hotel, convention, conference, or other small community of users.

Anyone can snap a $50 antenna into a laptop and tap into one of the many OpenConnectivityNetworks? for free.

No one knows exactly how many people are piping into Wi-Fi for free, but 60 U.S. community wireless networks are listed below [2], up from 25 earlier. Regular usage is expected to rise from 0.5 million users in 2001 to over 6 milion int 2002.

In August, 2004, the number of wireless networks listed below that still seem to be operating is down to 30. A search of my home town (Houston) shows 80 for-pay hot spots and 1 free one.

It is relatively simple to set up a network and it has a low cost, no more than $300. This allows scores of others to conveniently use the connection Its simplicity as well as its ease of installation is coupled with the use of OffTheShelfEquipment? and the WiFiRadioBand? [1], make the growth of this technology highly likely.

It is trivial to set up a wireless network. You buy an access point from Best Buy for under $100 and then plug it into your DSL line or cable modem. Of course, there is no security, no monitoring, etc., but many people don't care.

BrianFoote and I were sitting at Pho Tran, our favorite restaurant, and we said "Pho Tran needs a wireless network so we can connect to google to answer our questions during lunch." We called the proprieter over and told him that if he bought the DSL line, we'd buy the access point. When we told him the price of a DSL line, he said "Sure!" As it turned out, he bought the whole thing and had something else install it. It didn't work, so we fixed it. It has been running smoothly since.

If every geek in the country did this at his/her favorite restaurant, life would be better! --RalphJohnson

Since most of the users of OpenConnectivity share interests, there is developed a SenseOfCommunity?. This can be fostered and encouraged by the establishment of AttachedOrAssociatedWikis? designed to promote understanding, provide OpenCommunicationFacility?, make available an OpenConnectivityIndex?, and otherwise aid and assist in the use of this new technology. Wiki is a natural in this community! Several have set up Wikis in direct connection to this application.

Examples of WikiCommunities? set up for OpenConnectivity:

 ConsumeDotNet http://consume.net/
 SeattleWireless http://www.seattlewireless.net/   
 KansasCityWireless? http://www.kcwireless.net/

[1] a special frequency spectrum made available for the transmission of limited range, low power signals.

[2] Some sites to checkout:

 01 British Columbia, Vancouver http://www.bcwireless.net/ 
 02 California, Pasadena http://nanp.pasadena.net/ 
 03 California, San Diego http://www.sdwug.org/ 
 04 California, San Diego http://airshare.org/ 
 05 California, San Francisco http://www.bawug.org/ 
 06 California, San Francisco http://www.sfwireless.net/ (BrokenLink)
 07 California, San Jose http://www.kbmonline.com/wireless/ 
 08 California, Sonoma County http://nocat.net/ 
 09 Colorado, Denver Metro http://www.milehighwireless.net/ 
 10 Conneticut, Stamford http://www.citywi.net/ (UnderConstruction)
 11 Florida, Miami http://www.doralwireless.net/ 
 12 Florida, Gainsville http://www.cryptnet.net/gwi/ (Last Updated 11/29/2002)
 13 Georgia, Atlanta http://www.atlantafreenet.org/ 
 14 Idaho, Boise http://www.megabitwireless.org/ (BrokenLink)
 15 Illinois, Champaign-Urbana http://wireless.cu.groogroo.com/ 
 16 Illinois, Chicago http://ufo.chicago.il.us/ 
 17 Indiana, Fort Wayne http://www.wirelapse.net (BrokenLink)
 18 Kansas, northeastern http://www.kcwireless.net/ (BrokenLink)
 19 Maryland, Greater Baltimore Area http://www.marylandwireless.org/ (UnderConstruction)
 20 Maryland, Montgomery County http://mocowug.org/ (BrokenLink)
 21 Massachusetts, Acton mailto:pac1@tiac.net 
 22 Massachusetts, Boston http://www.guerrilla.net/ 
 23 Massachusetts, Boston http://www.bawia.org/ 
 24 Massachusetts, Boston http://bostonwireless.org/ (BrokenLink)
 25 Massachusetts, Gardner http://gardnerwireless.net/ 
 26 Massachusetts, MIT http://rooftops.media.mit.edu/ (Last Updated 10/1/2003)
 27 Massachusetts, Somerville http://lcs.www.media.mit.edu/projects/Davis-Net/ (Last Updated 4/30/2002)
 28 Michigan, Ann Arbor http://groups.yahoo.com/list/aawlan/ 
 29 Minnesota, Twin Cities http://www.tcwug.org/ 
 30 Missouri, Kansas City http://www.kcwireless.net/ (BrokenLink)
 31 Missouri, St. Louis http://www.stlwireless.net/ 
 32 Netherlands, Leiden http://www.wirelessleiden.nl/
 33 New Jersey, Passaic [www.pachai.net/] 
 34 New York, NYC http://www.nycwireless.net/ 
 35 North Carolina, Durham http://www.4clx.com/rduwireless/ (BrokenLink)
 36 Oklahoma, Tulsa http://www.orbittulsa.com/ (2004/08/20: redirects to blank page?)
 37 Ohio, Mentor http://mentorwireless.shorturl.com/ (BrokenLink)
 38 Ontario, Toronto http://www.esoterraka.com/twcn/ 
 39 Ontario, Waterloo http://www.waterloowireless.org/ (BrokenLink)
 40 Ontario, Waterloo http://kookaburra.uwaterloo.ca/~ihoward/freenet/ (BrokenLink)
 41 Oregon, Ashland http://awip.truffula.net/ (BrokenLink)
 42 Oregon, Corvallis http://www.cafwap.net/ (Last Updated 2/1/2003)
 43 Oregon, Portland http://sdots.com/wireless/ 
 44 Oregon, Portland http://www.pdxwireless.org/ (UnderConstruction)
 45 Oregon, Portland http://www.personaltelco.net/ 
 46 Philadelphia, Delaware County http://www.airpower.com/delcowireless1.htm 
 47 Pittsburgh, PA http://www.pghwireless.com/ (BrokenLink)
 48 Rhode Island, Providence mailto:RiWiFi@goatfish.com 
 59 Texas, Austin http://austinwireless.net/ 
 50 Texas, Austin http://www.austinwireless.org/ (BrokenLink)
 51 Texas, Austin http://omit.org/Net/ (BrokenLink)
 52 Texas, Dallas http://www.dallasfreenet.com/ (BrokenLink)
 53 Texas, Houston http://www.houston-wireless.net/ (BrokenLink)
 54 Utah, Ogden http://www.ogdenw.net/ (BrokenLink)
 55 Virginia, Leesburg http://www.novawireless.org/ (BrokenLink)
 56 Virginia, Richmond http://www.richmondfreewireless.org/ (BrokenLink)
 57 Washington, Seattle http://www.scn.org/ 
 58 Washington, Seattle http://www.seattlewireless.net/ 
 59 Wisconsin, Green Bay http://www.gbppr.org/ (BrokenLink)
 60 Wyoming, Laramie http://www.lariat.org/ (UnderConstruction)

CategoryWireless