Editing Wireless community network (section)

==History==
[[File:XO + Tinkertoys(Box and Tinker) = Directional Cantenna (2665155167).jpg|220px|thumb|right|A cantenna connected to a [[One Laptop per Child]] machine.]]
Wireless community networks started as projects that evolved from [[amateur radio]] using [[packet radio]], and from the [[free software]] community which substantially overlapped with the amateur radio community.{{citation needed|date=December 2010}} Wireless neighborhood networks were established by technology enthusiasts in the early 2000s.<ref name="Cambridge University Press">{{cite book |author1=Wolter Lemstra |author2=Vic Hayes |author3=John Groenewegen |date= 2003 |title= The Innovation Journey of Wi-Fi: The Road to Global Success |publisher= Cambridge University Press |isbn= 9781139492577 | page = 188}}</ref> The Redbricks Intranet Collective (RIC) started 1999 in [[Manchester]], [[UK]], to allow about 30 flats in the Bentley House Estate to share the subscription cost of one leased line from [[British Telecom]] (BT).<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://communityreporter.net/story/internet-and-evolution-manchester-communities|title=Internet and Evolution in Manchester Communities|date=15 August 2011 |access-date=1 May 2019}}</ref> [[Wi-Fi]] was quickly adopted by technology enthusiasts and hobbyists, because it was an [[open standard]] and consumer Wi-Fi hardware was comparatively cheap.<ref name="Cambridge University Press"/>

Wireless community networks started out by turning [[wireless access points]] designed for short-range use in homes into multi-kilometre long-range Wi-Fi by building high-gain [[directional antenna]]s. Rather than buying commercially available units, some of the early groups advocated home-built antennas. Examples include the [[cantenna]] and [[RONJA]], an optical link that can be made from a smoke [[flue]] and [[LED]]s. The [[circuitry]] and instructions for such [[DIY networking]] antennas were released under the [[GNU Free Documentation License]] (GFDL).<ref>[http://wireless-straight-talk.blogspot.com/2006/11/talkin-bout-my-generation.html Talkin' 'bout my generation] November 16, 2006</ref><ref>[http://perspektive89.com/2006/10/18/free_culture_free_software_free_infrastructures_openness_and_freedom_in_every_layer_of_the_network_flo_fleissig_episo  Free Culture, Free Software, Free Infrastructures!], Interviews with Klohjschi, Jürgen Neumann (Freifunk Germany), Kurt Jansson (Wikimedia Germany), Rishab Aiyer Ghosh (United Nations University), Lawrence Lessig (Creative Commons), Allison, Benoit (Montréal Wireless Community) October 18, 2006</ref> [[Municipal wireless network]]s, funded by local governments, started being deployed from 2003 onward.<ref name="Cambridge University Press"/>

Regarding the international policy scenario, discussions on Community Networks have gained prominence over the last few years, especially since the creation of the [[Internet Governance Forum]]'s [https://comconnectivity.org/ Dynamic Coalition on Community Connectivity] in 2016, providing "a much needed platform through which various individuals and entities interested in the advancement of CNs have the possibility to associate, organise and develop, in a bottom-up participatory fashion collective 'principles, rules, decision-making procedures and shared programs that give shape to the evolution and use of the Internet.'".<ref name=":0" />

===Early community projects===
[[Image:NodeGUR-2006-03-26.png|thumb|right|220px|The Melbourne Wireless Network in [[Rowville, Victoria|Rowville]].]]
By 2003, a number of wireless community projects had established themselves in urban areas across [[North America]], [[Europe]] and [[Australia]]. In June 2000, Melbourne Wireless Inc. was established in [[Melbourne]] [[Australia]] as a not-for-profit project to establish a metropolitan area wireless network using off-the-shelf [[802.11]] wireless equipment. By 2003, it had 1,200 hotspots.<ref name="Rob Flickenger 2003 126">{{cite book |author = Rob Flickenger |date= 2003 |title= Building Wireless Community Networks |publisher= O'Reilly Media |isbn= 9780596005023 | page = 126}}</ref> In 2000 [[Seattle Wireless]] was founded with the stated aim of providing free WiFi access and share the cost of Internet connectivity in [[Seattle]], USA. By April 2011, it had 80 free [[wireless access points]] all over Seattle and was steadily growing.<ref>{{cite book |author = Paolo Santi |date=2012  |title= Mobility Models for Next Generation Wireless Networks: Ad Hoc, Vehicular and Mesh Networks |publisher= John Wiley & Sons |isbn= 9781118344903 | page = 109}}</ref>

In August 2000, Consume was founded in [[London]] [[England]] as "collaborative strategy for the self provisioning of a broadband telecommunications infrastructure". Founded by [[Ben Laurie]] and others, Consume aimed to build a wireless infrastructure as alternative to the monopoly-held wired [[metropolitan area network]].<ref name="Rob Flickenger 2003 126"/> Besides providing Wi-Fi access in [[East London]], Consume installed a large antenna on the roof of the former [[Metropolitan Borough of Greenwich#Town Halls|Greenwich Town Hall]] and documented the states of wireless connections in London. Consume created political pressure on [[municipal authorities]], by staging public events, exhibitions, encouraging consumers to set up wireless equipment and setting up temporary Wi-Fi hotspots at events in East London. While Consume generated sustained media attention, it did not establish a lasting wireless community network.<ref>{{cite book |author = Adrian Mackenzie |date= 2010 |title= Wirelessness: Radical Empiricism in Network Cultures |url = https://archive.org/details/wirelessnessradi00mack_048 |url-access = limited |publisher= MIT Press |isbn= 9780262014649 | page = [https://archive.org/details/wirelessnessradi00mack_048/page/n120 117]}}</ref>

The [[Wireless Leiden]] hobbyist project was established in September 2001 and constituted as non-profit foundation in 2003 with more than 300 active users. The Wireless Leiden foundation aimed to facilitate the cooperation of local government, businesses and residents to provide wireless networking in [[Leiden]] [[Netherlands]]. The first wireless community network in Spain was [[RedLibre]], founded in September 2001 in [[Madrid]]. By 2002 RedLibre coordinated the efforts of 15 local wireless groups and maintained free RedLibre Wi-Fi hotspots in five cities. RedLibre has been credited for facilitating the widespread availability of WLAN in the urban areas of Spain.<ref>{{cite book |author = Rob Flickenger |date= 2003 |title= Building Wireless Community Networks |publisher= O'Reilly Media |isbn= 9780596005023 | page = 127}}</ref>

In Italy, [[Ninux|Ninux.org]] was founded by students and hackers in 2001 to create a [[grassroots]] wireless network in [[Rome]], similar to Seattle Wireless. A turning point for Ninux was the lowering of prices in 2008 for consumer wireless equipment, such as antennas and routers. Ninux volunteers installed an increasing number of antennas on the roofs of Rome. The network served as example for other urban community wireless networks in Italy. By 2016, similar wireless networks had been installed in Florence, Bolongna, Pisa and Cosenza. While they share common technical and organizational frameworks, the working groups supporting these urban wireless community networks are driven by the different needs of the city in which they operate.<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://peerproduction.net/wp-content/uploads/2016/08/the-case-of-ninux.org-draft.pdf|title=Hackivism, Infrastructures and LegalFrameworks in Community Networks: the Italian Case of Ninux.org|author1=Leonardo Maccari |author2=Paolo Magaudda |author3=Stefano Crabu |author4=Federica Giovanella |page=7|date=2016}}</ref>

[[File:Patras Wireless Network 5.jpg|thumb|200px|A Patras Wireless Network (PWN) [[WLAN access point|access point]], the first city-wide wireless community network in Greece.]]
Houston Wireless was founded in summer 2001 as the Houston Wireless Users Group. The telecommunications providers were slow to roll out third-generation wireless ([[3G]]), so Houston Wireless was established to promote high-speed wireless access across [[Houston]] and its suburbs. Houston Wireless experimented with [[network protocols]] such as [[IPsec]], [[mobile IP]] and [[IPv6]], as well as wireless technologies, including [[802.11a]], [[802.11g]] and [[ultra-wideband]] (UWB). By 2003, it had 30 WLAN hotspots, 100 people on their [[mailing list]]s and their monthly meetings were attended by about 25 people.<ref>{{cite book |author = Rob Flickenger |date= 2003 |title= Building Wireless Community Networks |publisher= O'Reilly Media |isbn= 9780596005023 | page = 125}}</ref>

NYCwirelsss was established in [[New York City]] in May 2001 to provide public hotspots and promote the use of consumer owned unlicensed low-cost wireless networking equipment. In order to get more public Wi-Fi hotspots installed, NYCwirelsss contracted with the for-profit company Cloud Networks, which was staffed by some of the founding members of the NYCwireless community project. In the aftermath of the [[September 11 attacks]] in 2001 NYCwirelsss helped to provide emergency communication by quickly assembling and deploying free Wi-Fi hotspots in areas of New York City that had no other telecommunications. In summer 2002, the [[Bryant Park]] wireless network became the flagship project of NYCwireless, with about 50 users every day. By 2003 NYCwireless had more than 100 active hotspots throughout New York City.<ref>{{cite book |author = Rob Flickenger |date= 2003 |title= Building Wireless Community Networks |publisher= O'Reilly Media |isbn= 9780596005023 | page = 124}}</ref>

===Early project in rural areas===
[[File:Guifi.net supernode installation 2.jpg|thumb|right|250px|A volunteer installing a "supernode" of [[guifi.net]]. In July 2018 guifi.net had over 35,000 active nodes and about 63,000&nbsp;km of wireless links.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://guifi.net/en/what_is_guifinet|title=What is guifi.net?}}</ref>]]
In 2000, [[guifi.net]] was founded because commercial [[internet service provider]]s did not build a broadband Internet infrastructure in rural [[Catalonia]]. Guifi.net was conceived as a [[wireless mesh network]], where households can become a node in the network by operating a radio transmitter. Not every node needs to be a [[wireless router]], but the network relies on some volunteers being connected to the Internet and sharing that access with others. In 2017 guifi.net had 23,000 nodes and was described as the biggest mesh network in the world.<ref>{{cite book |editor1= Ileana Hamburg |editor2=Alexandra David |date= 2017 |title= Entrepreneurship and Entrepreneurial Skills in Europe: Examples to Improve Potential Entrepreneurial Spirit |publisher= Verlag Barbara Budrich |isbn= 9783847409601 | page = 25}}</ref>

In 2001, BCWireless founded to help communities in [[British Columbia]], [[Canada]], set up local Wi-Fi networks. BCWireless hobbyists experimented with [[IEEE 802.11b]] wireless networks and antennas to extend the range and power of signal, allow bandwidth sharing among local group members and establish wireless mesh networks. The [[Lac Seul First Nation]] communities set up their Wi-Fi network and constituted the non-profit K-Net to manage a wireless network based on [[IEEE 802.11g]] to provide the entire reserve with Wi-Fi using the unlicensed spectrum in combination with licensed spectrum at 3.5&nbsp;GHz.<ref>{{cite book |editor1= Andrew Clement |editor2=Michael Gurstein |editor3=Graham Longford |editor4=Marita Moll |editor5=Leslie Regan Shade |date= 2011 |title= Connecting Canadians: Investigations in Community Informatics |publisher= Athabasca University Press |isbn= 9781926836041 | page = 192}}</ref>

===Co-operation between community networks===
For the most, early wireless community projects had a local scope, but many still had a global awareness. In 2003, wireless community networks initiated the ''[http://picopeer.net/ Pico Peering Agreement]'' (PPA) and the ''[https://adam.nz/wireless-commons/ Wireless Commons Manifesto]''. The two initiatives defined attempts to build an infrastructure, so that local [[wireless mesh network]]s could become extensive [[wireless ad hoc network]]s across local and national boundaries.<ref>{{cite book |author = Adrian Mackenzie |date= 2010 |title= Wirelessness: Radical Empiricism in Network Cultures |url = https://archive.org/details/wirelessnessradi00mack_048 |url-access = limited |publisher= MIT Press |isbn= 9780262014649 | page = [https://archive.org/details/wirelessnessradi00mack_048/page/n116 113]}}</ref> In 2004, [[Freifunk]] released the [[OpenWrt]]-based firmware FFF for Wi-Fi devices that participate in a community network, which included a PPA, so that the owner of the node agrees to provide free transit across the network.<ref name="Springer">{{cite book |author1=Alessandro Aldini |author2=Alessandro Bogliolo |date= 2014 |title= User-Centric Networking: Future Perspectives |publisher= Springer |isbn= 9783319052182 | page = 39}}</ref>