April 30, 2006 • 2:54 pm 0
Aric Boyles, creator of “CentralPark.com”:1, recently asked visitors of his website whether they’d like to see a free hotspot in Central Park. The results are overwhelming, but hardly surprising:
p=. !http://wirelesscommunity.files.wordpress.com/2006/04/wi-fi_meetup_logo.pngwp-content/uploads/2006/04/Picture%202.png!:1
We’re trying to work with him to see what we can do to help those 87%!
[1]http://www.centralpark.com
Filed under: Community Wireless, New York City, NYCwireless, Urban Wireless
April 26, 2006 • 1:05 pm 0
Public Knowledge has posted a great “Schoolhouse Rocks” style video explaining Net Neutrality.
p=.
Filed under: Network Neutrality, News, Policy
April 26, 2006 • 8:45 am 0
On Monday, May 15 at 1pm, I will be testifying about the state of Wi-Fi in NYC Parks. The hearing will be held in the Committee Room at City Hall by the Committee on Technology in Government. The hearing, chaired by Council Member Gale Brewer, will be a joint oversight hearing with the Committee on Parks, chaired by Council Member Helen Foster of the Bronx, on the topic of wireless Internet access in New York City parks.
This hearing is coming at an interesting time, as NYCwireless is expanding its Park coverage. In the past 3 years, the NYC Parks department has succeeded in lighting up only part of one park, and their RFPs (one 3 years ago, another a few months ago) have been widely criticized for being structured so that non-profits like NYCwireless cannot easily bid, and for failing to successfully incentivize developers to create Parks hotspots.
The hearing should be an interesting one, especially since the only successful Wi-Fi deployments in New York City came from NYCwireless. Even though we don’t operate all of the existing hotspots anymore (though this may change), NYCwireless or its members built almost all (except 1 or 2) of the hotspots that have graced New York City and served its citizens and visitors.
Filed under: New York City, NYCwireless, Policy
April 25, 2006 • 8:52 am 1
I received an email from Octavio Herrara, who is attempting to gather resources and build a community based wi-fi network in Cali, Columbia. His effort is impressive, and the grassroots network he’s trying to build to serve low- and middle-income families in his town is important.
bq. My name is Octavio Herrera and I am part of a initiative in Cali, Colombia (South America) to build an open wireless network and due to the fact that you develop model to build wireless networks in low income housing we are interested in some advide or information you can provide about this concern, we have reviewed to concept about organizing in a cooperative like an “example in the netherlands”:1 and we found that in our community mainly composed by low to mid income houses we can build a public access wireless network based on this principle.
bq. well, this initiative is just begining, supported mainly by the desire to have wireless internet access for the community of cali, colombia, due to the lack of broadband internet connections here, so a small group of people (mainly young academics) are interested in building a wireless network, not just to provide broadband internet access, but just to share resources, anyway we are organizing a cooperative and creating a strategic plan to get resources to build the network but we need all the help and advice we can get from people around the globe who already have been in this same situation or at least have experience building this kind of network.
bq. Thanks again and any help you can provide will be gratefuly received.
If you are interested in helping him out, drop me a line and I’ll put you in touch with him.
[1]http://www.smartcommunity.nl/news/broadband_news/consumer_owned_cooperative_model_proves_to_be_a_success_in_nuenen_the_netherlands
Filed under: Community Wireless, International
April 24, 2006 • 10:00 am 0
I sat for an interview and video shoot for a CNN Welcome to the Future piece on ubiquitous Wi-Fi networks that aired on March 23rd, 2006. Here’s the clip:
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Filed under: Community Wireless, Interview, New York City, News
April 24, 2006 • 12:10 am 1
Back in November of last year, “I wrote about a ridiculous law”:2 that was being proposed in Westchester County. The law would require firewalls to be established on all business networks that make use of Wi-Fi technologies, in an attempt to curb identity theft. At the time, I tried to contact the County Executive, since NYCwireless clearly had something to add to any debate that was ongoing. Unfortunately, they were unreachable (a bad trait for any public official) and did not return any calls.
Well, it seems that against all better judgement, “the proposed legislation is now law”:1, and will take effect in six months.
I had voiced some “serious criticism”:2 for the law, which overall creates a false sense of security. County Executive Andrew Spano clearly hasn’t been listening to any of the people who have been trying to help inform him:
bq. “There are many unsecured wireless networks out there, and any malicious individual with even minimal technical competence would have no trouble accessing information that should be kept confidential,” Spano said. “It would be nice if these businesses took the necessary steps on their own to ensure their networks were kept secure, but the sad fact is that many don’t.”
The law, as written, won’t do anything to help deter serious identity theft crimes. The administration’s own people even acknowledge that:
bq. Andrew Neuman, a senior assistant to Spano, said, “We know this is not a silver bullet. But deterring amateur hackers from the easiest targets is a step in the right direction.”
Deterring amateur hackers isn’t a step in *any* direction. As I previously stated, amateur hackers aren’t the people you should be afraid of, nor are they the ones causing most of the identity theft damage. Its the big guys, who know a hell of a lot more than most other people do, and will be able to easily circumvent the Administration’s regulated “protections”.
[1]http://www.newsday.com/news/local/wire/newyork/ny-bc-ny–wirelesssecurity0420apr20,0,2365284.story?coll=ny-region-apnewyork
[2]http://www.wirelesscommunity.info/2005/11/08/westchester-county-law-requiring-secured-wi-fi-networks/
April 23, 2006 • 11:08 pm 0
Anthony Townsend, Research Director at the “Institute for the Future”:1 and founder and former director of NYCwireless, “writes about”:2 some of the things that aren’t being discussed in many (all?) of the current municipal wireless plans:
bq. From Philadelphia to San Francisco to Portland, plans for municipal wireless networks are on the drawing board in hundreds of cities across America. These ambitious projects are driven by both push and pull forces. On the push side, Wi-Fi technology has rewritten the economics of deploying broadband access in densely built cities. What used to require tearing up streets and deploying costly cables now can be achieved my mounting antennas on street lamps every hundred yards or so. On the pull side, minority communities and small businesses that have been bypassed by DSL and digital cable buildout are mobilizing and demanding equal access to the vital economic lifeline that broadband networks represent.
bq. While the speed with which local governments are moving to exploit this opportunity is admirable, IFTF’s research has identified several areas where insufficient energy is being devoted to explore the long-term consequences of design and implementation decisions. While the working life of today’s Wi-Fi technologies may only be five to ten years, the infrastructure and governance models put in place today are likely to shape a whole generation’s worth of urban wireless networks. If cities fail to think ahead, they may find it more challenging to leverage wireless infrastructure for digital inclusion, economic development and public safety in the future.
There are three key areas that deserve special attention:
- Guaranteeing citizens’ role as content providers
- Finding a balance for location privacy
- Enabling the Internet of Things
“Read more”:2
[1]http://www.iftf.org
[2]http://future.iftf.org/2006/04/adsupported_mun.html
Filed under: Muniwireless, Policy
April 23, 2006 • 12:03 pm 0
I’ve (finally) set up an NYCwireless Wi-Fi Meetup group. Join and participate!
p=. !http://wirelesscommunity.files.wordpress.com/2006/04/wi-fi_meetup_logo1.png(NYCwireless Wi-Fi Meetup Logo)!:logo
[logo]http://www.meetup.com/r/inbound/0/0/shareimg/http://wifi.meetup.com/236/?a=shareimg
Filed under: Community Wireless, New York City, NYCwireless
April 21, 2006 • 12:51 pm 0
“FreePress”:2 just launched the “Save the Internet”:3 campaign and website, where you can find out more about the battle that is being fought to keep our internet freedoms (free as in unfettered access, not free as in no cost). I’d recommend that everyone read and contact their Senators and Representatives in order to make sure that telcos and cablecos don’t restrict our access to information.
bq. The “SavetheInternet.com Coalition”:4 launches April 24 to urge Congress to take immediate steps to save the First Amendment of the Internet — a principle called “network neutrality” that ensures that the Web remains open to innovation and progress.
bq. Congress is about to vote on a bill that would ruin network neutrality by letting big phone and cable companies set up toll booths along the information superhighway. Companies like AT&T, Verizon and Comcast are spending tens of millions in Washington to kill any protection of the free and open Internet.
bq. This bill would let these network giants become Internet gatekeepers, deciding which Web sites go fast or slow — and which won’t load at all.
bq. Only giant corporations will be able to afford to pay their toll for speedy delivery. The rest of us will be detoured to the “slow lane” — clicking furiously and waiting for our favorite sites to download. Coalition members are reaching out to millions of constituents in a broad campaign to tell Congress to save net neutrality now:
bq. “http://action.freepress.net/campaign/savethenet”:1
bq. Our elected representatives are trading favors for campaign donations from phone and cable companies. They’re being wooed by people like AT&T’s CEO, who says “the Internet can’t be free” and wants his company to decide what you do, where you go and what you watch online.
bq. The best ideas rarely come from those with the deepest pockets. If the phone and cable companies get their way, the open and free Internet could soon be fenced in by large corporations. If Congress turns the Internet over to AT&T, everyone will suffer.
bq. The “SavetheInternet.com Coalition”:4 was formed to prevent Internet gatekeepers from blocking or discriminating against new economic, political and social ideas. We are mobilizing millions of Americans to urge Congress to preserve the free and open Internet.
bq. We must act now or lose the Internet as we know it.
[1]http://action.freepress.net/campaign/savethenet
[2]http://www.freepress.net
[3]http://www.savetheinternet.com
[4]http://www.savetheinternet.com/=coalition
Filed under: Network Neutrality, News, Policy
April 21, 2006 • 11:36 am 0
_All are invited – please re-post everywhere!_
*Wednesday, March 29th, 2006 at 7:15pm*
“*Bway.net*”:http://www.bway.net — “Google Map”:gmap
568 Broadway at Prince St, NE corner
Suite 404
New York, NY 10012
*Agenda:*
* *Jamie Paquette/Solar One* — discusses the launch of NYC’s first solar powered access point in Stuyvesant Cove Park in collaboration with NYCwireless.
* *Kirby Nash/Protexx* — Wireless Sniffing Legal?
18 U.S.C. sec. 2511 (2)(g)(v): “[It shall not be unlawful] for other users of the same frequency to intercept any radio communication made through a system that utilizes frequencies monitored by individuals engaged in the provision or the use of such system, if such communication is not scrambled or encrypted.”
Features and Benefits of Protexx Wireless Security Connect securely with up to 2048 bit encryption with Protexx easy-to-use wireless security protection,and keep your computer anonymous from other wireless users.
*”Join/Renew Your NYCwireless Membership”:1 — Only $30* — Members get exclusive use of NYCwireless Safe Mail Account
_”NYCwireless”:http://www.nycwireless.net is a non-profit organization that advocates and enables the growth of free, public wireless networks._
[gmap]http://maps.google.com/?q=568+Broadway,ny+ny+(Bway.net)
[1]http://www.nycwireless.net/membership
Filed under: Community Wireless, Event, NYCwireless
