[MLB-WIRELESS] Commercial use of MW network

[Dan Flett]

It does pay to RTFM, Dan. :)

I thought it was time at this point in the discussion to actually go to
the ACA website and read the fact sheets.  There are links to these fact
sheets from the Wiki -
http://melbourne.wireless.org.au/wiki/?LicensesFAQ

There is a questionnaire on the above Wiki page that helps to determine
whether your network service is exempt from having to have a Carrier
Licence. I found the questionnaire page slightly misleading though.
Question 3 asks "Is/are the network units used for the sole purpose of
supplying carriage services on a non-commercial basis?"

In the case we have been discussing, the actual provision of supplying
carriage services is non-commercial, even though the nature of the
communications is commercial.  This is a distinction we need to be aware
of.  The commercial or non-commercial nature of the provision a network
service is not necessarily related to the commercial or non-commercial
nature of the communications that use that service.

In my reading of the questionnaire I saw that it was possible to
interpret Question 3 as referring to only the provision of the service,
not the nature of the data flowing through the service.  But a
questionnaire like this is only a guide to how the legislation works and
it doesn't deal with the finer points.

I then read this ACA fact sheet:
http://www.aca.gov.au/consumer_info/fact_sheets/industry_fact_sheets/fsi
29.htm  "Wireless LANs and exempt non-commercial networks"

There are some tests that can be applied to your network to see if it
fits the concept of "non-commercial", and thereby be exempt from
requiring a carrier licence.

Test number 2 is this:
----
2. Nature of persons involved in the use of the network

What is the nature of the persons involved in the use of the network to
supply carriage services and their day-to-day activities? 

For example, the 'persons involved' could be a company or corporation
using the network for business purposes.  Such use is unlikely to be for
purely non-commercial purposes.
----

So that pretty much quashes the distinction between the nature of the
provision of the network service, and the nature of the use of that
network service.

So what if Melbourne Wireless Inc. was to somehow find the money to get
a Carrier Licence?  Well even then it probably wouldn't allow the nodes
on the MW network to accommodate commercial use because Melbourne
Wireless does not own any nodes itself.

The legislation and the fact sheets refer to owners of "base stations"
(we call them nodes) needing to have Carrier Licences.  That means each
and every one of us who owns equipment that comprises a node.  We'd all
need our own individual Carrier Licences.

So wether you are philosophically opposed to commercial use of the MW
network or not, the law of the land says we can't allow it.  I imagine
that if we had an army of high-priced lawyers we might be able to
challenge that law.  But we don't.  Our Melbourne Wireless committee
could lobby the government at some point in the future if the sentiment
of the MW membership was more receptive in such commercial arrangements.
But as far as I see, that's not how it is right now.  And that's how
community organisations work - democratically.

How does all this affect our quest to find Backbone node sites?  In the
case of commercially owned premises we can't offer bandwidth on the MW
network as inducement for them allowing us to locate nodes on their
property.  And the owner who does allow someone else's node to operate
from their premises is open to all sorts of legal and insurance risks.
We need to think of other ways of rewarding those who would house our
nodes, or appeal to the goodness of their hearts.

It seems that the people who are by far most likely to be willing to
house nodes are those who have already made their minds up that the
"freenet" concept that Melbourne Wireless facilitates is a Good
Thing(tm).  As the law currently stands, Melbourne Wireless is destined
to remain a grass-roots network.

The best way of improving network connectivity is to simply increase
awareness of Melbourne Wireless and it's principles which in turn
increases the membership and node density.  We also need to do as much
as we can to get the as many of the current members (and those who have
registered in Locfinder) active on the network.  Which is exactly what
Melbourne Wireless has been doing for the past two years.

To finish this rather long post I will say that community organisations
forming alliances with commercial interests is by no means unheard of.
I was involved with Melbourne's community TV station Channel 31 for a
number of years - since before they went on air in 1993.  The costs of
running a television station are huge - even if all your staff are
volunteers, and especially if you are very limited in the funds you can
raise through advertising.  Channel 31 was only able to get on air by
making an agreement with the Harness Racing Board.  The HRB basically
paid for Channel 31's transmitter in return for being able to put
telecasts of Harness Racing to air on Saturday nights.  There were those
who were opposed to the HRB's involvement, but the simple fact is
Channel 31 would not have gotten on air without them.

Melbourne Wireless is a different case, of course.  It is possible for
us to get some sort of network going without commercial help, it's just
a question of how widespread the network will be and how fast it will
grow.  It's up to us to make the network the best it can be given the
restraints of the law.

Cheers,

Dan

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