[MLB-WIRELESS] Internet Access

[Dan Flett]

>So is Melbourne Wireless a "Community Network" or a "Community ISP" similar
>to what APANA once was?
>
>If it's the latter then myself and I'm sure many others bid you all
>farewell.
>
>I have an internet connection as does obviously everyone else on this list,
>why would I give that up for an underperforming ADSL connection shared with
>3 dozen others which I access via a network with 45% down time and shabby
>security?

As I said earlier, the aim would not be for Melbourne Wireless to become an 
ISP per se, or for it to be a replacement for your cabled Internet 
connection.  The aim would be for Melbourne Wireless to offer Internet 
access as a side-show to the main event of creating a free-access, 
high-bandwidth, city-wide data backbone - which is what we're all about, I'm 
sure you agree.

The Internet access offered by Melbourne Wireless would be slow and limited, 
but the backbone that it is carried upon would be fast and reliable, and 
paid for by people's non-compulsory donations and membership fees.

>It simply doesn't make financial or practical sense and we've discussed it
>many times always with the same result.

What I'd like to see is a list of hurdles that need to be overcome.   We the 
rank-and-file membership of Melbourne Wireless can then decide amongst 
ourselves what is and isn't practical.  It is an issue of central importance 
to the entire membership of the group, yet I feel that all the options and 
decisions have been discussed and decided in Committee meetings before 
ordinary members are able to consider their feasability.

>There's also the fact that you shouldn't put the cart before the horse.
>Where is your community network with DNS, QoS, decent routing, reliable
>backbone links, etc?

Where's the decent backbone?  How's it going to be paid for?  If Melbourne 
Wireless Inc. is going to pay for it, where's the money coming from?  I 
believe that a decent backbone can only be provided if people pool their 
financial resources - and Melbourne Wireless Inc. is best placed to manage 
that financial "pool".  I also believe that people won't donate much to the 
cause unless there's Internet involved - even if it's a slow trickle feed.

But at the moment, with no Internet on the network people's interest in it 
is on a par with their interest in Ham Radio.  Not that there's anything 
wrong with Hams :) - it's just a hobby that's not for everyone.  If there 
was something on the network that the majority could understand I think we'd 
see it grow and improve a lot faster.

Perhaps I'm wrong - perhaps a majority of node-owners will donate money even 
if there's no Internet on the network.  I'd like to be proven wrong on that 
count.  I think through the current discussion on the list we've established 
that the reason why we can't offer Internet on the network has more to do 
with administrative hassles imposed by the AG's Department rather than 
whether the ACA would see it as commercial or non-commercial.  If we can 
convince the ACA that MW accepting donations or an increased membership fee 
to fund backbone hardware is still non-commercial, then maybe offering 
Internet on the network is not such an important issue.

I guess the core of the issue is I'm thinking of ways for Melbourne Wireless 
to increase it's funding base so that a proper backbone can be built.  At 
the moment I think the Membership fee is too low, and that other efforts to 
raise money are not bearing fruit.

As I've said, I think it can be sucessfully argued to the ACA that the act 
of payment of the Membership fee is not linked to the provision of network 
access, and that therefore our network passes their test of 
non-commerciality as required by the Act.  I believe we can use the money 
raised from increased Membership fees to purchase Backbone equipment.  
Reliable, long range equipment - i.e. not 802.11b equipment.



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