[MLB-WIRELESS] Public internet access

[Rowan 2006]

On Sun, 24 Sep 2006, gabrielle harrison and Paul van den Bergen wrote:

> On Fri, 22 Sep 2006 17:38:30 +1000, Zik Saleeba <zik at zikzak.net> wrote:
>
> > On 9/22/06, Rowan 2006 <rowan2006 at sensation.net.au> wrote:
> >>
> >> Is $50/mo competitive for 1.5Mbit/sec bandwidth shared between 30 houses
> >> with 10Gb download allowance each, delivered via a non telco grade
> >> network
> >> that was set up by hobbyists who cannot reasonably be expected to be on
> >> call 24/7 if something goes wrong? Probably not...
> >
> > I expect that the main attraction for most people here is the thrill
> > of running their own network.
[...]
> How many members do we have? and they all have built their own network
> nodes? If that's not better than a help desk, I'll... um. be very
> surprised.

Hey, I wasn't knocking the DIY or group support thing at all. :) My point
was more that someone needs to be available if the internet link breaks at
3am. Would you be prepared to handle this, or call someone knowing you're
probably going to wake them up? If a person is paying $600 a year for net
access then there's a reasonable expectation of basic service levels...
sure, they don't have the right to jump up and down if the net drops out
for 30 mins out of the month, but what happens if there's an ongoing
problem? Who is responsible for fixing it?

Anyway, Mr. Haigh has said a carrier license is unlikely to happen, so
this is a moot point. :)

Cheers.