Creating a Grassroots Network in Downtown Raleigh

Raleigh Wi-Fi
a grassroots approach @bmcd67

Our Common Thread
We ♥ Raleigh
Universities
Downtown Living
Arts and Culture
Events
Diversity

Top Place to Be

Changes for the better

Why do we need Wi-Fi?
Growth of smartphones, handhelds, notebooks
Internet is primary source of information
Video on a phone? It’s Cool!

Competitive Advantage Austin, TX San Jose, CA

Debate

Current Downtown Wi-Fi
Paid for by tax payers
$112K price tag tough pill during recession
$18k per year to maintain
Limited downtown coverage
Outsourced to Virginia company

Community Driven Approach
Paid for by users/providers of the network as opposed to tax payers
Cost spread over broad group of business owners and local residents
Equipment options provide lower installation cost and maintenance
Ability to sell ads to local businesses within the coverage area to offset costs

Ability to post local community content on splash and referral pages
Easy to expand coverage to other areas of downtown (Glenwood South, Hillsborough Street)
Contributes to general downtown economic development and perception among other high-tech cities/regions
What about us locals?

Case Studies
San Francisco 100K plus users
Ashville Not for profit admin

City of Raleigh Wi-Fi Coverage

Potential Coverage Areas West Raleigh NC State Hillsborogh Peace Oakwood Glenwood Boylan

Cost Comparison
$112,000 to build and implement with cost of $18,000 per year to operate.
Cost over 5 years = $202,000
Vs.
Less than $20,000 for same coverage area
Create profit after break even point (18 months)

Big Brother
Who would administer and ensure proper use of the network?
Adding nodes to the mesh
Filtering inappropriate content
Bandwidth limiting
User and Business Support
Content and ad administration

Reach
How can you cover a large geographic area and keep costs low?
Mesh network technology
Open Mesh, Meraki, etc.
Multiple backhauls in key locations
Grow network on demand
Use local businesses, HOAs to sponsor
Have local bloggers, photographers, others contribute

Free the Net!
What service providers allow sharing of bandwidth?
T1 and Fiber providers for businesses
Nuvox, Covad, Deltacom
Push for more ISPs to allow for sharing
Need for change from our leaders!

Costs
Who would pay for the equipment and backhaul?
Local businesses that already incur a cost for broadband
Local businesses looking for another channel to advertise to a specific audience
Solicit grant and public funds available to Not-for-Profit agencies

Community
Workshops and seminars to educate students and general public about Wi-Fi technology
Internships to assist those seeking careers in all areas: HW, SW, Infra, Interface
Put people to work
Example to other projects

Thank You!
“Nobody can go back and start a new beginning, but anyone can start today and make a new ending.”
Maria Robinson from thinkexist.com
@bmcd67

http://www.squarejawmedia.com	11
http://zen-marketing.blogspot.com	10
http://bmcd67.posterous.com	1
http://translate.googleusercontent.com	1

Creating a Grassroots Network in Downtown Raleigh

by Brian McDonald on Aug 06, 2009

Accessibility

Categories

Tags

Upload Details

Usage Rights

4 Embeds 23

Statistics

Creating a Grassroots Network in Downtown Raleigh — Presentation Transcript