Building city and nationwide Wi-Fi coverage via cooperation presents the problem of building yet another overlapping citywide network instead of choosing cooperative approach to connect existing Wi-Fi networks via common policies, configurations and authentication decisions. The presentation promotes expanding eduroam(tm) model from academic world to regional, intercompany and government roaming.

1. Building
city and nationwide
Wi-Fi coverage
via cooperation
Karri Huhtanen
Arch Red Oy
27.9.2013

2. the traditional way
Picture by Karl-Ludwig G. Poggemann

3. In the beginning...
already a lot of separate,
overlapping Wi-Fi
networks interfering
with each other
Map by OpenStreetMap

4. already a lot of separate,
overlapping Wi-Fi
networks interfering
with each other
+
one more, the new
common Wi-Fi
network
Then...
Map by OpenStreetMap

5. So this is bad, because...
• more overlapping Wi-Fi networks => more radio
interference => all Wi-Fi network users suffer
• providing additional coverage, capacity and
bandwidth always generates costs to someone
• maintaining, upgrading and repairing additional
network always generates costs to someone
• often the additional coverage is also provided
outdoors and from outside => which means
excellent Wi-Fi coverage for magpies during
Finnish winters
Photo by Andrew King

6. What to do?
Photo by Sean Hobson

7. Try cooperation...
Photo by Sean Hobson

8. Instead of this...
Map by OpenStreetMap

9. Let’s try this...
Map by OpenStreetMap
unification
via
cooperation

10. We must be realistic...
• Somebody has to cover the costs of providing coverage, capacity,
bandwidth and maintaining, upgrading and repairing network =>
Dividing work and costs makes sense => Let everyone handle and
control their part of the network
• We need unified policies for network configuration, authentication,
access filtering, IP addressing etc. => Let’s just choose open
standard interfaces and policies, no specific vendors or service
providers
• There will still be overlapping private networks, home networks
etc. => interference cannot be removed but it can be reduced
• Coverage is not really needed everywhere, it is needed where the
existing networks already are => with unified network settings
around it is easier to access Internet in various places

11. So how can this be done?
Photo by Sean Hobson

12. two options
“Easy” “Proper”
Scale by winnifredxoxo

13. “Easy”
• use common but original Wi-Fi network name for all
cooperating networks, make the name neutral so that it is
easier to adopt
• leave Wi-Fi network without authentication or encryption
or specify common WPA2 pre-shared secret, share this
secret to everyone
• have and enforce a common policy for Internet filtering
and IP addressing everywhere
• wish for the best and believe in the goodness of the people
• that’s it: everyone controls and is responsible of their own
part of network and partially what happens through it
Photo by RobbyVan Moor

14. For few reasons “easy” option
has not catched on
• People want to have unauthenticated, unencrypted and unfiltered
networks to use, but very few want to provide such ones
themselves.
• People still want to have curtains for privacy, doors for access
control, pin codes for credit cards and mobile phones.
• People responsible of what happens in or through their networks
are even more careful.
• “easy” networks are often filtered so heavily that instead of ‘open’
they often should be called ‘broken’.
• Access and capacity control, monitoring and network
management are still needed, even in so called ‘open’ networks.

15. Photo by Thomas Guine
Photo by RobbyVan Moor
“Proper”
• use common but original Wi-Fi network name for all
cooperating networks, make the name neutral so that it is
easier to adopt
• use WPA2 encryption and authentication for everyone and
every network, connect networks into coverage area by
authentication federation, at the minimum use MAC address
control
• have and enforce a common policy for Internet filtering, IP
addressing and network configuration everywhere
• that’s it: everyone controls and is responsible of their own
part of network and partially what happens through it,
visitors leave trails that can be followed, device and visitor
access can be controlled

16. But has this then catched on?
• Short answer: Yes.
• eduroam(tm) (www.eduroam.org), the global authentication
federation for universities and research organisations is the world’s
3rd most advertised Wi-Fi network and the roaming standard of
academic world
• eduroam(tm) technologies and architecture have been applied in
Wireless Tampere community network, which is used already in
Tampere and neighboring cities
• Belnet has started a pilot in Belgium about government roaming
called govroam(tm) (www.govroam.be)
• The architecture is compatible with operator roaming and
technologies such as SIM card or certificate authentication, elliptic
curves etc. in addition to traditional username and password

17. What are the additional benefits?
• A common Wi-Fi network with same network configuration
accessible everywhere securely with home organisation credentials
but at the same time protecting the user privacy.
• Access to the network, used capacity and traffic can be controlled
and prioritized. Trail of accountability exists.
• The core infrastructure and architecture is field tested, it has already
been used and developed for over 10 years by operators, by
eduroam etc.
• The core infrastructure can be extended and evolved as
authentication and network technologies develop, in most times even
without changes to the core.
• All technologies and interfaces used are open standards, defined
mostly in IETF. There exists both open source and commercial
options for components and services from several suppliers.

18. What now and in the
future?
• All the components for building this kind of cooperative
Wi-Fi authentication federation exists.
• What is needed is the interest and will to do this kind of
cooperation and expand it from academic world and
regional cooperation to national cooperation between
cities, companies and government and beyond to connect
to similar initiatives abroad.
• If interested, come and discuss with me about details.

19. Thank you. Questions?
my contact information
Karri Huhtanen
firstname.surname@archred.com
http://www.archred.com/
these and more slides:
http://www.slideshare.net/
khuhtanen/