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AnchorDesk

David Coursey
Wi-Fi power to the people--a how-to guide

David Coursey
Executive Editor, AnchorDesk
Wednesday, September 3, 2003
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I think AnchorDesk readers can be divided into three groups: Those who have a broadband Internet connection, those who want but can't get a broadband Internet connection, and a small group of Luddites who think life at 56kbps is already too fast.

Wi-Fi winners
Whether your wireless network spans the neighborhood, the office, or the thirty feet from den to deck, these access cards will keep you connected.
TODAY'S COLUMN is written for that second group (the broadband wannabes) as well as for members of the first who'd like to make their broadband connections work harder by extending them outside their offices and homes.

First, of course, the obligatory anecdote to set the stage: The town to which I moved last year has limited high-speed Internet services. Fortunately for me, DSL arrived to my community within 90 days after I did, and just as I started trying to convince my friend Karl, who runs Tracy Internet, a local ISP, into letting me link to his office (and network) using 802.11b--even though three or four miles separated my home office from Karl's place.

Problem was that while I knew it was possible to use directional antennas to make flea-powered Wi-Fi signals travel surprisingly long distances, I lacked a good tutorial on how to actually set them up. Of course, now that I don't have the problem, one such solution lands on my desk.

Rob Flickenger's book "Building Wireless Community Networks" (O'Reilly, Second Edition, June, 2003) struck me at first as an example of the kind of feel-good, "We Are the World" utopianism that always sounds better than it plays out.

THE BOOK IS primarily aimed at the idealists who'd like to create wireless networks providing free Internet access to whole communities. The dream is to create a neighborhood hot spot, then connect that to other neighborhood hot spots, and eventually turn the entire community into one big hot spot.

Not surprisingly, there's an ongoing effort to build just such a wireless wide area community network in parts of the San Francisco Bay Area. With such a network, 802.11b coverage would be extended to wherever network participants wanted to install them, such as public buildings, parks, and downtown areas.

Like many forms of socialism, this is a laudable goal but unlikely to be widely achieved.

The problem is that building a large wireless network involves considerable time and not inconsequential expense, even if everyone who wants to participate chips in to provide the hardware. Then there are ongoing administrative issues--which also takes someone's time.

As a result, this has to be a business. No matter how well-intended or motivated the wireless community's volunteers may be, nearly ubiquitous connectivity will emerge only from the for-profit corporate sector.

I'm looking forward to the day when cellular customers will get high-speed connectivity from a variety of handsets, devices, add-on cards, PDAs, and such, all for one low monthly fee. The cellular companies are already stepping up to this, which is great news for people who think paying for Hot Spot connectivity is generally a rip-off.

THAT DOESN'T STOP the utopians, however, which is probably good since it provides competition to the cellular oligarchy.

I'm occasionally asked to comment on this kind of project, usually by emergency preparedness officials who see it as a potential solution to some of their communications problems. My answer is that I'd hate to be dependent on such a system, but that--like ham radio--it might save the day when the chips are down. A free community network would be good to have around, but is not worth a major public investment.

At the same time, whenever I think about being gouged to use the Hot Spot down at my local coffee shop, I wonder why merchants don't put up free networks for their customers to use? Seems to me like a good way to build business (and steal it from places that charge).

But let's put philosophical differences aside. However you feel about the practicality of community networks, this is still a good book. In fact, if you only read one book about Wi-Fi technology and what you can do with it (and I've read several), "Building Wireless Community Networks" would be a good choice.

Along with his explanations of how to create a community network, Flickenger's book does a good job of describing how networks in general operate. You'll learn about DNS, DHCP, and other acronyms necessary to make any network function. And even though the book drifts into Linux wonderland (utopians can't help but include Linux in every project, I suppose), Microsoft and (especially) Apple OS X users will feel reasonably at home.

OF SPECIAL INTEREST are the chapters dealing with antennas, 802.11b channels and interference, how to link networks up to 20 miles apart, and how to create a network for covering a small neighborhood or campus. Also discussed are the legal issues involved in staying on the right side of both the FCC and your Internet Service Provider, who may not be thrilled with a free network service for people who'd otherwise be paying customers.

This book accomplishes a lot in 168 pages, including providing "how-to" instructions for creating a point-to-point Wi-Fi antenna out of a collection of parts that mount inside a Pringles can--and cost less than $10.

You don't have to be bent on saving the world to find the book useful. If you only want to bring wireless Internet connectivity to anything larger than a home or small office, or if you need to wirelessly connect your network over a distance, this is the hands-on, how-to book you should buy.

Do you think free wireless community networks have much of a future? Why or why not? Have you been part of an effort to create such a Wi-Fi network? Share your experiences with us. TalkBack to me!

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