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I'm sure I've had discussions around this sort of issue with some of
the LivLUG crowd in the past, so thought you might be interested.
Sorry for the short notice, but the email has only just come through
on the DoES list...<br>
<br>
Cheers,<br>
<br>
Adrian.<br>
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<th nowrap="nowrap" valign="BASELINE" align="RIGHT">Subject:
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<td>[DoES Liverpool] Come and define the future of Community
WiFi in Liverpool - 7-8pm at DoES</td>
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<th nowrap="nowrap" valign="BASELINE" align="RIGHT">Date: </th>
<td>Wed, 13 May 2015 13:37:46 +0100</td>
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<th nowrap="nowrap" valign="BASELINE" align="RIGHT">From: </th>
<td>Paul M Furley <a class="moz-txt-link-rfc2396E" href="mailto:paul@paulfurley.com"><paul@paulfurley.com></a></td>
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<th nowrap="nowrap" valign="BASELINE" align="RIGHT">Reply-To:
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<td><a class="moz-txt-link-abbreviated" href="mailto:does-liverpool@googlegroups.com">does-liverpool@googlegroups.com</a></td>
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<th nowrap="nowrap" valign="BASELINE" align="RIGHT">To: </th>
<td><a class="moz-txt-link-abbreviated" href="mailto:does-liverpool@googlegroups.com">does-liverpool@googlegroups.com</a></td>
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<div>Hello!<br>
</div>
<div><br>
If you were at Ignite a couple of weeks ago, you'll have
seen me raving about a thing called @MerseyNet. It went
something like this:<br>
<br>
</div>
<div><b>Open WiFi is Great For Tourists</b><br>
</div>
<div><br>
</div>
<div>Isn't it cool when you're travelling abroad that so many
places leave their wireless networks open? No passwords, no
stupid captive portal thing.<br>
<br>
</div>
<div>When you're abroad and you don't have a roaming data
plan, open wireless makes life so much easier! You can look
up transport routes, find restaurant reviews, use Skype to
call attractions, and send photos home to family.<br>
<br>
</div>
<div>Open wireless makes life easier for tourists - and happy
tourists are likely to tell their friends, come back another
time and probably spend more!<br>
<br>
</div>
<div>So what happened in the UK? Why all the lame passwords
(c0ff33)? Why those awful "captive portals" that your phone
can't handle? Or paying £15 per DAY for hotel internet
access?<br>
</div>
<div><br>
</div>
<div>In Liverpool we have about half a million overseas
tourists every year. They'd really appreciate a bit more
sharing!<br>
<br>
</div>
<div><b>Other Benefits</b><br>
</div>
<div><br>
</div>
<div><a moz-do-not-send="true"
href="http://www.ons.gov.uk/ons/rel/rdit2/internet-access---households-and-individuals/2014/stb-ia-2014.html"
target="_blank">According to the ONS</a>, 16% of
households don't have Internet access. That's increasingly
problematic as things move more and more online.<br>
<br>
</div>
<div>And of course, Internet of Things Things need the
Internet!<br>
<br>
</div>
<div>All this talk of connected devices, wearable electronics,
smart cities and whatnot is fantastic. But those things need
to get online. As many of you know, it's really awkward for
your toaster to enter a WiFi password, and having to put a
simcard in everything is crazy.<br>
<br>
</div>
<div><b>@MerseyNet</b><br>
</div>
<div><br>
</div>
<div>The solution is simple, and many other cities in the
world have embraced it.<br>
<br>
</div>
<div>Let's just open up our WiFi! (In a safe and secure way)<br>
</div>
<div><br>
I propose @MerseyNet - part of the <a
moz-do-not-send="true" href="http://openwireless.org"
target="_blank">openwireless.org</a> movement - which
encourages businesses and individuals sharing their
bandwidth.<br>
<br>
</div>
<div>Once you've paid for broadband, the marginal cost of
sharing some of it is basically zero, especially when you've
got unlimited monthly limits.<br>
<br>
</div>
<div><br>
</div>
<div><b>Fear Sells</b><br>
</div>
<div><br>
</div>
So when I tell people I run open wireless networks they often
tell me I'm crazy because:<br>
<br>
</div>
<ol>
<li>Paedophiles! Terrorists! (They're going to use my Internet
and I'm going to go to jail) </li>
<li>Bandwidth hogging.</li>
<li>Snooping on my traffic.</li>
</ol>
<p>TL;DR I disagree, others have answered 1) and for 2) and 3) I
built a box - the @MerseyNet box!</p>
<p>See <a moz-do-not-send="true"
href="https://www.schneier.com/blog/archives/2008/01/my_open_wireles.html"
target="_blank">Bruce Schneier on the issue of open wifi</a>.<br>
</p>
<p><b>@MerseyNet Box</b><br>
</p>
<div>
<div>So the prototype box is a Raspberry Pi with some custom
routing (iptables) stuff on it. You plug it in via Ethernet
to your router and it makes a totally isolated open wireless
network.<br>
<br>
</div>
<div>It can do various rate limiting things and kick people
off who are using too much data. (Why isn't all this just
built in to every router?!)<br>
</div>
<div><br>
</div>
<div>Of course, if you're not worried 1, 2 and 3 anyway, just
rock on and open up like the good old days!<br>
<br>
</div>
<div>The box is primarily a <b>means to an end</b> - it's not
the goal.<br>
</div>
<div><br>
</div>
<div><b>Come And Help!</b><br>
<br>
</div>
<div>Tonight's brainstorming meeting is about pushing forward
the concept, rather than the tech.<br>
<br>
</div>
<div>We want to thrash out some answers to questions like:<br>
<br>
</div>
<div>
<ul>
<li>What should the AIM of community WiFi be?</li>
<li>Which group of beneficiaries (tourists/people without
Internet /IoT developers) should we focus on?</li>
<li>Which group of <i>providers</i> (coffee shops,
individuals' houses etc) should we focus on?</li>
<li>What's the pitch to the providers?</li>
<li>Which groups or organisations would make a good
partner?</li>
<li>What do we do next?<br>
</li>
</ul>
</div>
<div>We'll be starting at 7pm sharp and keeping it to an hour,
with optional pub follow-on afterwards.<br>
<br>
</div>
<div>Kind regards,<br>
<br>
</div>
<div>Paul<br>
</div>
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<div dir="ltr"><font face="courier
new, monospace"><b>Paul M
Furley</b> | Software
Engineer</font>
<div><font face="courier new,
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<div><b
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Liverpool:</b><font
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