[Commotion-discuss] Community Wireless caucus at the Allied Media Conference

Andy Gunn andygunn at opentechinstitute.org
Fri Mar 8 15:31:04 UTC 2013


Hi all - I wanted to start the conversation around bringing people
together at this year's Allied Media Conference. For those folks that
aren't familiar with the conference, its an excellent place to come
together with a lot of other individuals and organizations and discuss
organizing strategies for our projects and movements. If you want to
read more, check out the conference web site:
http://amc.alliedmedia.org/

Put it on your calendars! June 20th to 23rd.

The idea is to come together and discuss building and running Community
Wireless networks. What is working for folks, and what are the
challenges? How do we raise funds, or what is the business model in use
for keeping our networks sustainable?

I'm going to reach out directly to folks I have been in touch with over
the past year or so, but I certainly don't know or have contacts with
all of the community networks in the country (or world!). Please pass
this notice around and invite people to the AMC so we can have a larger
and more productive conversation.

You can read the text of what I proposed below, at the bottom of this
email. Obviously this is just a proposal to the AMC, I'm hoping that it
will be approved so we can have the space at the conference.

Just so you all know, there are a number of other wireless and community
technology sessions being proposed this year at the AMC. Please consider
submitting your own proposal if you would like to share your stories and
strategies around your projects:
http://talk.alliedmedia.org/amc2013/tpsngs

Let me know if y'all have thoughts, questions or concerns about this!
-Andy


----
Community Wireless Networks Caucus

Neighborhoods and communities all over the world are opting to build
their own communications infrastructure, rather than wait for the big
Telco companies to do it for them in an affordable way. This dinnertime
caucus meeting brings together those organizations and individuals that
are starting to walk down that path, or have established networks
already. The goal is to share successes, pitfalls, and strategies for
connecting our communities and owning our own infrastructure.
Participants will walk away with connections, strategies and stories to
share with their collaborators!

The discussion is intended to cover:
* Community organizing strategies
* Planning and designing for your neighborhood
* Technical considerations and costs
* Fundraising, business models, and sustainability
* Success stories, such as:
  * What can we learn from WISPs? (Wireless Internet Service Providers)
  * Existing networks and the stories of their growth
----


-- 

Andy Gunn
Field Engineer, Open Technology Institute
New America Foundation
202-596-3484
http://oti.newamerica.net


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