[CUWiN] CUWiN in the news:

[Sascha Meinrath]

The News-Gazette published a story on the upcomming Wireless Summit today:

http://www.news-gazette.com/story.cfm?Number=16563

I've also included the text below.

--Sascha

UI will host wireless summit

By GREG KLINE
© 2004 THE NEWS-GAZETTE
Published Online August 16, 2004

   More than 100 people from around the country have registered to attend
the first national conference on community wireless networking projects
similar to the one a group of volunteers in Urbana has under way.
   People signed up to attend the 2004 National Summit for Community
Wireless Networks include volunteers working on such systems nationwide,
computer hardware and software developers and tech business and federal,
state and local government officials, as well as activists and academic
and think tank researchers.
   "Our best-case scenario was 100 people here and we have more than that
already registered," Sascha Meinrath, one of the local organizers of the
conference, said recently. "It's going to be a large event."
   The conference runs from Friday to Sunday in the new Siebel Center for
Computer Science at the University of Illinois. Meinrath said interested
members of the public are welcome to attend any of the sessions. For more
information, see www.communitywirelesssummit.org.
   In addition to focusing on the how-to aspects of community wireless
networking, panels and the audience at the event will discuss such topics
as regulatory hurdles and coalition building to push for a climate that
allows the projects to thrive.
   For example, the networks are limited to a narrow slice of the
broadcast spectrum and low power now, although modern technology makes it
possible for them to exceed such limits without creating problems.
   "The rules simply make no sense given the new technologies," Meinrath
said.
   Registrations have come from Florida to New England and both coasts.
Organizers even had an inquiry from South Africa. That's indicative of the
level of interest in community wireless networks, from the grass-roots
activists building them to Washington, D.C., policymakers, Meinrath said.
   The idea is to blanket a community with a wireless computer network
using the same kind of "Wi-Fi" technology folks now use on a smaller scale
to distribute a cable or DSL Internet connection around home or office.
   Likewise, a community wireless network can allow a fast Internet feed
to be purchased in bulk and distributed on a neighborhood or communitywide
basis, drastically cutting the cost.
   The network also could be used as a community "intranet" for a variety
of localized purposes, from broadcasting school plays and communications
among emergency personnel to carrying voice traffic as a telephone
replacement and network-based radio.
   An Urbana-based media and technology firm project manager, Meinrath is
one of the founders of the Champaign-Urbana Community Wireless Network, a
project to cover much of downtown Urbana with such a network by next
summer.
   The Urbana network is intended to demonstrate the innovative community
wireless networking software and hardware developed by the local group,
which has gotten it some international attention, along with nearly a
quarter-million dollars in grants to refine its system and make it freely
available.
   After attending conferences with people working on similar projects
both nationally and internationally, the local organizers saw a need for a
gathering to discuss more than just the technology of community wireless
networking.
   They started working on the summit earlier this summer and quickly got
Prairienet and Free Press, a national media policy group, to join as
hosts. The UI and its Computer Science Department committed the Siebel
Center.
   Meinrath said organizers also were able to raise money for travel
stipends so community networking volunteers from elsewhere could attend
more easily. He said the entire conference is being run on $10,000 to
$15,000, all but a couple thousand dedicated to travel.

You can reach Greg Kline at (217) 351-5215 or via e-mail at
kline at news-gazette.com.

-- 
Sascha Meinrath
Project Manager & Pres.  *  Project Coordinator  *  Project Manager
Acorn Worker Collective *** CU Wireless Network *** Eggplant Active Media
www.acorncollective.com  *  www.cuwireless.net   *  www.eggplantmedia.com