[CUWiN] In order to be a node...

[Sascha Meinrath]

Hi Gabriel,

On Sat, 19 Feb 2005, G Lopez wrote:

> Hello CU Wireless,
>
> I might be interested in becoming a node here in Champaign Urbana. I am 
> wondering what kind and speed of internet connections you are looking 
> for in volunteer nodes and if you had any problems in the past with 
> Insight or SBC for people running public connections using their DSL or 
> Cable Modem services?
>
> Thanks,
>
> Gabriel

The speeds have been similar to DSL speeds (we use business class DSL 
lines to feed our network).  Thus far we haven't had any problems with 
other service providers.  I suppose that many residential user agreements 
do stipulate that you're not allowed to share your connection (and we 
can't tell you to ignore those rules); however, the CUWiN project avoids 
this problem by only using lines that we're allowed to share.

I _personally_ think that the artificial limitations placed on DSL sharing 
by service providers are inane (if you're paying for a service, what right 
do they have to say how efficiently you use it).  They exist to allow 
service providers to maximize the overselling of their infrastructure -- 
at the expense of saving end-users money by sharing connections.  But the 
CUWiN project does not encourage users to engage in activities that are 
contrary to their service agreements.  If you're worried about 
repercussions from your provider, I'd advise either buying from an ISP 
that allows sharing, or upgrading to a business class line that allows 
sharing.

--Sascha

-- 
Sascha Meinrath
President                 *   Project Coordinator   *   Policy Analyst
Acorn Worker Collective  ***  CU Wireless Network  ***  Free Press
www.acorncollective.com   *   www.cuwireless.net    *   www.freepress.net