1. Case Study: DublinWAN By Robert Fitzsimons DublinWAN Chairperson robfitz@273k.net An introduction to IrishWAN and DublinWAN

2. What is IrishWAN? IrishWAN is a grass-roots organization dedicated to the promotion and creation of Wide Area Network’s through Ireland With the ultimate goal of linking all these WAN’s together to form one large island wide area network infrastructure

3. What is IrishWAN? Continued This organization is made up of individuals who believe in the idea of building a community around an –Open access –Community owned –Community run network

4. The structure of IrishWAN. Loosely knit, decentralized organization The Internet is used for coordination –Website www.irishwan.org –Web forums, mailing lists, IRC Local county groups build the network –Antrim, Carlow, Clare, Cork, Down, Dublin, Galway, Kildare, Limerick, Meath, Waterford, Westmeath, Wexford, Wicklow

5. What is the role of DublinWAN? Coordinate activities in County Dublin and the surrounding areas Promotes IrishWAN at national and now international events DublinWAN is the most formal group –Membership –Committee –Frequent meetings

6. The history of IrishWAN and DublinWAN. Over two years ago, IrishWAN formed around the idea of using wireless technology for distributing Internet access One year ago, DublinWAN votes in a constitution and committee Now, DublinWAN has applied to the Irish government to form a co-operative society

7. Why is IrishWAN required? Approximately 30% of the population live outside of cities and major towns Due to technical and infrastructure limitations broadband access is even limited within cities and major towns It is not always commercially viable for broadband providers to move into these areas

8. What about the alternatives? Dial-up and ISDN –Reasonable coverage, limited bandwidth, costly DSL and Cable –Limited coverage, bandwidth limits and caps, expensive Fixed wireless –Extremely limited coverage, reasonably priced

9. Who uses the IrishWAN network? IT Professionals Students Home users Schools Community groups

10. How big is the IrishWAN network? Very little of the network is directly interconnected Due to the decentralized nature of the network the total number of users is unknown There is an estimated 150 network users across the country and about 900 registered members of the website

11. IrishWAN Map

12. DublinWAN Map

13. What is the network used for? Internet access Communication Gaming File sharing Local content

14. What technology is used? Open standard wireless networking technology –802.11b, used in most of the existing network –802.11g, is being used at some new sites –802.11a, some experimentation is being done with 5 GHz technology Networking Operating Systems –Linux, FreeBSD, Windows

15. What equipment does a client require? Wireless client device, PCMCIA, PCI or USB Directional antenna Coax cable Pigtail Pole and mounting brackets Client costs 100 to 300 Euro

16. What equipment does a node require? Wireless access point device, AP or PCI Omni directional antenna Basic computer Extra requirements similar to client Node costs start at about 300 Euro

17. How is the network funded? Nodes are funded by individuals and small groups Donations are made by members to fund important sites Indirect access to grants, through community groups Free access to sites for nodes or repeaters Discounts from hardware suppliers

18. The model. Group Data Scheme –Rural or remote community with limited Internet access options –Bulk buy Internet bandwidth –Bandwidth is distributed to nodes using wireless point-to-point links –End users get Internet access using wireless point-to-multipoint links

19. The future of IrishWAN and DublinWAN. DublinWAN co-operative society Bulk buying Internet bandwidth Working with schools and community groups Working with local and national government Working with Irish content providers

20. Robert Fitzsimons DublinWAN Chairperson robfitz@273k.net http://www.irishwan.org/