Mesh Boston Meeting Minutes - 2022/01/23

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Attending

  • Skyler
  • JamesO
  • Keeg
  • Martin - Newport Mesh
  • Lucas

Discussion

Lively discussion with Martin from Newport Mesh and laboratoryb.org about sustaining a public mesh network:

  • Diane provides an 80Mbit fiber connection to NY ($555/mo)
  • 50 nodes with 20 people paying. Some people don't pay.
    • speeds are 2-25 Mbit
  • Martin handles the rollout of new hardware. Testing, then rolling them out more widely.
  • Center of the mesh is the community church
    • The church in Newport is right next to the Consolidated Communications building
    • Important to describe what you do and what they get out of hosting
    • Institutions will feel liable if you are using their internet
    • When these circumstances arise, we need to maintain this point of contact
  • Challenge is to build and sustain the community
    • Give more reasons for the community to contribute
    • Diane goes door to door asking if people want to be part of the mesh
    • Running as a coop is all well and good, but it comes down to the active members participating (which co-ops in name and not in name do well)
    • When you identify someone who wants to help, it is important identify what they want to do and make sure they have fun. encourage people to do what they like to do
    • keep roots in existing community by helping other groups to make connections
      • find existing community and engage with it
      • cold calling is ok, but don't be rude
    • Easier to work with people on disability or unemployed than high school students.
      • having an enriching environment helps.
      • if you can find a teacher be sure to work with them
  • you need to run it like a business, but you cannot make money. it is all put back into the community.

one takeaway:

  • all the tech people should stop duplicating work and stop reinventing the wheel
  • would be helpful to have a regular jitsi meeting where different groups talk about what they are working on

Should talk to smaller local cable companies

Insufficient collaboration between mesh networks

  • no chat channel
  • no calendar of meetings/events
  • no conventions
  • no map of mesh providers/support
  • Month to month idea sharing between mesh support teams would help

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