Wireless Community Networks: An Alternative Approach for Nomadic Broadband Network Access

Low-cost wireless LAN equipment operating in unlicensed spectrum has revolutionized local area communications, introducing novel schemes for open wireless connectivity and even new business models. The ease of deployment of Wi-Fi has made it ubiquitous in densely populated urban areas, and it was just a matter of time before wireless communities emerged. Using inexpensive wireless technology to communicate, autonomous wireless internetworks have been built, offering a variety of broadband services. Based on our own experience participating in one of the largest wireless communities worldwide, the Athens Wireless Metropolitan Network, we attempt to explain their structure and mechanisms, study the reasons for their emergence and growth, and predict their future evolution. We expect that future wireless communities will be oriented toward providing broadband access to nomadic users. To this end, we have proposed that wireless network access be shared in a peer-to-peer, reciprocal manner. Thus, ubiquitous broadband Internet access can be achieved at a low cost, at least in metropolitan areas where there is abundant wireless coverage, providing an inexpensive alternative to broadband cellular services.