Charles, I am a Melb PC User Group member and I'm interested in the wireless network to which you refer/would like to build. Interested and will provide support, can't provide much tech help though! Lance

Just let me know...

CW - meant to ask - can you tell me the service you wrote about which was a commercial version of this distributed wireless service that you wrote about a few weeks ago in the green guide. You can let others use your wireless network and get paid and when you are elsewhere you can use anothers wireless network at a small cost? Lance

Interested. Are we looking at immediate post disaster deployment? Very interested from a number of levels.

Tomizone

That would be the aim, Dale. With more Wi-Fi capable phones and notebooks/netbooks becoming the norm these days, wireless access would be a great help.

I'd welcome any suggestions on this. I hadn't thought of it at all until I read W. David Stephenson's comment this morning.

Thanks CW for Tomizone link! Some-one recycled the Greenguide before I could write down website! L

Sounds more interesting then. I'm familiar with office in a box, a Next G modem with a wireless network with a couple of VOIP phone ports. Use them for fire work funny enough.

They are of course reliant on the NextG network staying up.

The Melb PC committee is looking at it, and they're very interested. I've just joined Melbourne Wireless, which has been slowly building a network around the city. They've obviously got a lot of experience, but they can't offer Internet access, which is a shame. Who knows what might be possible though, if Melb PC and Melbourne Wireless were to co-operate on a project like this?

Indeed relatively large telecommunications systems are no longer outside the realm of individual(s), small businesses and organisations, as they can be built in a piece-meal fashion at low cost, requiring little maintenance, where the parts can be virtually bought "off-the-shelf" at a local retail store.

Unlike many overseas examples (e.g. CUWin), in Australia, Community Wireless Networks or other styles of shared networks are held back from becoming as useful as seen elsewhere.

Put in simple terms our old Telecommunications Act is out of step with major technological advances and does not allow individuals or businesses to share the cost of a 'carriage service' (namely Internet but this could include any other paid service or media) across a property boundary unless they hold a Carrier License.

Indeed it could be claimed that these regulations are in place to protect consumers and that a Carrier License is available for anyone who wishes to apply, provided they can meet the requirements of the license. Nevertheless in a shared network model this is very complex, expensive and impractical, as each participant in the OAN would require a Carrier License each time it passes from one network owner to another.

Hello Everyone,

This is Nizi from Freedom Calls (www.freedomcalls.com.au), we are working with a company in US to set up Wireless Network in Australia, things have progressed and we are looking at launching :

- satelite wireless braodband
- wifi capable mobile phones
- wimax mobile phones
- Setting up Antennas to make the whole area Wifi

And few other things, it would basically allow anyone to make use of unlimited internet and mobile phone at one set fixed cost and would reach in any area as all is wireless and through satelite.

We are looking at forming strategic alliances and partnerships with individuals and companies to make it happen in thier local area.
If anyone is interested please feel free to write at info@freedomcalls.com.au

Regards,

Nizi