Why Free Wireless

When I was recruiting IT professionals I met a man with a Phd in Radio Frequency technologies. That was in 1985 if memory serves me correctly. He told me about how the CRTC had set aside the 2Ghz frequency range of the radio spectrum as a public. In other words you could broadcast and receive on this frequency without a license. A good example is a portable home telephone, the end user does not need a license to use the equipment unlike your Cell Phone. Cell Phone users pay for their connection to the Wireless Cell Phone Network.

At that time the technology was very primitive and not very well developed but I imagined a wireless network spread across wide areas at little or no cost. After all it's a two way radio with a password. I also knew the time and effort it would take to improve the technologies to a point that it made sense to deploy such a system. I guess that's part of the reason I remained interested in micro chip R&D recruiting. Twenty years later the technologies have improved and the prices have come down to a level almost everyone can afford a wireless device; albeit a forty dollar P3 with a wireless card will give you wireless networking and internet access.

The point is very simple and immediate, our public wireless network in Canada is lame. At this time we have the ISP's trying to figure out a strategy around the 2Ghz frequency. A good example is Roger's new USB stick. You pay for the connection to the internet not the access to the wireless signal. Bell has the same service available. I have also spoken to many people who have travelled outside Canada and they all agree we are behind the rest of the world when it come to telecom access.

So what does this mean? When I was lucky enough to be able to open a CAP Site in 2002 I eventually saw the potential to offer free wireless internet to people in the neighbourhood. Add this to a 6 PC CAP Site and we have success stories to make you almost want to cry and this whole journey worth while. Today at our CAP Site we have a multiple wireless networ devices, a server, PC's with Windows and Linux and a whole bunch of learning going on.

The challenge to connect Canada is big and looking into the future I see two possible scenario's. One where the telecom providers like Bell or Rogers offer a wireless service and make a whole lot of money or Canada does it on a community level where there is a combination of community, business and government working to build a national plan for inexpensive access to the "E" economy.

Pie in the sky? Maybe!
I think CAP provides the perfect opportunity to launch a project like this. This is why I suggested we take the CAP Site idea to our government and add wireless to a proposal where we save CAP and add value.

Thanks for your patience with my rambling story telling
Daryl Hobbs

Comment

aarondyck — 2010–06–03 09:28:37 EDT wrote

While your concept is good, you fail to realize one thing. The 2Ghz wireless spectrum is only for low–power broadcasts. This covers things just like your cordless phones, your wireless routers, and that sort of idea. It does not cover large–scale enterprises. The Rogers and Bell offerings operate in the 3G range which is a bought–and–paid–for spectrum that they purchase the right to use from the CRTC. Additionally, the 2Ghz range specifies maximum frequencies at which you can transmit. Finally, the one issue inherent in any wireless connection is a limited number of hosts. The more people you have connecting to a single wireless network the longer each host will have to wait for the wireless medium to become available and allow them to transmit. Even if each commmunication only took half a second by the time you add 120 hosts to your network you're looking at a minute of wait time before you can even say "Hi, I want to join your network!"