
Start-up to launch free wireless network in S.F. - danielha
http://news.com.com/2061-10812_3-6164554.html?part=rss&tag=2547-1_3-0-20&subj=news
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notabel
This is an interesting variation on the model that Fon is using. If I'm
reading it correctly, Meraki is assuming that only fraction of the routers
will be hardwired to the internet, with the remainder acting only to extend
the mesh. In that sense, it's similar to a local, community based project
(alacloud.net) that I'm working with now.

Unlike with Fon, however, there is no clear way to offer users any
compensation[1], or really to monetize the network (other than something like
ads). I'm intrigued to see how this "experiment" turns out.

[1] It's left as an exercise to the reader to decide whether Fon's model is a
horrible idea or not.

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pg
It's very amusing the way they're just doing an end-run past all the
bureacratic stuff cooked up by the city. That's the great thing about
startups; they just flow right around gatekeepers.

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danielha
http://gigaom.com/2006/11/20/san-francisco-munifi/

A mess is an appropriate description for this. With Meraki's approach, I can
see true headway being made. It looks like there's some appeal for the
entrepreneurial crowd as well -- you can run your own network and charge
users.

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danielha
Poking around their site, I see that one of their technical advisers is none
other than Robert Morris himself. Very cool.

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pg
I believe they were his grad students.

