Community Wi-Fi in Champaign-Urbana Illinois

http://www.democracynow.org/article.pl?sid=3D05/05/13/1437255

Affordable Wireless Internet For All: How Media Activists Are Making Cham=
paign-
Urbana Illinois A Model For Community Wi-Fi

We speak with Sascha Meinrath, project coordinator of the Champaign-Urban=
a=20
Community Wireless Network. Meinrath also volunteers with the Champaign-U=
rbana=20
Indymedia Center which just bought a 30,000 square foot post office. [inc=
ludes=20
rush transcript] We are broadcasting from St. Louis, Missouri where thous=
ands=20
of people have converged for a sold-out National Conference on Media Refo=
rm.=20
Yesterday, legendary journalist Bill Moyers announced he will make his fi=
rst=20
public statement on the growing controversy over the Corporation for Publ=
ic=20
Broadcasting and PBS at the conference on Sunday.

This weekend's conference in St. Louis follows one at the University of=20
Illinois at Urbana-Champaign entitled "Can Freedom of the Press Survive M=
edia=20
Consolidation?" where Democracy Now! broadcasted from earlier this week.=20
Urbana is a hub of independent media activity. The Independent Media Cent=
er in=20
Urbana is one of the most active in the country - to such an extent that =
they=20
have just bought the Post office. They are also working on offering free=20
wireless internet broadband access to the entire city.

We are joined now by a member of the Champaign-Urbana Indymedia center, S=
ascha=20
Meinrath. He is project coordinator of the Champaign-Urbana Community Wir=
eless=20
Network and is here in St. Louis this weekend for the National Conference=
 on=20
Media Reform.

    * Sascha Meinrath, member of the Champaign-Urbana Indymedia center an=
d=20
project coordinator of the Champaign-Urbana Community Wireless Network

AMY GOODMAN: We are joined by a member of the Champaign-Urbana Indymedia=20
Center, Sascha Meinrath, project coordinator of the Champaign-Urbana Comm=
unity=20
Wireless Network. He is here in St. Louis for this conference. Welcome to=
=20
Democracy Now! It is great to have you with us, Sascha. Well, I wanted to=
=20
focus on the broadband wireless and make it as easy to understand for peo=
ple=20
who are computer illiterate as possible. What are you talking about offer=
ing?

SASCHA MEINRATH: So what we are talking about offering is bulk broadband =
for=20
cheap, so you can imagine speeds that are 10 times faster for prices that=
=20
are10 times less. We are not talking about pie in the sky, someday we wil=
l=20
have this; that's what we are delivering right now today.

AMY GOODMAN: Now what is it that -- you are talking about when people go=20
online that they would have free wireless?

SASCHA MEINRATH: Right. Not just online.

AMY GOODMAN: In their homes.

SASCHA MEINRATH: Yeah, not just online. We are talking about a local area=
=20
network, so imagine things where you can do streaming audio, live video,=20
community web hosting, all of the resources, all of the different mediums=
 that=20
people use in their everyday lives within the local community, so everyth=
ing=20
from, say, the jazz club=92s show to live footage of video from the local=
 high=20
school football game delivered for free over a local network wirelessly t=
o the=20
local community.

AMY GOODMAN: How can you do this?

SASCHA MEINRATH: Using off-the-shelf technology, software we have been=20
developing for five years as part of the Champaign-Urbana Community Wirel=
ess=20
Network and volunteer effort.

AMY GOODMAN: How does the Chamber of Commerce feel about this?

SASCHA MEINRATH: We actually received unanimous support from the Urbana=20
Business Association, who realize that this is an incredible opportunity =
for=20
businesses to take advantage of these technologies and the resources that=
 they=20
would make available.

AMY GOODMAN: How do the big telecommunications companies like Verizon fee=
l=20
about this?

SASCHA MEINRATH: I think a lot of the big corporations are sort of split.=
 So=20
we have Intel, other wireless groups like Tropos, all very supportive of=20
municipal networking, and we have others like SBC, Verizon that are defin=
itely=20
not supportive, in fact, are attempting to eliminate this option from peo=
ple's=20
choices at the local level. So we now have an unprecedented number of sta=
te=20
laws being passed to make it illegal, in many cases, for any reason, to b=
uild=20
their own networks for people to actually choose to, say, supply broadban=
d=20
that is much faster and much cheaper than, for example, what Verizon want=
s to=20
give them.

AMY GOODMAN: Can you give us an example =96 well, for example, Pennsylvan=
ia,=20
what happened? Pennsylvania, the state, passed a law.

SASCHA MEINRATH: Yes. Pennsylvania passed a law where the entire state, e=
xcept=20
for Philadelphia, has to ask Verizon first before building their own netw=
ork,=20
and not just simply by asking for their own network. You are required to =
buy=20
service at an unspecified amount, unspecified speed from Verizon for a ye=
ar.

AMY GOODMAN: Now, these are communities that Verizon hasn't even wanted t=
o=20
wire up?

SASCHA MEINRATH: Yes. And that=92s almost like, you know, it is a horribl=
e law=20
for consumers because they have fewer choices. But that law at least allo=
ws=20
for broadband service provision for internet building. There's a lot of s=
tates=20
right now that have made it illegal for any reason for a community to bui=
ld a=20
network even if they are not served currently by broadband providers.

AMY GOODMAN: Who is writing the laws?

SASCHA MEINRATH: A lot of the telecom company lobbyists are writing these=
=20
laws. In Illinois we had a bill, 0499, that would have made it illegal fo=
r any=20
reason to have a municipality build a network, including if you are not s=
erved=20
currently. So, you can imagine, in rural communities especially, this wou=
ld be=20
a law that makes it impossible to get access to information, which is cri=
tical=20
in today=92s day and age.

AMY GOODMAN: If people want to get more information, where can they go on=
line?

SASCHA MEINRATH: We have a website, CUWireless.net, where there=92s a lot=
 of=20
information. There's also groups WifiNetNews.com and MuniWireless.com whi=
ch=20
has lots of resources and information on this. This is a major battle=20
happening right now because these technologies are available but are bein=
g=20
pushed out of the limelight.

AMY GOODMAN: Sascha Meinrath, we have to leave it there, and say thanks f=
or=20
everyone for listening this week, and watching.=20