Wireless Nomad
Encyclopedia
Wireless Nomad was a non-profit cooperative
based in Toronto, Canada providing subscriber-owned home and business internet
along with free Wi-Fi
wireless Internet
access the 85+ nodes
, making it one of the largest free Wi-Fi
networks in the country at the time. It was founded by Steve Wilton and Damien Fox in January 2005, and turned its DSL internet connections over to private Internet Service Provider
(ISP) TekSavvy in March of 2009. All WiFi nodes were subsequently shut down.
Instead of using Bell
Sympatico's or Rogers Cable
's retail high-speed Internet access services to provide service to their wireless access point
s, they were their own ISP under Canadian Radio-television and Telecommunications Commission (CRTC) rules that compel large providers like Rogers
and Bell
to resell their local loop cable and DSL circuits to smaller ISPs at a regulated (tariffed) price. At the time of its disbanding, WN charged C$36.95+GST
per month to members who signed up for home internet service (3~5 Mbit/s down/720 kbit/s up), which was less than Bell and Rogers charge for their high-speed Internet access service. WN Business service was $59.95 a month.
The service covered several areas, mainly in downtown Toronto. In October 2006, following the fictional narrative in Cory Doctorow
's Someone comes to town, someone leaves town
the co-op deployed a large antenna in Toronto's Kensington Market
, covering about one quarter of the neighborhood with free WiFi Internet. The antenna and WiFi gear was removed from Kensington and installed on the rooftop of Linux Caffe (named after the Linux
operating system) on the corner of Harbord St. and Grace St. in downtown Toronto in June 2008.
Wireless Nomad was one of the few ISPs in Canada that did not ban its residential subscribers from operating servers. Port 25 was also open for outgoing traffic. WN used completely open-source software for its servers, website, and wireless routers. The servers ran Gentoo Linux
, and the Linksys
WRT-54GL routers at each location ran OpenWrt
, ChilliSpot
, and OpenVPN
. WN's servers were hosted by the Toronto Community Co-location Project in downtown Toronto from January, 2005 until May 2008.
Wireless Nomad was a Community Partner with the Canadian Research Alliance for Community Innovation and Networking (CRACIN) and Community Wireless Infrastructure Project (CWIRP) through Prof. Andrew Clement and Matthew Wong (graduate student) with the University of Toronto Faculty of Information (formerly Faculty of Information Studies).
Wi-Fi mesh networking
using OLSR was also part of WN's deployment, with several small mesh networks in use in Toronto.
Cooperative
A cooperative is a business organization owned and operated by a group of individuals for their mutual benefit...
based in Toronto, Canada providing subscriber-owned home and business internet
Internet
The Internet is a global system of interconnected computer networks that use the standard Internet protocol suite to serve billions of users worldwide...
along with free Wi-Fi
Wi-Fi
Wi-Fi or Wifi, is a mechanism for wirelessly connecting electronic devices. A device enabled with Wi-Fi, such as a personal computer, video game console, smartphone, or digital audio player, can connect to the Internet via a wireless network access point. An access point has a range of about 20...
wireless Internet
Internet
The Internet is a global system of interconnected computer networks that use the standard Internet protocol suite to serve billions of users worldwide...
access the 85+ nodes
Node (networking)
In communication networks, a node is a connection point, either a redistribution point or a communication endpoint . The definition of a node depends on the network and protocol layer referred to...
, making it one of the largest free Wi-Fi
Wi-Fi
Wi-Fi or Wifi, is a mechanism for wirelessly connecting electronic devices. A device enabled with Wi-Fi, such as a personal computer, video game console, smartphone, or digital audio player, can connect to the Internet via a wireless network access point. An access point has a range of about 20...
networks in the country at the time. It was founded by Steve Wilton and Damien Fox in January 2005, and turned its DSL internet connections over to private Internet Service Provider
Internet service provider
An Internet service provider is a company that provides access to the Internet. Access ISPs directly connect customers to the Internet using copper wires, wireless or fiber-optic connections. Hosting ISPs lease server space for smaller businesses and host other people servers...
(ISP) TekSavvy in March of 2009. All WiFi nodes were subsequently shut down.
Instead of using Bell
Bell Canada
Bell Canada is a major Canadian telecommunications company. Including its subsidiaries such as Bell Aliant, Northwestel, Télébec, and NorthernTel, it is the incumbent local exchange carrier for telephone and DSL Internet services in most of Canada east of Manitoba and in the northern territories,...
Sympatico's or Rogers Cable
Rogers Cable
Rogers Cable Inc., a subsidiary of Rogers Communications Inc., is Canada's largest cable television service provider with about 2.25 million television customers, and over 930,000 Internet subscribers, in Manitoba, Southern & Eastern Ontario, New Brunswick and Newfoundland and Labrador.The...
's retail high-speed Internet access services to provide service to their wireless access point
Wireless access point
In computer networking, a wireless access point is a device that allows wireless devices to connect to a wired network using Wi-Fi, Bluetooth or related standards...
s, they were their own ISP under Canadian Radio-television and Telecommunications Commission (CRTC) rules that compel large providers like Rogers
Rogers Wireless
Rogers Wireless is a wireless telecommunications provider offering mobile phone and data services throughout Canada using Global System for Mobile Communications and Universal Mobile Telecommunications System technology. It is a wholly owned subsidiary of Rogers Communications...
and Bell
Bell
-Sound and music:* Bell , a percussion instrument, usually cup-shaped* Bell * Bell cymbal* Bell effect, a musical technique* Bell Orchestre, a six-piece instrumental band from Montreal, Quebec, Canada...
to resell their local loop cable and DSL circuits to smaller ISPs at a regulated (tariffed) price. At the time of its disbanding, WN charged C$36.95+GST
GST
-Computing:* Generalised suffix tree, a tree-like data structure* GNOME System Tools, part of the GNOME desktop environment* GNU Smalltalk, an implementation of the Smalltalk language* GST Computer Systems, a group of companies based in Cambridge, England...
per month to members who signed up for home internet service (3~5 Mbit/s down/720 kbit/s up), which was less than Bell and Rogers charge for their high-speed Internet access service. WN Business service was $59.95 a month.
The service covered several areas, mainly in downtown Toronto. In October 2006, following the fictional narrative in Cory Doctorow
Cory Doctorow
Cory Efram Doctorow is a Canadian-British blogger, journalist, and science fiction author who serves as co-editor of the blog Boing Boing. He is an activist in favour of liberalising copyright laws and a proponent of the Creative Commons organization, using some of their licences for his books...
's Someone comes to town, someone leaves town
Someone Comes to Town, Someone Leaves Town
Someone Comes to Town, Someone Leaves Town is a contemporary fantasy novel by Canadian author Cory Doctorow. It was published in June, 2005, concurrently released on the Internet under a Creative Commons license, free for download in several formats including ASCII and PDF...
the co-op deployed a large antenna in Toronto's Kensington Market
Kensington Market
Kensington Market is a distinctive multicultural neighbourhood in Downtown Toronto, Ontario, Canada. The Market is an older neighbourhood and one of the city's most well-known. In November 2006, it was designated a National Historic Site of Canada. Robert Fulford wrote in 1999 that "Kensington...
, covering about one quarter of the neighborhood with free WiFi Internet. The antenna and WiFi gear was removed from Kensington and installed on the rooftop of Linux Caffe (named after the Linux
Linux
Linux is a Unix-like computer operating system assembled under the model of free and open source software development and distribution. The defining component of any Linux system is the Linux kernel, an operating system kernel first released October 5, 1991 by Linus Torvalds...
operating system) on the corner of Harbord St. and Grace St. in downtown Toronto in June 2008.
Wireless Nomad was one of the few ISPs in Canada that did not ban its residential subscribers from operating servers. Port 25 was also open for outgoing traffic. WN used completely open-source software for its servers, website, and wireless routers. The servers ran Gentoo Linux
Linux
Linux is a Unix-like computer operating system assembled under the model of free and open source software development and distribution. The defining component of any Linux system is the Linux kernel, an operating system kernel first released October 5, 1991 by Linus Torvalds...
, and the Linksys
Linksys
Linksys by Cisco, commonly known as Linksys, is a brand of home and small office networking products now produced by Cisco Systems, though once a separate company founded in 1995 before being acquired by Cisco in 2003...
WRT-54GL routers at each location ran OpenWrt
OpenWrt
OpenWrt is a Linux distribution primarily targeted at routing on embedded devices. It comprises a set of about 2000 software packages, installed and uninstalled via the opkg package management system. OpenWrt can be configured using the command-line interface of BusyBox ash, or the web interface...
, ChilliSpot
Chillispot
ChilliSpot is an open source captive portal or wireless LAN access point controller. It is used for authenticating users of a wireless LAN. It supports web based login, which is today's standard for public HotSpots, WISP "smart-client" authentication, and it supports Wi-Fi Protected Access...
, and OpenVPN
OpenVPN
OpenVPN is a free and open source software application that implements virtual private network techniques for creating secure point-to-point or site-to-site connections in routed or bridged configurations and remote access facilities. It uses a custom security protocol that utilizes SSL/TLS for...
. WN's servers were hosted by the Toronto Community Co-location Project in downtown Toronto from January, 2005 until May 2008.
Wireless Nomad was a Community Partner with the Canadian Research Alliance for Community Innovation and Networking (CRACIN) and Community Wireless Infrastructure Project (CWIRP) through Prof. Andrew Clement and Matthew Wong (graduate student) with the University of Toronto Faculty of Information (formerly Faculty of Information Studies).
Wi-Fi mesh networking
Mesh networking
Mesh networking is a type of networking where each node must not only capture and disseminate its own data, but also serve as a relay for other nodes, that is, it must collaborate to propagate the data in the network....
using OLSR was also part of WN's deployment, with several small mesh networks in use in Toronto.