Subject: [gaia] Draft "Alternative Networks": Section 4.2. Purpose of Alternative Networks

From: "Jose Saldana" <[email-masked]>
Date: Thu, 5 May 2016 09:20:15 +0200

Hi,
 
This would be the new version of the subsection about "Purpose" (Currently
named "4.2.  Goals and motivation"), built with the help of Panos (thank you
very much!).
 
We have tried to take into account all the feedback in the list, and we have
added 4 new references:
 
   Alternative Networks can be classified according to their purpose and
   the benefits they bring compared to mainstream solutions, regarding
   economic, technological, social or political objectives.  These
   benefits could be enjoyed mostly by the actors involved (e.g.,
   lowering costs or gaining technical expertise) or by the local
   community (e.g., Internet access in underserved areas) or by the
   society as a whole (e.g., network neutrality).
 
   The benefits provided by Alternative Networks include, but are not
   limited to:
 
   o  Extending coverage to underserved areas (users and communities).
 
   o  Providing affordable Internet access for all.
 
   o  Reducing initial capital expenditures (for the network and the end
      user, or both).
 
   o  Providing additional sources of capital (beyond the traditional
      carrier-based financing).
 
   o  Reducing on-going operational costs (such as backhaul or network
      administration).
 
   o  Leveraging expertise, and having a place for experimentation and
      teaching.
 
   o  Reducing hurdles to adoption (digital literacy, literacy in
      general, relevance, etc.)
 
   o  Providing an alternative service in case of natural disasters and
      other extreme situations.
 
   o  Community building, social cohesion and quality of life
     improvement.
 
   o  Experimentation with alternative governance and ownership models
      for treating network infrastructures as a commons.
 
   o  Raising awareness of political debates around issues like network
      neutrality, knowledge sharing, access to resources, and more.
 
   Note that the different purposes of alternative networks can be more
   or less explicitly stated and they could also evolve over time based
   on the internal dynamics and external events.  For example, the
   Redhook WiFi network in Brooklyn [Redhook] started as a community
   network focusing more on local applications and community building
   [TidePools] but it became widely known when it played a key role as
   an alternative service available during the Sandy storm [Tech]
   [NYTimes].
 
   Moreover, especially for those networks with more open and horizontal
   governance models, the underlying motivations of those involved may
   be very diverse, ranging from altruistic ones related to the desire
   of free sharing of Internet connectivity and various forms of
   activism, to personal benefits from the experience and expertise
   through the active participation in the deployment and management of
   a real and operational network.
 
   [NYTimes]  Gall, C. and J. Glanz, "U.S. Promotes Network to Foil
              Digital Spying", April 20, 2014
              http://www.nytimes.com/2014/04/21/us/
              us-promotes-network-to-foil-digital-spying.html?_r=1,
              2014.
 
   [Redhook]  WiFi, Red., "Red Hook WIFI, a project of the Red Hook
              Initiative", Red Hook WIFI web page,
              http://redhookwifi.org/ , 2016.
 
   [Tech]     Kazansky, B., "In Red Hook, Mesh Network Connects Sandy
              Survivors Still Without Power", Monday, November 12, 2012
              http://techpresident.com/news/23127/red-hook-mesh-network-
              connects-sandy-survivors-still-without-power, 2012.
 
   [TidePools]
              Baldwin, J., "TidePools: Social WiFi, Parsons The New
              School for Design", Diss. Master thesis
              http://www.scribd.com/doc/94601219/
              TidePools-Social-WiFi-Thesis, 2011.
 
Best regards,
 
Jose

---

From: Ermanno Pietrosemoli <[email-masked]>
Date: Thu, 5 May 2016 10:01:03 +0200

Excellent , thanks
Ermanno
On May 5, 2016 9:20 AM, "Jose Saldana" <[email-masked]> wrote:

> Hi,
>
>
>
> This would be the new version of the subsection about “Purpose” (Currently
> named “4.2.  Goals and motivation”), built with the help of Panos (thank
> you very much!).
>
>
>
> We have tried to take into account all the feedback in the list, and we
> have added 4 new references:
>
>
>
> _______________________________________________
> gaia mailing list
> [email-masked]
> https://www.irtf.org/mailman/listinfo/gaia
>
>