Forget controversial TV deflector systems-Behold a broadband deflector system
Aug 11th 2007NiaLLLarkinUncategorized
I’ve just been reading about this gadget available from www.meraki.com. It seems at first glance to be the equivalent of those quasi-illegal but tolerated TV deflector systems still in use up in Donegal. It was this paragraph in a review article from the FT that triggered my interest.Â
Internet service providers may balk at the idea of customers sharing a single broadband connection. But overall Meraki’s mesh system lives up to its promise of providing a cost-effective way to deploy a shared wi-fi network.
If this device is a “broadband deflector kit” as I suspect, could this be what we need to champion of the rights of those currently on the wrong side of the digital divide? Could this technology be used to redress the injustice inherent in the anti-competiive practice of pre-wiring entire apartment blocks into the broadband service of a single provider? Â
In the TV deflector controversy, we had farmer-turned-TD Tom Gildea elected on the deflector controversy platform.
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Hmmm. I wonder who might be the natural front runner for such a role should a ‘broadband deflector’ controversy platform emerge?
Don’t let the fact that we are all probably thinking of one or two names deflect you from leaving your suggestion(s) in the comments :-)
More on Meraki below the fold:
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Meraki plans to get the next billion people online through affordable internet access using their low-cost mesh networking system that anyone can set up and manage.
Although primarily designed for wi-fi systems in neighbourhoods, across campuses or even cities, it is also an excellent option for homes and small businesses. Early adopters are using the Meraki system for a wide range of applications. These include providing free shared internet in low-income urban housing projects, wiring up villages in Africa and Latin America and deploying wi-fi throughout hotels and apartment blocks.
The broad range of applications attest to the low cost and simplicity of the system, which is built around a few inexpensive core components, network management tools and online billing services, should you want to charge for access.
You start by plugging one Meraki Mini adaptor – a $49 box about the size of a deck of cards – into your cable or DSL broadband connection. This first adaptor operates as an internet “gateway� and shares the connection with the other adaptors that make up the network and act as “repeaters�, extending the reach of the signal.
I found my mini-mesh network provided excellent coverage over about a quarter of a mile using a single broadband connection. Meraki suggests one wired connection for every 10 nodes.
So what do you think? Am I late coming to this? Am I missing a whole chunk of understanding or have I overlooked some essential nuance?? Could really use the input of the Irish blogosphere on this one!
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2 Comments »
Conor O'Neill on 11 Aug 2007 at 2:21 pm #
I’ve seen a few mesh ideas pop up over the past five years and then disappear without a trace.
Even something simple like IrishWan where you added a high-gain antenna to your router to give your neighbours broadband never caught on.
Meraki has a better chance simply because it sounds like they have lots of money behind them.
Diarmuid Wrenne knows a lot about them and I think he used them in his kid’s school in West Cork to provide a wireless network throughout the difficult shaped building for a fraction of what a commercial contractor was quoting.
The Meraki’s are almost identical to the FONs since they both use the same reference design just with different firmware. Meraki also encourage hacking the firmware in contrast to FON.
As with FON, you are breaking the Terms of Service of your broadband provider if you share your connection but I doubt the Irish providers know, understand or care about it.
University Update - Personal Tech - Forget controversial TV deflector systems-Behold a broadband deflector system on 11 Aug 2007 at 2:37 pm #
[...] YouTube Contact the Webmaster Link to Article personal tech Forget controversial TV deflector systems-Behold a broadband deflector system » Posted at Clunky Flow on Saturday, August 11, 2007 I’ve just been reading about this gadget available from www.meraki.com … Taylor, personal tech reporter for the FT reported yesterday that not only is Meraki the easiest wi View Original Article » [...]