BAWIA is an alliance of neighborhood wireless network operators. BAWIA does not run a network itself, but facilitates communication between people who are interested in operating and using these networks. Initially, we expect that these networks will be used primarily for access to the Internet. In time, however, we hope to link the various neighborhood networks together into a metropolitan area network (we call this "trunking"). Though organized with a focus on the Boston metropolitan area, no specific geographic limitations have been imposed. Participation is not limited by location. While the primary interest is still WiFi, we are also interested in the nascent WiMAX technology.

BAWIA Current Issues - updated 1 August 2006

Report (pdf format) of the Boston Wireless Task Force Media commentary on the Boston WTF report: AP Article via Yahoo news GigaOM article - never heard of this site before Boston Globe article Washington Technology article ARS Technica article with a stupid name PC World article ComputerWorld article via MacWorld TechWeb reports on a MAC-only Boston wifi network - bad idea?

Useful and Educational Books

Building Wireless Community Networks, 2nd Edition Wireless Hacks: 100 Industrial-Strength Tips & Tools Wireless Hacking: Projects for Wi-Fi Enthusiasts Going Wi-Fi: A Practical Guide to Planning and Building an 802.11 Network

BAWIA Presents

A useful library of technical information and related links A PC or laptop can be turned into an 802.11b Access Point, when booting from this single-floppy linux system from Cqure Mailing List, subscription info, usage guidelines, and web based message archive. A comprehensive list of other "Free Wireless" projects, with links. (was once) Probably the largest such collection on the net! Local universities with 802.11b access

Other Resources

A list of Wireless-Friendly ISPs - encourage all ISPs to adopt such policies and join this list. FreeNetworks.Org is a good general source of information. Guerrilla.Net has a great collection of Free Network information (and not just 802.11), much of it original work. So, what kind of distance can I expect? ISP Planet attempts to answer this difficult question. How much better is the Cisco 352 card than the Linksys? (techsplanet.com)

Contacting BAWIA

Meetings - Periodic meetings have been held since January 2002. IRC - members of BAWIA and other, similar projects are often in channel #802.11 on EFNET, and we have a BAWIA channel on OpenProjects.Net. Of course, the mailing list is probably the best place to meet up with us. You can send email to admin at bawia dot org to get in contact with me. DO NOT send unsolicited bulk commercial email (SPAM), or you will be billed for my time! Graphic design by Jason Scott. Content by Bob Keyes