Freifunkblog

WILAC, an initiative to promote wireless technolgies in Latin America and the Caribbean ("Tecnologías inalámbricas para el Desarrollo en América Latina y el Caribe"), has published some of their training materials in English. I uploaded their presentations to Slideshare for people to be able to embed them into their websites and blogs. Here is the presentation with an introduction to Wimax.

As part of the TRICALCAR project a set of 7 brand new modules, which we are please to share with the group of technicians part who develop the original curriculum of the CWCA project in Africa. We know publish this materials in English, as a feedback to the community who has been using the original curriculum. The materials are publiched under the same formats and conditions of the rest of the TRICALCAR project. (16 Junio, 2008 - 11:00 AM, http://www.wilac.net/mod...)

The materials were created by different wireless experts including Ermanno Pietrosemoli (well-known for his longrange wireless connections), Alberto Escudero-Pascual, Louise Berthils, Lilian Chamorro, Dafne Sabanes Plou and Alberto Escudero Pascual.

The WILAC website is part of an initiative of ESLARED with the support of the Instituto para la Conectividad en las Américas (ICA). More presentations and Handouts can be downloaded or viewed at my Slideshare account. The Spanish versions of the workshops are also available at their site.

• WiMax and non standard solutions
  Handout - Presentation
• Energy for telecommunications systems
  Handout - introduction - Presentation - Introduction
  Handout - Dimensioning - Presentation - Dimensioning
• VoIP
  Handout - Presentation
• Long distance wireless link
  Handout - Presentation
• Community, gender and technology
  Handout - Presentation
• Sustainability strategies
  Handout - Presentation
• Network planning
  Handout - Presentation

To learn more about Wimax, check out Wikipedia:

WiMAX, the Worldwide Interoperability for Microwave Access, is a telecommunications technology that provides wireless data in a variety of ways, from point-to-point links to full mobile cellular type access. It is based on the IEEE 802.16 standard, which is also called WirelessMAN. The name "WiMAX" was created by the WiMAX Forum, which was formed in June 2001 to promote conformance and interoperability of the standard. The forum describes WiMAX as "a standards-based technology enabling the delivery of last mile wireless broadband access as an alternative to cable and DSL" (and also to High Speed Packet Access).(Version 17 June 2008, at 10:39, http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/WiMAX)

Hi all,

at the fantastic WSFII meeting during SAX at guifi.net in Spain we started to specify two wireless hardware devices. There were people from various free wireless network communites from Europe and the US. We had a three hour workshop and tried to define our wish list for cheap free open source software compatible open wireless hardware. Now we are trying to find the manufacturers who is willing to build those devices.

If you have any contacts that could help, please talk to them and show them our results. The company should best sell those products direct to the communites over webshop and only ship the bulk boards in charges of 20,50,100 or more. We think, that's the best way to make them as cheep as possible.

There are quite a lot of people willing to help in e.g. software/driver-development or hardware-design. I am very positive that sooner or later some manufacturer is going to see their chance in our global movement!

(vie Thomas Hirsch)
Vielleicht interessant für den ein oder anderen, der der Wissenschaftswelt einmal über seine Erfahrungen und Ergebnisse im Freifunk-Netz berichten möchte.

Was bringts:
- Feedback. Das Papier wird auf jeden Fall von drei Leuten aus verschiedenen Fachgebieten quergelesen. Anschließend darf man einen Vortrag vor noch mehr Leuten halten, und wird im Konferenzjournal abgedruckt. Potentiell erreicht man also viele Leute, die Ahnung von Mesh-Dingen haben, Interessante Dinge  mit Funknetzen machen, oder sich das ganze auch mal nur aus der Mathematikerbrille betrachten.
- Aufmerksamkeit über den eigenen Kiez hinaus.

Übersicht über die Beiträge und Teilnehmer hier:
http://www.wiopt.org/wiopt07/program.html

#####   ANNOUNCEMENT / CALL FOR PAPER    ######
WiOpt'08
6th Intl. Symposium on Modeling and Optimization in Mobile, Ad Hoc, and Wireless Networks March 31 - April 4, Berlin, Germany
http://www.wiopt.org

Scope of the Symposium

Freifunker sitzen nicht nur vor dem Computer und basteln Antennen. Echte Freifunker klettern auch schon mal auf Dächer und Türme. Ein Video von Julian Percy (Kamera) und cyper (Schnitt) von Visual Berlin zeigen uns das jetzt sehr anschaulich.

YouTube: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hpO7LEBud1o