Although there is evidence (particularly in Scandinavia) of citizens becoming highly active and directly involved in the deployment of fibre-based LOANs to serve their community these, almost always without exception, also involve their local government authority.  As such, they can be regarded as falling into the second category of LOAN vanguard activity.

 
That being so, it is a reasonable generalisation to state that all ‘Grass Root, Citizen Driven’ initiatives are wireless based – predominantly around the license exempt spectrum of 2.4 GHz and 5.8 GHz.   It is also fair to say that most of the individuals involved in this activity might generally be regarded as members of the “geek” community – they certainly have an advanced grasp of the basic technologies – both IP and wireless and by and large are firmly committed to the open-source movement – both with regards to software and hardware development. 

 
There therefore exists a very powerful cocktail of:

• license exempt spectrum
• technologically adept, ‘inquisitive and inventive’ enthusiasts
• an underlying culture of the value of sharing  - ‘open-source’
• a passionate commitment to bring digital connectivity to everyone
• a slightly irreverent, if not, anarchic approach to society
• a fervent distaste for telcos as archetypical “multi-nationals”

 
This is having an amazingly positive impact within communities in both the developing and developed world.  Example ‘case-studies’ from both contexts can be found on the InfoDev web-platform and on the OPLAN Foundation website (www.OPLAN.org). 

There are at least four specific collaborative initiatives that have, or are emerging from this grass roots movement which point to the potential for a more scaleable extension of this activity in the years ahead.  Each of these is deserving of additional resource and encouragement and should be regarded as making a valuable contribution towards spreading understanding and deployment of LOANs.

 

I  Creation of A Powerful Global Virtual Network

 It is not surprising that individuals from around the globe who are personally involved in the development and deployment of wireless based LOAN infrastructure – either in their own communities or further afield – are using the power of the Internet to develop a ‘virtual community’ where resources and experience can be shared.   This has led to the development of strong personal relationships around the world and a vibrant network of individuals.

Such web-based communities are too numerous to list exhaustively but some notable examples include:

        http://www.freifunk.de

        http://informal.org.uk/inf/index.php

        http://www.walc2005.ula.ve/english/index.html

        http://www.okfn.org/wsfii/

 

II   Periodic Physical Gatherings

Although working individually or in local clusters and despite having highly developed virtual connectivity, this widely dispersed group of individuals nevertheless recognise the virtue and value in physically getting together from time to time in one place.

Large-scale gathered events – consisting of lectures, workshops and much hands-on experience and technology sharing have already been held in Berlin (2002), Copenhagen (2003), Djursland in 2004 (http://freifunk.net/djursland_sc#) and most recently in 2005 in London (http://www.okfn.org/wsfii/wiki/FrontPage).  The next major such event is planned for November 2006 in India (http://www.okfn.org/wsfii/).

A wealth of learning and shared experience always emanates from these events and even now, reference to the web-sites and community building resources will yield very valuable information and contact details.
 

III  Development of “How To” Material
 
“The Wireless Networking in the Developing World” is a book recently written within the community referenced above and a major output from this informal global network.  True to their principles, the book is published under a Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 2.5 license. Readily available online at (http://www.wndw.net), and later in a printed version, the introduction to the book states that:  

“This book was created by a team of individuals who each, in their own field, are actively participating in the ever-expanding Internet by pushing its reach farther than ever before. Over a period of a few months, we have produced a complete book that documents our efforts to build wireless networks in the developing world.”

This work has received considerable acclaim and glowing reviews - being heralded as a major contribution to bringing digital technologies to the developing world.   As reviewed by Textbook Revolution (http://textbookrevolution.org):

“A team of tech pros has written this how-to guide for installing wireless networks in third world countries. I can’t overstate the importance of this - getting the internet to impoverished areas is key to helping them learn and develop. One of the goals of this site is to use the web to spread knowledge. This book lets the web in, so that people can access that knowledge.”

Given the free availability of this powerful “how to” manual and the fact that by using it, access can be gained to a committed and informed community of LOAN enthusiasts and experts, its wide dissemination should be encouraged and adopted.

 

IV  Training Centres And Training Teams

While “The Wireless Networking in the Developing World” book referred to above is a powerful resource, the global network of these grass root LOAN enthusiasts have, through the experience of their periodic gatherings, come to recognize the added value of person-to-person sharing and training.   The event in Djursland, in 2004 which centred on the extensive wireless LOAN ( The DjurslandS.net), which is  featured as a case study in the InfoDev and OPLAN website, provided a stark confirmation of this.   With individuals from over 35 countries around the world attending the workshop, it led those organising the event to appreciate the need for a more permanent training centre.

With the help of a grant from the European Union, the Djursland International Institute of Rural Wireless Broadband (DIIRWB) has recently been formed.  DIIRWB is a project in the first phase of its development but has ambitious goals which can be seen from the information provided on its website (http://diirwb.net/). 

The potential for individual countries or regions or communities, to engage with DIIRWB to develop location-specific training programmes would seem to be limitless.  Likewise, the financial sponsorship of individuals or groups of individuals to attend a programme at the DIIRWB, coupled with the planning and execution of a real ‘on-the-ground’ LOAN deployment project in their home country is something that has to be developed.  

The rapid allocation, management and release of the relatively small sums of money involved in making use of these vital resources may not be effectively managed by a single party.  That is to say, the large funding agencies may not have the agility to be able to screen and determine applications for funding to attend DIIRWB and other programmes and the early establishment of appropriate ‘rapid response’ agencies that can respond to this growing market demand will be very important.

In summary, the potential long term significance of these small-scale informal ‘grass root’ initiatives is hard to evaluate at this juncture, but there is little doubt that they represent a substantial resource of energy and understanding that should not be ignored and certainly should not be hindered or discouraged.  Indeed quite the opposite – they need to be encouraged and to a certain extent ‘defended’ against larger and better organised interests that will inevitably find such initiatives a potential threat if they attain the scale and impact which they and the technologies they deploy, have the potential to deliver.

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