Hmmm...upon further thought, using some Ricochet stuff might not be a bad
idea for the start of a FreeNet. I am an ex-Ricochet customer - now with a
modem collecting dust. I recall reading that the modems can also "call"
any other modem (as long as both are within the same metro service area)
by "dialing" the serial number of the modem you want to call.
Assuming the transceivers are still active on the light poles, it wouldn't
be too hard to use Ricochet modems as a point-to-point link between two
*NIX boxes. Given the robustness of Linux's networking, any given Linux
box could do long-haul via Ricochet to link "pockets" of 802.11b into one
valley-wide massive FreeNet. Now that would be super-cool. :) That way a
user could access the FreeNet via 802.11b when he/she is in a "pocket,"
but could also access the same FreeNet via Ricochet when 802.11b is not
available.
I'm sure the Ricochet modems can be had cheap now. I think I remember
seeing them for ~$20 somewhere...
Anyone out there with a dusty Ricochet modem (the "GS" model that did
~128kb/s) with a pole-top transceiver near by want to try and set up a
point-to-point link with me?
~Jay
On Fri, 28 Dec 2001, David P. Schwartz wrote:
> Thanks for the link to that article, Hans. I was ready to switch from Qwest DSL to Ricochet as soon as my DSL contract was up in August,
> but Ricochet died just before that. Better than just after, I guess :-)
>
> What it says in the article is the same as the other articles I've read. Phoenix is never mentioned among the possibilities when they get
> around to discussing which cities to turn back on, which is why I said what I did. I'd imagine that if somebody thought Phoenix is a
> useful market, then they might mention it at some point.
>
> I read another article that said the contracts with the agencies stipulated that failure to pay put Metricom in default, and that now the
> transmitters belong to whomever owned the lightpoles.
>
> I'd be up for putting together an "adopt-a-transmitter" project! If everybody who had Ricochet service got together and agreed to
> "purchase" a transmitter for the cost of powering it for a year or two, then maybe we could get something going. The utility companies
> aren't going to make any money from selling them outright; their value is leaving them exactly where they are hanging today.
>
> Another approach might be for PLUG (or some other entity) to offer to acquire these units in exchange for bringing up the network again.
> I'm sure there are lots of modems sitting in inventories around the country (eg., the company in Canada who'd invested in millions of
> dollars of inventory not long before the announcement) that could be had fairly cheaply. This would be a great way to promote the use of
> Linux!!!
>
> My only question is this: where is the ISP connection? Do each of these "transmitters" have a phone line attached? Or are they just
> repeaters? Or, where's the head-end equipment located, and who operates it?
>
> Also, are there any lawyers here who might want to venture a guess as to the IP rights garnered through a taking through default? In
> other words, if APS owns these, say, because they were abandoned, can they license somebody else to use them without violating any patents
> or other licensing rights?
>
> -David
>
> "der.hans" wrote:
>
> > Am 27. Dec, 2001 schwätzte David P. Schwartz so:
> >
> > > Sounds like you're getting suspiciously close to how Ricochet was
> > > implemented! Why don't y'all see about purchasing their assets from the
> > > folks who bought them? From what I read, Phoenix was NOT one of the
> > > cities targeted to be turned back on.
> >
> > Where did you see that?
> >
> > Hmm.
> >
> > http://www.frtechbiz.com/displayarticledetail.asp?Art_ID=52582
> >
> > They didn't get the equip on the light poles. Time to contact our local city
> > councils.
> >
> > http://www.aerienetworks.com/ still doesn't list which markets are coming
> > back online.
> >
> > Can we use them without infringing in patents, etc.?
> >
> > ciao,
> >
> > der.hans
> >
>
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--
~Jay
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