Recently, I’ve been learning more about this subject. Today I came across the Decentralization Scoring System and it slapped me across the face.
The real issue is lack of community-run ISPs. We can self-host all we want, but we’re still using the network paths of major providers when data is in transit.
More community run mesh networks. More community run fiber networks. Generally, just more community, less business.
It will cost way more and work significantly less. There’s a reason networks are built like they are.
There are many community networks out there, but they require more dedication and funding than simply paying an ISP, for a worse service. It’s a hard sell to the average doomscroller.
The EFF scaled down their efforts for OpenWireless.org after it became obvious that they’d have to support hundreds of different hardware models, and ultimately abandoned the project.
A couple decades ago, Fon tried to build a mixed community-commercial network with their own standardized hardware, but even the commercial incentive was not enough to keep it afloat in the long run. Some of the hardware got repurposed for community projects, but most of the best placed hotspots ended up in the trash, replaced by municipal and ISP networks.
In many places, fiber is a no-go. Like, in my city there was a large move to get fiber to most houses over a decade ago, but after the first deployment of a handful of ISPs, the city stopped giving permits for additional deployments: lease from one of the existing ISPs, or you’re SOL.
I think the most feasible solution is municipal internet, where the city owns its own fiber lines and essentially runs it like a non profit. Good cities that do this don’t see it as a profit center; they see it as providing a critical service to their residents. Some of the maintenance cost comes from taxes, just like roads, public schools, etc.
Palo Alto California is doing this. They’re modernizing their electricity grid, so they’re also running fiber at the same time as running the new electrical lines. Electricity in Palo Alto is run by the city, and as a result, electricity there is less than 1/3 of the price of electricity with PG&E, the investor-owned utility company that supplies most of Northern California.
More community run mesh networks
That’s kinda what settlement-free peering at an IX (internet exchange) is. Multiple networks agree to connect to each other for free. Of course, the networks are usually large ones, so that kinda goes against your other points.
It’s one of those heavy network effect things where the argument for nationalisation is strongest, for sure.
I’m only aware of people using ham radio for community mesh networks.
Are there more sophisticated community networks? Or do you just mean something like an ISP cooperative group?
Or do you just mean something like an ISP cooperative group?
Yeah something more like this.
