Mesh networks are typically seen in areas experiencing natural disasters, political upheaval, or repression, where chaining routers together into a mini Wi-Fi network can provide a secure and low-cost connection. But one such network recently popped up in the Philadelphia neighborhood of Northern Liberties, home to a young and increasingly wired population. It’s called Bamboowifi, and its founders see it as a potential alternative to major telecom providers like Verizon or Philadelphia’s own Comcast.
Bamboowifi's founders, James Gregory and David Platt, come from quite different backgrounds. Gregory worked in public relations for the US State Department, handled marketing for an investment house, and started a profitable translation company. Platt, on the other hand, got a close-up view of giant internet service providers Time Warner and Comcast before starting his current gig at a global carrier and cloud exchange.
"The internet is such a big part of our lives that people want to be connected everywhere they go," said Platt. "Cell phone data is costly and most ‘free Wi-Fi' is spotty at best, so I saw a need and tried to fill it."
Its founders see it as a potential alternative to major telecom providers
The network is for-profit and free to use, but ad-supported: users simply log on, watch a 25- to 30-second local advertisement, and get one hour of internet access in return, which they can renew by watching another advertisement. It’s currently in test mode, with one access point that covers the two-acre Liberty Lands Park, plus a neighboring block or two.
Gregory sees the project as an opportunity to change how people access the internet. "Everything in the online world evolves so quickly, but the connection to the internet itself remains stuck in the past," Gregory said. "Particularly given our free service model, I feel we can really create something that makes a fundamental and meaningful contribution to the world, while at the same time building a great business."
Bamboowifi’s access points have to be set up by the company, but Platt said that once the main mesh is up and running, they will offer plug-and-play access devices that can be shipped to a host. The mesh can also function locally when the broader internet is down, creating a local intranet for communications.
The mesh can also function locally when the broader internet is down
Bamboowifi was recently awarded a $15,000 grant from the Penn Treaty Special Services District (PTSSD), a nonprofit, private foundation, to begin expanding the Wi-Fi network into the N3rd Street Tech Corridor (formerly N. 3rd Street), which stretches from Market Street to Girard Avenue. Gregory said the expansion should be complete by the end of March or possibly sooner. Eventually, the mesh network will come to include all of Northern Liberties. The goal is to install 20 to 25 access points, but there is no limit to how many they can have in the network. And the more they have, the stronger the signal will be.
Gregory said that Philadelphians have grown tired of traditional internet service providers like Comcast, which he characterized as an "oligopoly." The people, he said, are excited to see an alternative.
The more access points they have, the stronger the signal will be
They are currently connecting up to 60 users per hour to this single access point, Gregory said, for a total of of 200–300 "visitors" a day. On the busiest days, he said that Bamboowifi has supported 2,000 passersby. He added that the people in the network stay logged on, on average, for five minutes or more. Bamboowifi hopes to expand that number to 300–600 active users per day when N3rd Street’s Wi-Fi goes live in the spring of 2016.
"We’re building a mesh network that basically covers an entire neighborhood instead of a college campus or a business campus," Platt, Bamboowifi’s CEO and CTO, told The Verge. "So that while you’re on the network you can be connected anywhere you go, whether you’re at home, in a dog park, at a restaurant or the gym."
How Bamboowifi Works
Bamboowifi uses Cisco Meraki access points, Wi-Fi devices that function as both gateways and repeaters. The Meraki comes equipped with three radios. One radio is user facing, another faces its neighboring device, and the third constantly scans the network looking for rogue devices — hackers trying to gain access to the mesh network and/or its users. If it finds security threats, the radio isolates them. A couple of access points will be connected to a hard fiber optic line, but most will be stand-alone repeaters that communicate through the mesh.
The Meraki repeaters are preconfigured to a maximum 30 dB signal strength, the FCC cutoff designed to keep radio frequencies clear for aviation and point of sale devices. But they’re strong enough that Bamboowifi can space them out over several blocks. Bamboowifi’s proposed N3rd Street mesh network will give users between 5 and 7 megabytes per second, which Platt said is a bit better than a person’s cell phone speed.
Bamboowifi can space them out over several blocks
Local businesses near the network seem to like it so far. Justin Greskiewicz, owner of Stay Fly Muay Thai gym in Northern Liberties, said that connectivity in the park has been as good as his home internet. Greskiewicz said the idea is attractive since it allows people to access Wi-Fi constantly while avoiding data charges or subscription Wi-Fi fees.
Zach Feldman, chief academic officer and co-founder of New York Code + Design Academy, said that he used Bamboowifi briefly at the N3rd Street birthday party. Feldman said that it was easy to connect to and worked well in most areas, even with just one access point.
"The signal was strong at one end of the field, but there was a small dead zone," he said. "Browsing speeds seemed pretty standard, not super fast or super slow."
Feldman believes a mesh network is a great way to build a public Wi-Fi network quickly, while getting the community involved in its construction. "The more easily people get online, the more easily they can connect with each other," he said.
Expanding the Mesh
If the expansion to N3rd Street and the wider Northern Liberties area is a success, Gregory said Bamboowifi aims to create a Philadelphia-wide network.
"The building topography in Philadelphia helps as well," Platt said. "It’s full of two- and three-story buildings and homes, where not many high rises and skyscrapers are interfering with the signal. After Philadelphia, the next place would be some place like Boston, which has similar topography and demographics."
Bamboowifi aims to create a Philadelphia-wide network
Gregory imagines a future where Wi-Fi, whether it’s a private sector mesh network like his or a public service, replaces much of what cell service currently does. Other communities are experimenting with mesh networks, like Red Hook Wifi in Brooklyn, Meta Mesh in Pittsburgh, and the Detroit Community Technology Project in Detroit. Gregory says he and others are sick of the high phone company data bills, especially when the transmission of data packets is relatively cheap.
The Wi-Fi mesh networks mentioned above, unlike Bamboowifi, are nonprofits — community-run, public, and ad-free. And several dozen cities around the country already offer free municipal Wi-Fi, with other cities across the globe currently experimenting with it.
Many cities already offer free municipal Wi-Fi
But Platt argues that Bamboowifi's model can circumvent bureaucratic pitfalls because Wi-Fi — 2.4 to 5 gigahertz — is an unlicensed radio band. He also thinks Bamboowifi’s for-profit model is more sustainable, immune to the political changes that can cut funding for public Wi-Fi. Five years ago, John DeSpirito, who handles Bamboowifi’s web app development, thought that the city’s public Wi-Fi initiative would help change this, but grew discouraged when the effort collapsed.
"Technology moves quickly and it's only getting faster," said Platt. "A startup like ours is just able to move along with it better since we aren't burdened by the multiple levels of approval and inquiry that can tie down a public project."
"I think it helps to promote the neighborhood."
Steve Richman, treasurer of the nonprofit Northern Liberties Neighbors Association, agrees with Gregory and Platt’s vision. He was instrumental in helping Bamboowifi obtain financing from the Penn Treaty Special Services District.
"I think it helps to promote the neighborhood," Richman said. "It would be nice to say that Northern Liberties has a free Wi-Fi network. And if it works out I think it’s a significant benefit to people who are currently paying for internet service or who are maybe on a data plan but don’t want restrictions."
Jarvus Innovations, a software company headquartered on N3rd Street also supports Bamboowifi’s efforts. The company supplied the access point, but also helped Bamboowifi unveil the mesh network at N3rd Street’s first birthday party on October 24th, 2015.
While Jarvus’ Danny Harvith thinks Bamboowifi will help create more connections between people in the community, he is equally excited about the prospects of providing free Wi-Fi to people who wouldn’t normally be able to afford it.
"Internet access should be a public right or utility — it’s that vital to the community, business world, and your own education most importantly," Harvith said. "If we can give that to people for free, then we’re helping the underserved help themselves in a way that is almost immeasurable."
"You could be on Wi-Fi for everything."
Eventually, Bamboowifi would like to grow beyond Philadelphia. But for now they see the mesh network as an adjunct to community members’ home internet and cell data plans. In other words, a means of saving a bit on bills while walking down N3rd Street or hanging out in the park.
"Your talk and text is going to be a big part of your [data plan]," Gregory said. "I can talk on a Wi-Fi calling app or text someone on Facebook Messenger, WhatsApp, or any number of these apps. Your cell phone might turn out to be your landline in a sense when Wi-Fi is universal, because as long as the network is large enough and strong enough, you could be on Wi-Fi for everything. That’s where it’s going in the future."