This is an old revision of the document!
Wireless Community HowTo
Audience
This document is intended as a starting for people who intend to start up a Wireless Community Network in their neighbourhood.
Purpose/Benefit of Wireless Community Networks
Wireless Community Networks provide broadband access to people who have no broadband access. There are people who cannot afford monthly recurring fees of € 20-30. DSL/Cable is not available in 100% of all buildings, either because the last mile is already crowded with high bandwidth DSL, there are no free copper wires, there's no coax in the neighbourhood, …
Getting in touch with other people
The biggest problem if you start your network from zero is to attract people who want exactly the same thing - start a WCN in your neighbourhood. So, you have to do some “Public Relations” work from the very beginning of your project.
Competition with commercial ISPs?
Wireless Community Networks are by no means intended to compete with commercial ISPs. Usually, there are no participation fees. Thats the benefit. On the other hand, there's no SLA, there's no call center you can complain about your connection being down, and there are no technicians that will come and fix your CPE for a fee. ISPs cover 
95% of the population in Austria with broadband. Community networks are aimed at the remaining 5%. Upstream connections to the Internet have to be bought from commercial ISPs anyway, so Wireless Community Networks increase their growth. In short: Commercial ISPs, we're not your competition, we're your customers 
Obtain Know-How
Most technical aspects of WCNs are covered in zillions of Wikis, mailing list archives, magazine articles, blogs, books… However, there's always certain implicit knowledge that's shared among the members of WCNs that you'll only get hold of when meeting face to face. If you're an individual or a small group of people who wants to start a WCN, get in touch with similar communities in your vicinity. There are events ( summit, CCC, …) where you can meet folks from around the globe. We share our knowledge, just ask 
.
Funding