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You might be the totally wrong person to ask this and I apologize if this is a naive question. Is there a way a lay person (non network-engineer) can somehow g
by debaserab2 8y ago
You might be the totally wrong person to ask this and I apologize if this is a naive question.
Is there a way a lay person (non network-engineer) can somehow get involved with their community to help get this started? I'd love to see something like this get started where I live (Minneapolis) and would be willing to help in any capacity I could.
- fixthenet 8y agoLike any business endeavor, if you don't have the skills to do it yourself, you need the resources to gain the skills, either through learning, networking and meeting people, or hiring someone. The scale you start at changes things too. We've spoken to a few grassroots ISPs that started 3-5 years ago by non-IT folks who just wanted to share with a few neighbors. Over the course of time they learned and grew the network and now they're at a couple hundred customers. Not big in the ISP sense, but it provided an essential service to their community and competes with [and steals customers from] incompetent, or at worse, anti-consumer incumbent ISPs. If you have the passion, but not the IT skill set, be the banner waver. Be the leader of the endeavor. Use your passion to convert others. You'll find your talent.
- toomuchtodo 8y agoCheck out https://www.muninetworks.org https://www.muninetworks.org.
- walrus01 8y agoOne way that a lay person can help is with rooftop site acquisition, negotiation, contracts, marketing and presentation materials. Or as labor to install stuff, if it is a real nonprofit. Own a van that you can tie a 18' extension ladder to the roof? Great, you get to be the guy buying 16" concrete blocks from home Depot for the roof mount ballast.