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Detroit's Marginalized Communities Are Building Their Own Internet (vice.com)
An anonymous reader writes: Motherboard has a report that discusses how some of Detroit's communities are building their own internet to help close the gap between the roughly 60 percent of Detroiters who have internet and 40 percent who don't. From the report: "[Diana Nucera, director of the Detroit Community Technology Project] is part of a growing cohort of Detroiters who have started a grassroots movement to close that gap, by building the internet themselves. It's a coalition of community members and multiple Detroit nonprofits. They're starting with three underserved neighborhoods, installing high speed internet that beams shared gigabit connections from an antenna on top of the tallest building on the street, and into the homes of people who have long gone without. They call it the Equitable Internet Initiative. The issue isn't only cost, though it is prohibitive for many Detroiters, but also infrastructure. Because of Detroit's economic woes, many Big Telecom companies haven't thought it worthwhile to invest in expanding their network to these communities. The city is filled with dark fiber optic cable that's not connected to any homes or businesses -- relics from more optimistic days.
Residents who can't afford internet, are on some kind of federal or city subsidy like food stamps, and students are prioritized for the Initiative, Nucera told me. The whole effort started last summer with enlisting digital stewards, locals from each neighborhood who were interested in working for the nonprofit coalition, doing everything from spreading the word, to teaching digital literacy, to installing routers and pulling fiber. Many of these stewards started out with little or no tech expertise, but after a 20-week-long training period, they've become experts able to install, troubleshoot, and maintain a network from end to end. They're also aiming to spread digital literacy, so people can truly own the network themselves."
Residents who can't afford internet, are on some kind of federal or city subsidy like food stamps, and students are prioritized for the Initiative, Nucera told me. The whole effort started last summer with enlisting digital stewards, locals from each neighborhood who were interested in working for the nonprofit coalition, doing everything from spreading the word, to teaching digital literacy, to installing routers and pulling fiber. Many of these stewards started out with little or no tech expertise, but after a 20-week-long training period, they've become experts able to install, troubleshoot, and maintain a network from end to end. They're also aiming to spread digital literacy, so people can truly own the network themselves."
They're building access to the Internet. That's totally different.
In fact, forget the internet!
And I don't have broadband. 1 mile from Comcast, but they $5k to extend. Frontier won't serve me DSL, because I'm too far from whatever. Satellite? Yeah right. I CAN pay $70 a month for 1.5 Mb MAX, which I signed up for and usually got like 250k. So now I use a verizon hotspot that maxes out after 4 days (15Gb) then drops to .6k..... which is better than nothing. And there isn't a damn thing I can do, but if you listen to the government I'm 'Served'. LOL.
Guess which political party has run Detroit since January 2, 1962?
"The average reporter we talk to is 27 years old......They literally know nothing." - Ben Rhodes
That really sucks, man. What a pain. I'm guessing that means there's not a run of utility poles for that mile between you and where the cable company has service? If they have to deal with land easements or digging, $5,000 is about right, possibly a bit low depending on the details.
I'm curious how long you've lived there. For the last 15 years, internet service has been something I looked at carefully before choosing a place to live. The last time I moved, I made sure I was in an area where cable competes with fiber ( Frontier Fios).
More like the Detroit government because they probably granted some kind of monopoly to some cable company.
When Fascism comes to America, it will call itself Anti-Fascism, and tell you to give up your guns.
If cable companies will not serve portions of an area why allow them to be in the area to begin with? You can also believe that this self help group will, one way or another, feel the weight of a political system that is inherently corrupt.
from descending on this little town and crushing this? Just wondering. There's been podunk towns in the middle of nowhere who suggested doing muni-broadband and were shut down by a gaggle of lawyers chanting some nonsense about free enterprise and it not being fair they have to compete with government.
Speaking of which, anyone else find it funny that the same folks who tell you gov't can't do anything right also tell you gov't can't be allowed to compete with private business because it would be unfair? What are they afraid of, the gov't's just gonna fail anyway, right?
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The whole effort started last summer with enlisting digital stewards, locals from each neighborhood who were interested in working for the nonprofit coalition, doing everything from spreading the word, to teaching digital literacy, to installing routers and pulling fiber. Many of these stewards started out with little or no tech expertise, but after a 20-week-long training period, they've become experts able to install, troubleshoot, and maintain a network from end to end.
Fucking impossible. Everybody knows tech skills can't be taught. Tech bros are born, not trained. You have to be young, bro. Youth is skill. Old people can't do shit, ever.
It sounds almost unrealistic. When I firstly read it, I assumed that it was because most of people there didn't want/need to connect to internet (weird for a person like me spending lots of time online, although kind of understandable). But really not being able to afford an internet connection! 40% of the population of a big city! In the USA! How can this be possible?
Custom Solvers 2.0 = Alvaro Carballo Garcia = varocarbas.
You dare go dismantle that dish?
We used to have a Bill of Rights. Now, with the rights gone, all we have left is the bill.
This is an example of what people can achieve when they come together for a common good, without politics involved. If I lived in Detroit, I would love to be a part of this. It just goes to show that you need neither Corporate America nor politics to get anything done. Arguably, it happens faster when neither of them get involved in the first place. There's less lip service to progress and MUCH more actual progress achieved.
Reducing the relative failure of "Detroit" to the failure of an economic system is a bit reductio ad absurdum. There were multiple economic, sociological, and political factors involved.
The article's remedy - worker's co-ops - are resolutely opposed by the UAW. The UAW thrives on an adversarial relationship with the companies it bargains with. VW tried setting up worker's co-ops in it's factories in the US and the UAW campaigned against them.
My Other Computer Is A Data General Nova III.
This is how Cable Television got its start (http://www.sectv.com/web/aspfounder.aspx?strSystem=LV). The problem space seems the same, but motivations and forces are different.
SUBTLE ORIGIN of "Order it to disarm the missiles disorder":
In the final moments of the movie War Games, the protagonist is engaged in a methodical side-channel attack. He successfully completes a step and at the first indication of success Top Brass takes over and issues a blatant over the top direct command, triggering an access alarm and risking total lockout.
HOW THIS APPLIES TO COMMUNITY INTERNET INITIATIVES:
Advocates engage in a methodical effort to provide community Internet access, overcoming on-ramp costs, equipment funding and line of sight terrain until a critical mass is achieved. On ribbon cutting day... as a band plays, a sedate ceremony is performed in which one's ability to load a Wikipedia page, access a Gopher server, check email and access the AP news wire is demonstrated. The current temperature and weather forecast is retrieved, which causes a murmur of excitement in the crowd and a round of applause.
"Order it to disarm the missiles!"
Everyone jumps onto Facebook, Twitter, Instagram and Youtube... sets HD exceed-your-screen-resolution video 'on' and binge-watches 'Ow My Balls' type videos. The community network collapses in a shower of sparks, homework remains undone and a new generation of children dangles their useless account-disabled smartphones in front of cats, who play with them.
<blink>down the rabbit hole</blink>
their own internet.."
with blackjack and hookers?