The deadline to submit proposals for this year's Wireless Summit has been extended to July 1st. That means you have one more month to submit your ideas for a lecture, panel, or workshop—and travel funding is still available. We hope to see you at this year's Summit!
2013-05-28 16:09 - IS4CWN Team
Do you work on the intersection of policy and technology? Do you want to use your policy expertise to help communities in need? Join us in Berlin this October to learn from experts from around the world and tell them about your work.
Below are some policy-related sessions from past IS4CWN conferences to get you thinking, but the sky is the limit! Whether you have a fresh take on these topics or something totally different to share, we invite you to submit a proposal for this year's conference. Travel funding is available, too.
Rural Broadband Frameworks for Emerging Regions
Rural areas in emerging nations need new radically lower cost service delivery models to close the growing “broadband gap" that characterizes much of the developing world. While progress is possible, scaling such efforts involves a complex set of factors. Presenters will describe the key elements, key goals and current status of their programs as well as preliminary lessons learned, and how it can be applied to other regions. This discussion will shed light on community wireless connectivity in underserved and remotely located communities of Nigeria as a pilot for West and Central Africa and rural knowledge networks for agricultural development in the developing countries and especially from India.
Community Networks in UHF White Spaces
This panel will discuss plans for a second digital dividend by repacking UHF to create LESS white space, and the implications (for privacy, easier govt shutoff of net access) of geo-database control of white space devices, especially as this technique may be applied to other bands.
From Medicine to Building Capital: The benefits of CWNs
Presenters will talk about the use of community wireless networks for medicine and microfinance in rural and remote areas. They will explain how telemedicine benefits people in medically inaccessible areas, and provide insights into poverty, the importance of microfinance, and the impacts of wireless technology on economic development.
2013-05-17 14:05 - IS4CWN Team
Are you a technologist who wants to use your skills to help communities in need? Join us in Berlin this October to learn from technical experts and tell them about your work.
Below are some sessions from past IS4CWN conferences to get you thinking, but the sky is the limit! Whether you have a fresh take on these topics or something totally different to share, we invite you to submit a proposal for this year's conference. Travel funding is available, too.
"Epic FAIL!: Everything We Did Wrong with Community Wireless Networking"
With founding CuWIN and Funkfeuer in 2000 and 2003, being amongst one of the early community wireless networks the presenters got the privilege of being there from the beginning and thus having hardly any other role model community to learn from. Mistakes were therefore inevitable. Now, a decade later, it is time to draw a line and look at the successes and mistakes which were made. Discussing the mistakes allows future networks to avoid falling into the same pitfalls.
Alternative Structures and Technology in Mesh Networking
Presenters will talk about the need for alternative infrastructure, motivations of hotspot hosts, the obstacles they perceive, and how to overcome those obstacles. The presentation will also comprise a discussion on cellular wireless networks vs. meshes and how to improve the mesh technology from the current state.
OLSR Update
OLSR.org has become the de-facto open source mesh routing protocol of choice for most community wireless networks over the last years. The presentation will give an overview of the current state of development as well as an update on future developments. The second part will be a workshop/get-together with OLSR users and developers which will focus on wishes by the community and necessary steps to implement these change requests.
2013-05-13 10:04 - IS4CWN Team
Planning is underway for the 2013 International Summit for Community Wireless Networks (IS4CWN)! This year's conference will take place in Berlin, Germany from October 2-4.
IS4CWN is a gathering of technology experts, policy analysts, on-the-ground specialists, and researchers working on state-of-the-art community broadband projects across the globe. The 2013 Summit is committed to having a diversity of voices and experience, and we're looking to have a lot of new faces in the room. Community networks encompass a whole range of social, political and technical challenges, so technical knowledge is definitely not required. Above all, IS4CWN is a community of communities, and the annual summit serves as an opportunity to share ideas and challenges, discuss policy issues, and coordinate research and development efforts around the world.
Interested? Registration is open! Sign up at a discounted early bird rate through June 1st, here: http://2013.wirelesssummit.org/content/summit-registration.
Those in need of travel funding may also submit funding requests online: http://2013.wirelesssummit.org/content/travel-funding-application.
Stay tuned in the coming weeks for information about keynote speakers and the workshops that will be on offer at this year's IS4CWN. We hope to see you there!
About IS4CWN
The International Summit for Community Wireless Networks brings together leading technology experts, policy analysts, on-the-ground-specialists and university researchers working on state-of-the-art community broadband projects across the globe. The 2013 Summit will take place in Berlin, Germany from October 2-4, and will serve as an opportunity to share ideas and challenges, discuss policy issues, and coordinate research and development efforts. Registration is now open, and applicants may apply for travel funding!
