Frankly, I think several WISPS (wireless Internet service providers) are going to be put out of business by BT's expansion of its ADSL provision.

But there is also an interesting case to be made by those who think wireless will grow, rather than shrinking, as the Internet spreads.

Are we convinced? Well, let's wait and see!

I'm trying to imagine all those agricultural labourers who have 'moved into the towns' 'commuting to their offices'. Do they still dress in their traditional wellingtons and string-tied jackets, wisps of straw in their mouths?? :)

I don't like using the term WISP when talking about our project, the Feeed Mesh Network Club. WISP implies a commercially driven approach to providing wireless broadband internet access.

As a not-for-profit club, we have many advantages over commercially driven services. And by that I include the big boys like BT.

We don't have any huge loans repayments to keep up. We don't have any share holders pushing us in one direction or another. We don't lie awake at night wondering if we'll be able to pay any wages.

I don't envy the position of Rural WISPs who are forking out for Satellite or leased line backhauls. But BT's latest efforts were bound to come. Let's face it they probably said 'We'll never get telephones in these parts" 90 years ago.

But ADSL is a tethered connection. Even adding a wireless router doesn't get you any further than the bottom of your garden. A mesh network can cover 1000's of homes and offices, and the park, and the beach, and all the places we like to be when we're enjoying ourselves.

And there are places in the UK where BT regulations do not permit telephone lines to be installed (I won't tell you where because I hope corner that market :-) )

And delivery using technology like Locustworld's MeshAP will always be viable alternative to ADSL, as ISPs will not be able to patent sharing and community cooperation. Many of the people involved in our mesh at Feeed do so becuase they are fed up with being controlled by the bigb companies and want to do something for themselves which improves their community.

So wireless is not dead. If it was, then I wouldn't be spending most of my time talking to people about mesh networks and Feeed! :-)

Russell Hutson
Chairmain
www.feeed.net
www.feeedpro.co.uk - wireless network solutions