Terms and Conditions:

The WNDW Production Team wrote:The book is available under a Creative Commons license, meaning that it is free to download, print and modify, even for a profit, as long as proper credit is given and any modifications or copies made are shared under the same terms. It is available for download in PDF and HTML format from http://wndw.net/ . Printed and bound copies are also available for the cost of printing.

Book Excerpts:

This book was created by a team of individuals who each, in their own field, are actively participating in the ever-expanding Internet by pushing its reach farther than ever before. The massive popularity of wireless networking has caused equipment costs to continually plummet, while equipment capabilities continue to increase. By applying this technology in areas that are badly in need of critical communications infrastructure, more people can be brought online than ever before, in less time, for very little cost.

The hope is that this book will not only convince readers that this is possible, but also show how such networks actually made to work, and to give the readers the information and tools they need to start a network project in their local community.

This book will focus on wireless data networking technologies in the 802.11 family. While such a network can carry data, voice, and video (as well as traditional web and Internet traffic), the networks described in this book are data networks. This book specifically does not cover GSM, CDMA, or other wireless voice technologies, since the cost of deploying these technologies is well beyond the reach of most community projects.

This book is not a guide to configuring a radio card in your laptop or choosing consumer grade gear for your home network. The emphasis is on building infrastructure links intended to be used as the backbone for wide area wireless networks. With that goal in mind, information is presented from many points of view, including technical, social, and financial factors. The extensive collection of case studies present various groups' attempts at building these networks, the resources that were committed to them, and the ultimate results of these attempts.

Review(s):

Lulu.com

:) "There are spelling/grammar goofs here and there, and one or two factual mistakes, but all in all this is a must-read for anyone who's interested in community wireless networks, or wireless networking in relatively undeveloped areas."