<!DOCTYPE html PUBLIC "-//W3C//DTD HTML 4.01 Transitional//EN">
<html>
<head>
<meta content="text/html;charset=ISO-8859-1" http-equiv="Content-Type">
</head>
<body bgcolor="#ffffff" text="#666666">
This question has been around since wireless has been around, it been
brought up so many times I can't remember.<br>
<br>
If you ask for a payment to recover the cost even at a loss regardless
if it is money, donated equipment or other things in return Internet
access, it is not allowed under the ACMA.<br>
<br>
I don't know about others, but I am under the strong option that this
should never really change, for reasons I will not go into now. <br>
<br>
Anyone who wants to share Internet shouldbe encouraged, as it is really
great thing to do, but it must be done freely if to comply with ACMA
guidelines. At least in metropolitan areas, different rules apply to
regional areas where broadband is not available.<br>
<br>
If club members want Internet access it is allowable for an
Incorporated non-profit club to make Internet available provided it is
at no extra cost other then their usual membership fee. The club must
also ensure that the costs of such are correctly recorded in the club
accounts to show evidence that no financial benefit has been gained by
the club or its members. There must also be no offer or guarantee of
an Internet service as part of membership or as an inducement to join.<br>
<br>
There are already plenty of commercial wireless providers out there
some good and some very bad all are scrambling over each other to
provide cheaper Internet over wireless, and their margins are tight. I
say let them fight for the scraps, thats not what community wireless
network is about.<br>
<br>
Community Wireless Networks about finding ways to share IT resources
over a collaborative network overcoming LOS issues for interest, fun or
as a way to contribute to the community.<br>
<br>
Rowan 2006 wrote:
<blockquote cite="mid20060912130124.Q60465@satin.sensation.net.au"
type="cite">
<pre wrap="">On Tue, 12 Sep 2006, gummay.net wrote:
</pre>
<blockquote type="cite">
<pre wrap="">Odd - they seem be approaching the grey area in a different way since
the time I last contacted them (in 2004).
Here's the email I received back then:
</pre>
</blockquote>
<pre wrap=""><!---->
Actually it's pretty much the same answer - it's the "if you share costs
with your neighbour you are benefiting" part that is the key.
Your next email suggesting redundancy between members could possibly be
considered a similar "shared benefit", since you could potentially have
faster net access by borrowing from others links. :(
BTW I'm speaking with the same person at ACMA. I'm trying a slightly
different scenario where people connecting to the access point are (a) not
obligated to pay anything - it is free, and (b) if they do decide to
donate, it will cover capital equipment purchases only and will benefit
all users, not them specifically.
I guess if people are donating then that also extends an obligation to me
to keep the service running. What if a neighbour's donation helped fund
the purchase of a new AP, and due to unforeseen circumstances I have to
shut it down a week later? I doubt they'd be happy.
I could also do it another way... pay for everything myself now and hope
that within 2-3 years the law will allow me to turn it commercial. :) Or
that some day I can afford to pay for a carrier licence and company
structure, and put up with all the associated paperwork and red tape. :)
</pre>
</blockquote>
<br>
</body>
</html>