About Wave Farm
Spectrum Roadshow
Mar 23, 2006: 6pm- 9pm
The Sanctuary for Independent Media
3361 6th Avenue | Troy, NY
http://www.thesanctuaryforindependentmedia.org
Prometheus Radio Project introduces "The Spectrum Roadshow."
Streamed live on free103point9 Online Radio.
A group of media reform activists with the Philadelphia-based Prometheus Radio Project visit the Capital Region to spread the word about how communities can shape their own information technology futures. There will be a 6 p.m. potluck during which they will conduct a teach-in on how to build "cantennas" for picking up wireless Internet signals, followed at 7 p.m. with a screening and talk about grassroots perspectives on media reform. For more information, visit http://www.thesanctuaryforindependentmedia.org/news_item.2006-03-15.2417994949 Community Wireless Pioneers To Appear In Troy: Prometheus Radio Project Introduces "The Spectrum Roadshow."
A group of media reform activists with the Philadelphia-based Prometheus Radio Project will visit the Capital Region on Thursday, March 23, 2006 to spread the word about how communities can shape their own information technology futures. They will be speaking about grassroots perspectives on media reform at 7 PM at The Sanctuary For Independent Media, 3361 6th Avenue in Troy, following a 6 PM potluck during which they will conduct a teach-in on how to build "cantennas" for picking up wireless Internet signals.
According to Prometheus organizer Dharma Dailey, "Communities can build, own, and control their communications infrastructure and that's what we'll be talking about in Troy."
The Prometheus Radio Project has first-hand knowledge of plans to build out wireless Internet access in Philadelphia, which is frequently cited as a model for other cities. They have proposed numerous strategies for making the service more affordable, more responsive and more accountable to community needs.
The Prometheus Radio Project was formed during the late '90s struggle to create a legal, low-power FM radio service in the United States. Some members of the group are former "pirate" broadcasters credited with having used civil disobedience tactics to successfully challenge Federal Communications Commission policies on community radio, leading to the establishment of hundreds of non-commercial stations around the country since new rules were implemented in 2000. They are best known for having turned back the FCC's attempt to relax broadcast ownership rules two years ago.
In a case decided in June 2004 ("Prometheus Radio Project v. Federal Communications Commission") the United States Court of Appeals for the Third Circuit in Philadelphia dealt a major setback to the nations largest media companies, criticizing the formula devised by the FCC to measure the diversity of media markets and justify relaxation of rules that would permit a company to own more outlets in a particular city.
According to the New York Times, "The court decision was a victory for smaller broadcasters and a coalition of labor, consumer, religious, artistic and civil rights organizations, which have said that the relaxation of the media ownership rules threatened to reduce the diversity of voices on the airwaves and would lead to declining standards in television and radio programming."
The Prometheus Radio Project organizers are on tour to gather information for the Second National Summit for Community Wireless Networks at Lindenwood University in St. Charles, Missouri, which takes place on the weekend of March 31-April 2, 2006. According to Prometheus activist Hannah Sassaman, "We see community wireless networks as the logical extension of our work with low power FM. It's all about radio--think of it as 'smart radio.'"
The first wave of smart radio was released to the public in 1999 in the form of WI-FI (two-way smart radios that allow computers to communicate with each other and the Internet). Originally envisioned by its creators as a way to network offices without wires, it quickly became a way for neighbors all over the world to share Internet service.
According to the Prometheus Radio Project's Dharma Dailey, "WiFi is one of dozens of wireless radio devices including portable phones, garage door openers, remote controls and Mr. Microphones that transmit and receive on special radio bands that have been designated 'unlicensed.' Unlicensed does not mean--as some big telecoms are saying right now--that there are no rules and chaos reigns. Quite the contrary. On licensed radio, people get permission to broadcast from the FCC. With unlicensed radio, equipment manufacturers get permission from the FCC to build a new device that takes advantage of unlicensed spectrum. Once the device meets the FCC's engineering standards, any number can be made without each one having to be licensed. For example, people who want to use unlicensed devices--their portable phones, garage door openers or whatever--do not need to get prior permission from the FCC."
Most unlicensed devices are low-power. This means that smart radio devices "whisper" instead of "shouting" the way big broadcasters do. Whispering has major advantages. Many more conversations can take place where everyone is whispering instead of shouting, and low-power networks have proved to be very effective in a variety of situations. So-called "mesh" networks with many low-power transmitters constantly whispering to their neighbors--sending and receiving--are far more reliable than old-fashioned point-to-point networks. An important advantage to the community-minded spectrum pioneer is that each transmitter in a mesh network is relatively inexpensive to buy and install compared to big transmitters that need special towers to work. The network can grow piece by piece, cheap transmitter/receiver by cheap transmitter/receiver and can be built in a "pay as you go" fashion. As money becomes available the network grows, and each node can be owned by the person who throws it up on the roof. And the more people do so, the better the coverage and the better the network can run.
Local presentation of the Prometheus Radio Project's "Spectrum Roadshow" is made possible with support from the Arts Department at Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute. Visit www.arts.rpi.edu for more information.
The Sanctuary for Independent Media is a media arts center located in an historic former church in Troy, NY. The Sanctuary hosts screening, production and performance facilities, training in media production and a meeting space for artists, activists and independent media makers of all kinds. The Sanctuary is located at 3361 6th Avenue, three doors down from 101st Street in north Troy. Call (518) 272-2390, email info@TheSanctuaryForIndependentMedia.org, or visit www.TheSanctuaryForIndependentMedia.org for more information.
Streamed live on free103point9 Online Radio.
A group of media reform activists with the Philadelphia-based Prometheus Radio Project visit the Capital Region to spread the word about how communities can shape their own information technology futures. There will be a 6 p.m. potluck during which they will conduct a teach-in on how to build "cantennas" for picking up wireless Internet signals, followed at 7 p.m. with a screening and talk about grassroots perspectives on media reform. For more information, visit http://www.thesanctuaryforindependentmedia.org/news_item.2006-03-15.2417994949 Community Wireless Pioneers To Appear In Troy: Prometheus Radio Project Introduces "The Spectrum Roadshow."
A group of media reform activists with the Philadelphia-based Prometheus Radio Project will visit the Capital Region on Thursday, March 23, 2006 to spread the word about how communities can shape their own information technology futures. They will be speaking about grassroots perspectives on media reform at 7 PM at The Sanctuary For Independent Media, 3361 6th Avenue in Troy, following a 6 PM potluck during which they will conduct a teach-in on how to build "cantennas" for picking up wireless Internet signals.
According to Prometheus organizer Dharma Dailey, "Communities can build, own, and control their communications infrastructure and that's what we'll be talking about in Troy."
The Prometheus Radio Project has first-hand knowledge of plans to build out wireless Internet access in Philadelphia, which is frequently cited as a model for other cities. They have proposed numerous strategies for making the service more affordable, more responsive and more accountable to community needs.
The Prometheus Radio Project was formed during the late '90s struggle to create a legal, low-power FM radio service in the United States. Some members of the group are former "pirate" broadcasters credited with having used civil disobedience tactics to successfully challenge Federal Communications Commission policies on community radio, leading to the establishment of hundreds of non-commercial stations around the country since new rules were implemented in 2000. They are best known for having turned back the FCC's attempt to relax broadcast ownership rules two years ago.
In a case decided in June 2004 ("Prometheus Radio Project v. Federal Communications Commission") the United States Court of Appeals for the Third Circuit in Philadelphia dealt a major setback to the nations largest media companies, criticizing the formula devised by the FCC to measure the diversity of media markets and justify relaxation of rules that would permit a company to own more outlets in a particular city.
According to the New York Times, "The court decision was a victory for smaller broadcasters and a coalition of labor, consumer, religious, artistic and civil rights organizations, which have said that the relaxation of the media ownership rules threatened to reduce the diversity of voices on the airwaves and would lead to declining standards in television and radio programming."
The Prometheus Radio Project organizers are on tour to gather information for the Second National Summit for Community Wireless Networks at Lindenwood University in St. Charles, Missouri, which takes place on the weekend of March 31-April 2, 2006. According to Prometheus activist Hannah Sassaman, "We see community wireless networks as the logical extension of our work with low power FM. It's all about radio--think of it as 'smart radio.'"
The first wave of smart radio was released to the public in 1999 in the form of WI-FI (two-way smart radios that allow computers to communicate with each other and the Internet). Originally envisioned by its creators as a way to network offices without wires, it quickly became a way for neighbors all over the world to share Internet service.
According to the Prometheus Radio Project's Dharma Dailey, "WiFi is one of dozens of wireless radio devices including portable phones, garage door openers, remote controls and Mr. Microphones that transmit and receive on special radio bands that have been designated 'unlicensed.' Unlicensed does not mean--as some big telecoms are saying right now--that there are no rules and chaos reigns. Quite the contrary. On licensed radio, people get permission to broadcast from the FCC. With unlicensed radio, equipment manufacturers get permission from the FCC to build a new device that takes advantage of unlicensed spectrum. Once the device meets the FCC's engineering standards, any number can be made without each one having to be licensed. For example, people who want to use unlicensed devices--their portable phones, garage door openers or whatever--do not need to get prior permission from the FCC."
Most unlicensed devices are low-power. This means that smart radio devices "whisper" instead of "shouting" the way big broadcasters do. Whispering has major advantages. Many more conversations can take place where everyone is whispering instead of shouting, and low-power networks have proved to be very effective in a variety of situations. So-called "mesh" networks with many low-power transmitters constantly whispering to their neighbors--sending and receiving--are far more reliable than old-fashioned point-to-point networks. An important advantage to the community-minded spectrum pioneer is that each transmitter in a mesh network is relatively inexpensive to buy and install compared to big transmitters that need special towers to work. The network can grow piece by piece, cheap transmitter/receiver by cheap transmitter/receiver and can be built in a "pay as you go" fashion. As money becomes available the network grows, and each node can be owned by the person who throws it up on the roof. And the more people do so, the better the coverage and the better the network can run.
Local presentation of the Prometheus Radio Project's "Spectrum Roadshow" is made possible with support from the Arts Department at Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute. Visit www.arts.rpi.edu for more information.
The Sanctuary for Independent Media is a media arts center located in an historic former church in Troy, NY. The Sanctuary hosts screening, production and performance facilities, training in media production and a meeting space for artists, activists and independent media makers of all kinds. The Sanctuary is located at 3361 6th Avenue, three doors down from 101st Street in north Troy. Call (518) 272-2390, email info@TheSanctuaryForIndependentMedia.org, or visit www.TheSanctuaryForIndependentMedia.org for more information.