And no, I’m not talking about pirating on the internet, I’m talking about getting your internet connection to the outside world without paying or having a subscription or license. Something like a mesh network with your neighbors with the exit node being one person’s high-speed fiber line, or even an exit node through a free public wifi network that you’ve hidden a little repeater device within range of… something like that could be interesting. I’ve been thinking lately of a world where decentralized networks become more common, and where people can freely use the internet without paying an ISP. What are your thoughts?
In Germany we have an initiative called Freifunk (roughly „Free Wireless Radio“). They are building free wifi mesh networks in larger cities. Their members use their ISP connection with special mesh network router software. The initiative collects donations to improve their infrastructure and fend off liability claims.
Edit: There has been a thread about Freifunk here already.