Tired of paying Comcast or Verizon for Wi-Fi Internet access, then move to Allentown. On Nov. 13, its wireless mesh network went live, meaning that anyone on Warrington Avenue between Beltzhoover and Arlington Avenues can have the coffee house, free wireless Internet experience.
“It’s just the same as a coffee house, only much bigger,” said Meta Mesh owner Adam Longwell, who built the community prototype PittMesh network.
Using a $7,000 Urban Redevelopment Authority grant awarded through the Mount Washington Community Development Corporation that covered materials, Longwell installed the network’s eight hubs within seven existing businesses—and one home along Warrington Avenue.
For now the network just covers part of the business district, but #WirelessWarrington will eventually cover the whole Allentown community.
The first host site was The Hardware Store, a co-working space that houses 45 budding tech and media moguls—including Longwell, who said he eventually wants to cover the whole city. The network isn’t making any money at it yet, but he says he’s working on that.
Hardware Store owner Josh Lucas’ motivation is more direct—lure more entrepreneurs and start-ups to Allentown and revive the community.
As for the network itself, it is, as Longwell said, like a giant, coffee house network—meaning it is not secure. It is unlocked for anyone to hop on if they are in range of any of the network’s eight antennas.
Eventually, he would like to trick it out with features like a search engine, domain servers, game servers, and encryption.
Mayor and confessed tech head Bill Peduto was impressed enough to attend the celebration as PittMesh officially went live.
Darnell Sains, the council president in neighboring Mt. Oliver is also impressed, but he is waiting to see how the network responds before seeing about extending it to the borough.
“It’s not just us, everyone—Carrick, Beltzhoover—is looking into it,” he said. “We are all members of the Hilltop Alliance, but they (Allentown) are the pilot program. So, we’ll watch and see what quirks, if any, develop and see how people respond. “
Certainly, he admitted, a neighborhood network could mean a substantial savings for low- to moderate-income families needing to keep up in the increasingly digital world.
Longwell has also placed Meta Mesh nodes in the Hill District, in Oakland and in the Brew House on the South Side providing Wi-Fi access to the Flats and Slopes.
(Send comments to cmorrow@newpittsburghcourier.com.)
