No Subject

[Anonymous <nobody@replay.com>]

How about a line-of-sight (LOS) infrared network, a neighbor-net?
Always thought this could be a method for a local technical
entrepreneur to fund and share their personal T-1 link or for
some small network enterprise to avoid local and US federal 
regulations and compete with the big cable and telephone 
companies. Appears that LOS infrared is currently unregulated
and could be encrypted.

Get enough people in a neighborhood to put LOS infrared 
relays on top of their houses, allow them to tap in, and feed this 
neighbor-net from some central point that is equipped with 
a more conventional link.

I dunno why infrared, which theoretically has much more 
capacity than a phone line or coax cable, seems currently so slow,
 i.e., less than 10 MB in many commercial offerings. I�ve no cost 
estimate for the roof top boxes. Heavy wet weather, fog, rain, 
snow obviously can affect LOS infrared, esp. low power.

Personally, I would like more choices than just the phone and cable 
lines, especially something that is locally controlled. However, I 
imagine that if any significant traffic was generated over such 
infrared or wireless neighbor-nets,  the Feds would eventually 
step in and regulate them.  They'd probably want to regulate the 
traffic over a taut string, between paper cups.