Nerd Gear: Mesh Potato and spreading Net

 This story and device, just to cool not to blog.

Saw this Ars' article How one man is bringing VoIP, Net access where telecoms fear to tread:Several towns will get cellular, Internet access for the first time

The device used, Mesh Potato, is from this company http://villagetelco.org/mesh-potato/ check out that link and their FAQ for more info http://villagetelco.org/mesh-potato-faq/

Here is snipped from http://villagetelco.org/mesh-potato/

"The Mesh Potato is a device for providing low-cost telephony and Internet in areas where alternative access either doesn’t exist or is too expensive. It is a marriage of a low-cost wireless access point (AP) capable of running a mesh networking protocol with an Analog Telephony Adapter (ATA). Wireless APs such as the Meraki or OpenMesh (Accton Mini-router) APs are rapidly gaining in popularity due to their low-cost, relative robustness, and ease of installation. Adding the ability to plug an ordinary telephone into a device like an OpenMesh AP opens up very interesting possibilities."

I would think HAM's might be interested in this, also has Dark Net possibilities I think.

You might also want to read about origins of Mesh Potato at http://villagetelco.org/2008/06/the-origin-of-the-mesh-potato/

Snippet from origin link:

"The device would be based on the Atheros chipset used by Meraki and OpenMesh and would run OpenWRT and BATMAN. Asterisk would deliver the telephony function. Designed with a weatherproof housing, this device could be attached to the outside of a house or would even work inside if need be. Pre-configured, it would be plug and play for a new Village Telco client."