[wsfii-discuss] CUWiN/UIUC Partnership Awarded $500, 000 NSF Grant To Develop High-Performance Open Source Mesh Wireless Technologies.

[Sascha Meinrath]

Hi all,

Thought this would interest folks...

--Sascha

***

July 20, 2006

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

Contact:

Sascha Meinrath, CUWiN Executive Director
217-278-3933 x30 sascha at cuwireless.net

Ross Musselman, CUWiN Outreach Coordinator
217-278-3933 x31 rgmussel at cuwireless.net

***

CUWiN/UIUC PARTNERSHIP AWARDED $500,000 NSF GRANT TO DEVELOP NEXT GENERATION
OPEN SOURCE MESH WIRELESS TECHNOLOGIES.

University of Illinois, Urbana-Champaign partners with CUWiN to build
high-performance, robust open source wireless mesh networking technologies.

The National Science Foundation (NSF) has awarded $500,000 in grant funding to
support a research and development partnership between the Champaign-Urbana
Community Wireless Network (CUWiN) and the University of Illinois,
Urbana-Champaign (UIUC).  This initiative, "Toward building a
Performance-Predictable Wireless Mesh Network", focuses on the development of
wireless routing protocols, network testing systems, and gateway discovery in
open-source technology.  The grant, part of the Network Technology and Systems
Program of the NSF, provides support over a three-year period.

"CUWiN is building the next generation of mesh wireless technologies.  Most
importantly, CUWiN is releasing our software under an open source license --
allowing communities, municipalities, organizations, and individuals around the
world to deploy low-cost alternatives to current proprietary systems." stated
Sascha Meinrath, CUWiN Executive Director.

Community and municipal wireless networks have gained tremendous attention in
recent years. The ultimate objective of this CUWiN/UIUC partnership is to
incorporate research results and system prototypes into production code to be
widely distributed by CUWiN. With the help of CUWiN, the research to be carried
out by UIUC researchers will make a real impact and effect high-throughput,
cost-effective broadband access both for the U.S. and worldwide.

"I am extremely pleased with the fact that NSF recognizes the importance of
carrying out research on a real multi-hop wireless network. CUWiN provides us
with a city-wide research testbed to understand how, and to what extent,
wireless links are affected by PHY/MAC attributes and other environmental
factors.  All the measurements we make on CUWiN will help characterize the
behavior of wireless links and identify control 'knobs' in the MAC/PHY layers
with which the network capacity can be optimized." Principal Investigator,
Jennifer Hou, stated.

CUWiN's mission is to help bridge the digital divide by developing low-cost,
open source, wireless technologies and making them available to community and
municipal networks around the world. CUWiN networks have been established in
urban settings like Chicago, Illinois, and Washington, D.C., as well as rural
places like the Mesa Grande Indian Reservation near San Diego, California,
and Apirede, Ghana.  CUWiN continues to expand its development testbed in
Urbana, Illinois in partnership with the City of Urbana and the University of
Illinois, Urbana-Champaign.

"The wireless technologies being developed by CUWiN as a part of this initiative
hearken back to the innovation and vibrancy of early Internet development."
stated Ross Musselman, CUWiN Outreach Coordinator. "With a focus on maintaining
Internet freedom, these new technologies support digital inclusion around the
globe."

For more information on this initiative, contact the CUWiN team at:
E-mail: cu-wireless-support at cuwireless.net
Phone: +1 217 278-3933 x31.

Sign up for the once-a-month CUWiN e-mail news list at:

http://lists.chambana.net/cgi-bin/listinfo/cu-wireless-announce



-- 
Sascha Meinrath
Policy Analyst    *  Project Coordinator  *  President
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