Île Sans Fil

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Île Sans Fil («wi-fi island») is a non-profit community wireless network devoted to providing free public wireless internet access to mobile users in public spaces throughout the island of Montréal, Québec, Canada. They are using Open-source software and inexpensive off-the-shelf Wi-Fi hardware to share broadband Internet connections. The organization works with cafés, restaurants, bar, stores, community organizations, and individuals to provide free Internet access in public spaces. As of the end of July 2006, the network has over 20,000 registered users and a little over 100 live hotspots.

Île Sans Fil advocates creative use of the technology to bring people together and foster a sense of community. In pursuit of that goal, Île Sans Fil uses its hotspots to promote interaction between users, display new media art, and provide geographically and community-relevant information. The group is entirely volunteer-based. It depends on the goodwill of graphic artists, webmasters, Linux sysadmins and developers.

Besides the deployment of these hotspots, a group of developers inside Île Sans Fil are leading the development of the captive portal suite WifiDog. This Open Source software was originally conceived for Île Sans Fil internal use, but quickly gain international recognition. More than 20 community wireless networks outside Montréal are using the WifiDog solution : New-York, London, Berlin, Vancouver, Toronto, Paris, Brest and Marseille.

[edit] External links

• Official website
• Map of the Île Sans Fil network
• WifiDog project website
• List of groups using WifiDog