Personal Telco
Encyclopedia
The Personal Telco Project (or PTP) is a wireless community network
project in Portland, Oregon
. It was founded by Adam Shand in November 2000 after he read a Slashdot
article about the Consume The Net project in London
.
PTP currently has about 100 wireless hotspot
s offering free Internet
access at locations around Portland including Pioneer Courthouse Square
, three public parks, and several restaurants and coffee shops. PTP is currently involved in a grant-funded project to bring free wireless Internet to an entire neighborhood in North Portland, along N. Mississippi Avenue.
PTP is a non-profit organization
in the state of Oregon
, and received its 501(c)(3) status (a federal tax exemption granted to charitable organizations) in early 2003.
PTP made US news in August 2002 when their hotspot at Pioneer Courthouse Square
was blocked by a for-fee hotspot at a nearby Starbucks
coffee shop. The problem was resolved amicably when the for-fee hotspot moved their connection to another channel.
On March 4, 2003, a study was published stating Portland had more wireless hotspots per capita than any other U.S. city. This was due in part to PTP's advocacy.
Wireless community network
Wireless community networks or wireless community projects are the organizations that attempt to take a grassroots approach to providing a viable alternative to municipal wireless networks for consumers....
project in Portland, Oregon
Portland, Oregon
Portland is a city located in the Pacific Northwest, near the confluence of the Willamette and Columbia rivers in the U.S. state of Oregon. As of the 2010 Census, it had a population of 583,776, making it the 29th most populous city in the United States...
. It was founded by Adam Shand in November 2000 after he read a Slashdot
Slashdot
Slashdot is a technology-related news website owned by Geeknet, Inc. The site, which bills itself as "News for Nerds. Stuff that Matters", features user-submitted and ‑evaluated current affairs news stories about science- and technology-related topics. Each story has a comments section...
article about the Consume The Net project in London
London
London is the capital city of :England and the :United Kingdom, the largest metropolitan area in the United Kingdom, and the largest urban zone in the European Union by most measures. Located on the River Thames, London has been a major settlement for two millennia, its history going back to its...
.
PTP currently has about 100 wireless hotspot
Hotspot (Wi-Fi)
A hotspot is a site that offers Internet access over a wireless local area network through the use of a router connected to a link to an Internet service provider...
s offering free Internet
Internet
The Internet is a global system of interconnected computer networks that use the standard Internet protocol suite to serve billions of users worldwide...
access at locations around Portland including Pioneer Courthouse Square
Pioneer Courthouse Square
Pioneer Courthouse Square, affectionately known as Portland's living room, is a public space occupying a full 40,000 ft² city block in the center of downtown Portland, Oregon, United States...
, three public parks, and several restaurants and coffee shops. PTP is currently involved in a grant-funded project to bring free wireless Internet to an entire neighborhood in North Portland, along N. Mississippi Avenue.
PTP is a non-profit organization
Non-profit organization
Nonprofit organization is neither a legal nor technical definition but generally refers to an organization that uses surplus revenues to achieve its goals, rather than distributing them as profit or dividends...
in the state of Oregon
Oregon
Oregon is a state in the Pacific Northwest region of the United States. It is located on the Pacific coast, with Washington to the north, California to the south, Nevada on the southeast and Idaho to the east. The Columbia and Snake rivers delineate much of Oregon's northern and eastern...
, and received its 501(c)(3) status (a federal tax exemption granted to charitable organizations) in early 2003.
PTP made US news in August 2002 when their hotspot at Pioneer Courthouse Square
Pioneer Courthouse Square
Pioneer Courthouse Square, affectionately known as Portland's living room, is a public space occupying a full 40,000 ft² city block in the center of downtown Portland, Oregon, United States...
was blocked by a for-fee hotspot at a nearby Starbucks
Starbucks
Starbucks Corporation is an international coffee and coffeehouse chain based in Seattle, Washington. Starbucks is the largest coffeehouse company in the world, with 17,009 stores in 55 countries, including over 11,000 in the United States, over 1,000 in Canada, over 700 in the United Kingdom, and...
coffee shop. The problem was resolved amicably when the for-fee hotspot moved their connection to another channel.
On March 4, 2003, a study was published stating Portland had more wireless hotspots per capita than any other U.S. city. This was due in part to PTP's advocacy.
External links
- Personal Telco Home Page (WikiWikiA wiki is a website that allows the creation and editing of any number of interlinked web pages via a web browser using a simplified markup language or a WYSIWYG text editor. Wikis are typically powered by wiki software and are often used collaboratively by multiple users. Examples include...
server) - Index of Personal Telco nodes
- Article about the first PTP meeting
- Article about PTP in the Portland Business Journal