Ptawug
Encyclopedia
Pretoria Wireless Users Group is a South African wireless users group
. It is non-profit community organization
providing a Wireless community network
in Pretoria
, the capital of South Africa
.
PTAWUG has been created as the community’s answer to South Africa’s restrictive telecommunications environment. The South African telecommunications industry has been marked by poor service delivery, monopolistic practices and prohibitively high prices.
Founded on 28 July 2007, PTAWUG embodies the African spirit of Ubuntu. Its constitution
guarantees openness, free participation and equality to all members of the Wireless User Group
. PTAWUG is exclusively funded by donations from the community. Highsite installation and maintenance is conducted by volunteers in their spare time. PTAWUG exemplifies the proverbial open source
Bazaar
– no management team, no hierarchies, equal participation.
PTAWUG is the 3rd largest wireless network organization
in the world, behind AWMN
(Greece
), TWMN
(Greece
). These two networks provide internet as well, which PTAWUG doesn't, so counting community networks that don't provide internet - PTAWUG is the largest on earth.
The aim of the network is to provide free TCP/IP communications in and around South Africa’s capital to hobbyists, researchers and other non-commercial users. The network is used for gaming, voip, file transfers and various other IP
based services.
PTAWUG connects members from vastly different backgrounds and social standings and provides a sandbox for technology experimentation and community skills development.
maintain the highsites physically as well as the software configuration thereof.
This knowledge and these skills which are learnt by "playing" with WiFi
networks is very valuable to South Africa
and Africa
as there is a great skills shortage in South Africa
and on the continent.
PTAWUG is an inclusive network, no one is denied access, it is built totally on openness and collaboration
between members. There is no hierarchy on the network, all users are equal. The ages of members connected to PTAWUG range from teens to 60+, different income groups and races are represented as well.
Regular meetings are held where new developments are discussed, the great South African tradition of a braai
is part of these meetings.
The main communication medium on PTAWUG is IRC as this technology enables all the 'wuggers' to speak to each other, using PCs or cellphones, at the same time to easily plan expansion or discuss hardware/software problems on the network.
Many of the skills members learn by using and being involved in the network they apply in their careers.
Some facts and stats:
or services for many possible applications
. Due to the cost of Internet Services in South Africa
, many of these services provide free and open access to services that would otherwise deem a costly exercise.
The network grows at the rate about 10 new users a month. PTAWUG has also extended its network by connecting to several other wireless networks including JAWUG (Johannesburg Wireless Users Group). The exponential growth is mainly attributable to the free-for-all and open community principals governing PTAWUG, as users contribute their time, income and knowledge freely without hindrance of a governing body
. The vast interest in IT
and ICT
amongst a very broad range of South Africans, coupled with the limitations in affordable South African commercial communication solutions further ensure rapid growth of PTAWUG, and other South African wireless user groups.
Other wireless networks operating in and around Pretoria
South African wireless community networks
South African wireless community networks are wireless networks that allow members to talk, send messages, share files and play games independent of the commercial landline and mobile telephone networks. Most of them use WiFi technology and many are wireless mesh networks...
. It is non-profit community organization
Community organization
Community organizations are civil society non-profits that operate within a single local community. They are essentially a subset of the wider group of nonprofits. Like other nonprofits they are often run on a voluntary basis and are self funded...
providing a Wireless community network
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....
in Pretoria
Pretoria
Pretoria is a city located in the northern part of Gauteng Province, South Africa. It is one of the country's three capital cities, serving as the executive and de facto national capital; the others are Cape Town, the legislative capital, and Bloemfontein, the judicial capital.Pretoria is...
, the capital of South Africa
South Africa
The Republic of South Africa is a country in southern Africa. Located at the southern tip of Africa, it is divided into nine provinces, with of coastline on the Atlantic and Indian oceans...
.
PTAWUG has been created as the community’s answer to South Africa’s restrictive telecommunications environment. The South African telecommunications industry has been marked by poor service delivery, monopolistic practices and prohibitively high prices.
Founded on 28 July 2007, PTAWUG embodies the African spirit of Ubuntu. Its constitution
Constitution
A constitution is a set of fundamental principles or established precedents according to which a state or other organization is governed. These rules together make up, i.e. constitute, what the entity is...
guarantees openness, free participation and equality to all members of the Wireless User Group
Wireless user group
A Wireless User Group is a Wireless community network run by enthusiasts. Most run off the shelf Wi-Fi hardware communicating in the license free ISM bands 2.4 GHz/5.8 GHz. Some do not provide Internet access, but are mainly used to participate in Internet games while avoiding data charges from...
. PTAWUG is exclusively funded by donations from the community. Highsite installation and maintenance is conducted by volunteers in their spare time. PTAWUG exemplifies the proverbial open source
Open source
The term open source describes practices in production and development that promote access to the end product's source materials. Some consider open source a philosophy, others consider it a pragmatic methodology...
Bazaar
The Cathedral and the Bazaar
The Cathedral and the Bazaar is an essay by Eric S. Raymond on software engineering methods, based on his observations of the Linux kernel development process and his experiences managing an open source project, fetchmail. It examines the struggle between top-down and bottom-up design...
– no management team, no hierarchies, equal participation.
PTAWUG is the 3rd largest wireless network organization
Wireless network organizations by size
Wireless Network organizations sorted by size to have a better overview of the size of these organizations across the globe and to determine which networks are tiny and which are not.# Athens_Wireless_Metropolitan_Network - 800# TWMN - 503...
in the world, behind AWMN
Athens Wireless Metropolitan Network
Started in 2002 in Athens Greece, Athens Wireless Metropolitan Network is a grassroots wireless community, taking advantage of new, state of the art wireless technologies, to connect people and services. The network comprises 1120 backbone nodes and more than 2900 client computers connect to it...
(Greece
Greece
Greece , officially the Hellenic Republic , and historically Hellas or the Republic of Greece in English, is a country in southeastern Europe....
), TWMN
TWMN
TWMN, short for Thessaloniki's Wireless Metropolitan Network, is a user community in the city of Thessaloniki, Greece. The purpose of the community is to promote the usage of wireless networking in the region of Thessaloniki and to create a city-wide wireless network that connects all parts of the...
(Greece
Greece
Greece , officially the Hellenic Republic , and historically Hellas or the Republic of Greece in English, is a country in southeastern Europe....
). These two networks provide internet as well, which PTAWUG doesn't, so counting community networks that don't provide internet - PTAWUG is the largest on earth.
The aim of the network is to provide free TCP/IP communications in and around South Africa’s capital to hobbyists, researchers and other non-commercial users. The network is used for gaming, voip, file transfers and various other IP
Internet Protocol
The Internet Protocol is the principal communications protocol used for relaying datagrams across an internetwork using the Internet Protocol Suite...
based services.
PTAWUG connects members from vastly different backgrounds and social standings and provides a sandbox for technology experimentation and community skills development.
Community
PTAWUG unites a number of people in the IT field, sharing of information as well as learning helps member to progress. The community is responsible for the network - volunteersVolunteering
Volunteering is generally considered an altruistic activity, intended to promote good or improve human quality of life, but people also volunteer for their own skill development, to meet others, to make contacts for possible employment, to have fun, and a variety of other reasons that could be...
maintain the highsites physically as well as the software configuration thereof.
This knowledge and these skills which are learnt by "playing" with WiFi
WIFI
WIFI is a radio station broadcasting a brokered format. Licensed to Florence, New Jersey, USA, the station is currently operated by Florence Broadcasting Partners, LLC.This station was previously owned by Real Life Broadcasting...
networks is very valuable to South Africa
South Africa
The Republic of South Africa is a country in southern Africa. Located at the southern tip of Africa, it is divided into nine provinces, with of coastline on the Atlantic and Indian oceans...
and Africa
Africa
Africa is the world's second largest and second most populous continent, after Asia. At about 30.2 million km² including adjacent islands, it covers 6% of the Earth's total surface area and 20.4% of the total land area...
as there is a great skills shortage in South Africa
South Africa
The Republic of South Africa is a country in southern Africa. Located at the southern tip of Africa, it is divided into nine provinces, with of coastline on the Atlantic and Indian oceans...
and on the continent.
PTAWUG is an inclusive network, no one is denied access, it is built totally on openness and collaboration
Collaboration
Collaboration is working together to achieve a goal. It is a recursive process where two or more people or organizations work together to realize shared goals, — for example, an intriguing endeavor that is creative in nature—by sharing...
between members. There is no hierarchy on the network, all users are equal. The ages of members connected to PTAWUG range from teens to 60+, different income groups and races are represented as well.
Regular meetings are held where new developments are discussed, the great South African tradition of a braai
Braai
The word braaivleis is Afrikaans for "grilled meat."The word braai is Afrikaans for "barbecue" or "grill" and is a social custom in South Africa, Botswana, Namibia, Lesotho, Zimbabwe and Zambia. The term originated with the Afrikaner people, but has since been adopted by South Africans of many...
is part of these meetings.
The main communication medium on PTAWUG is IRC as this technology enables all the 'wuggers' to speak to each other, using PCs or cellphones, at the same time to easily plan expansion or discuss hardware/software problems on the network.
Many of the skills members learn by using and being involved in the network they apply in their careers.
Network Infrastructure
The lack of a stable periodical income prevents PTAWUG from renting equipment space on commercial towers in and around Pretoria, and all highsites are put up on privately owned properties, with the permission of the owners. Private properties and homes located in high areas are most frequently used for highsites as they have good line of sight to the surrounding areas providing greater coverage for connecting clients. There are currently four towers in use of which three were built by the members as a team and access to the other one was arranged by one of the members. The rest of the highsites are located either on high buildings (like office blocks) or at private residences in strategic places.Some facts and stats:
- PTAWUG utilizes the 2.4 GHz and 5.8 GHz public spectrum using mostly MikrotikMikrotikMikrotīkls Ltd., known internationally as MikroTik, is a Latvian manufacturer of computer networking equipment. It sells wireless products and routers. The company was founded in 1995, with the intent to sell in the emerging wireless technology market. As of 2007, the company had more than 70...
equipment. - Some users use LinksysLinksysLinksys by Cisco, commonly known as Linksys, is a brand of home and small office networking products now produced by Cisco Systems, though once a separate company founded in 1995 before being acquired by Cisco in 2003...
WRT54GL routers to connect as well as UbiquityUbiquityUbiquity is a synonym for omnipresence, the property of being present everywhere.Ubiquity may also refer to:* Ubiquity , a simple graphical installer made for the Ubuntu operating system* Ubiquity Records, an American music label...
Nanostations. - The IEEE 802.11a (5.8 GHz) standard is preferred over IEEE 802.11b or IEEE 802.11g (2.4 GHz) as commercialization in the 2.4 GHz range over recent years is a cause of high noise levels (measured in SNR or Signal to Noise Ratio), especially with commercial service providers distributing ADSL WiFi Modems freely with their service contracts,.
- There are 700 km of point to point backbone links running on PTAWUG, mostly using 27dbi grid antennas and running at 48Mbit/s.
- Network throughput may vary from a few kB/second up to as much as 4 MB/second depending on factors including network load, signal strength, signal quality and route length.
- The Border Gateway Protocol BGP routing protocol is used to build and distribute the routing tableRouting tableIn computer networking a routing table, or Routing Information Base , is a data table stored in a router or a networked computer that lists the routes to particular network destinations, and in some cases, metrics associated with those routes. The routing table contains information about the...
between the highsites with static routingStatic routingStatic routing is a data communication concept describing one way of configuring path selection of routers in computer networks. It is the type of routing characterized by the absence of communication between routers regarding the current topology of the network. This is achieved by manually adding...
used for last mile routing purposes. - The community are constantly testing and trying different wirelessWirelessWireless telecommunications is the transfer of information between two or more points that are not physically connected. Distances can be short, such as a few meters for television remote control, or as far as thousands or even millions of kilometers for deep-space radio communications...
Quality of serviceQuality of serviceThe quality of service refers to several related aspects of telephony and computer networks that allow the transport of traffic with special requirements...
(QOS) implementations to improve network usability and speed. - The current QOS solution used is a part of the MikrotikMikrotikMikrotīkls Ltd., known internationally as MikroTik, is a Latvian manufacturer of computer networking equipment. It sells wireless products and routers. The company was founded in 1995, with the intent to sell in the emerging wireless technology market. As of 2007, the company had more than 70...
developed WMM protocol.
Services Provided
All services are community built. The nature of the TCP/IP network provided serves as an opportunity for any user to install and provide ServersServer (computing)
In the context of client-server architecture, a server is a computer program running to serve the requests of other programs, the "clients". Thus, the "server" performs some computational task on behalf of "clients"...
or services for many possible applications
Application software
Application software, also known as an application or an "app", is computer software designed to help the user to perform specific tasks. Examples include enterprise software, accounting software, office suites, graphics software and media players. Many application programs deal principally with...
. Due to the cost of Internet Services in South Africa
South Africa
The Republic of South Africa is a country in southern Africa. Located at the southern tip of Africa, it is divided into nine provinces, with of coastline on the Atlantic and Indian oceans...
, many of these services provide free and open access to services that would otherwise deem a costly exercise.
- A weather stationWeather stationA weather station is a facility, either on land or sea, with instruments and equipment for observing atmospheric conditions to provide information for weather forecasts and to study the weather and climate. The measurements taken include temperature, barometric pressure, humidity, wind speed, wind...
located in Moreleta Park, PretoriaPretoriaPretoria is a city located in the northern part of Gauteng Province, South Africa. It is one of the country's three capital cities, serving as the executive and de facto national capital; the others are Cape Town, the legislative capital, and Bloemfontein, the judicial capital.Pretoria is...
is linked directly to the network - http://weather.bresler.co.za to be accessed freely by wug members. - A myriad of popular gaming servers are hosted by users and on-line games are played on a daily basis.
- A VoIP server enables users to talk to each other via software and hardwareHardwareHardware is a general term for equipment such as keys, locks, hinges, latches, handles, wire, chains, plumbing supplies, tools, utensils, cutlery and machine parts. Household hardware is typically sold in hardware stores....
phones. - Open SourceOpen sourceThe term open source describes practices in production and development that promote access to the end product's source materials. Some consider open source a philosophy, others consider it a pragmatic methodology...
repositories are shared on a regular basis. - Users share and contribute their programming and networkingComputer networkA computer network, often simply referred to as a network, is a collection of hardware components and computers interconnected by communication channels that allow sharing of resources and information....
skills. - Wugtube, User's videos as well as the hard work on High Sites are shared on a serverServer (computing)In the context of client-server architecture, a server is a computer program running to serve the requests of other programs, the "clients". Thus, the "server" performs some computational task on behalf of "clients"...
similar to youtubeYouTubeYouTube is a video-sharing website, created by three former PayPal employees in February 2005, on which users can upload, view and share videos....
.
Collaboration
- The Pretoria Wireless Users Group works closely with the Johannesburg Area Wireless Users Group (JAWUG) - they have two links running between them - 22 km and 40 km. PTAWUG also swaps ideas with Cape Town Wireless Users Group (see: http://www.ctwug.za.net/) and Durban Wireless Community.
- JAWUG and PTAWUG might merge in the future and form Gauteng (the province in which Pretoria and Johannesburg are located) Wireless Users Group - GAUWUG
- http://www.mybroadband.co.za, a well known local technology news website also supports both PTAWUG and Jawug by prodividing the wugs with publicity as well as sponsoring meetings.
- On 30 December 2008 mybroadbandMyBroadbandMyBroadband.co.za is an online group , providing South African Internet users with a central vantage point for information on broadband services in the country...
sponsored R4600 towards the PTAWUG Lyttleton highsite.
Growth
In the past year (2007-2008) the network has exploded from 4 users to 500+ users, all helping each other, playing games, sharing tips etc.The network grows at the rate about 10 new users a month. PTAWUG has also extended its network by connecting to several other wireless networks including JAWUG (Johannesburg Wireless Users Group). The exponential growth is mainly attributable to the free-for-all and open community principals governing PTAWUG, as users contribute their time, income and knowledge freely without hindrance of a governing body
Board of governors
Board of governors is a term sometimes applied to the board of directors of a public entity or non-profit organization.Many public institutions, such as public universities, are government-owned corporations. The British Broadcasting Corporation was managed by a board of governors, though this role...
. The vast interest in IT
Information technology
Information technology is the acquisition, processing, storage and dissemination of vocal, pictorial, textual and numerical information by a microelectronics-based combination of computing and telecommunications...
and ICT
Information and communication technologies
Information and communications technology or information and communication technology, usually abbreviated as ICT, is often used as an extended synonym for information technology , but is usually a more general term that stresses the role of unified communications and the integration of...
amongst a very broad range of South Africans, coupled with the limitations in affordable South African commercial communication solutions further ensure rapid growth of PTAWUG, and other South African wireless user groups.
See also
- South African wireless community networksSouth African wireless community networksSouth African wireless community networks are wireless networks that allow members to talk, send messages, share files and play games independent of the commercial landline and mobile telephone networks. Most of them use WiFi technology and many are wireless mesh networks...
- List of wireless community networks in South Africa
Other wireless networks operating in and around Pretoria
Pretoria
Pretoria is a city located in the northern part of Gauteng Province, South Africa. It is one of the country's three capital cities, serving as the executive and de facto national capital; the others are Cape Town, the legislative capital, and Bloemfontein, the judicial capital.Pretoria is...
- The Mereka Institute at the CSIRCouncil for Scientific and Industrial ResearchThe Council for Scientific and Industrial Research is South Africa's central and premier scientific research and development organisation. It was established by an act of parliament in 1945 and is situated on its own campus in the city of Pretoria...
is operating a Pretoria Mesh