About
BostonWAG came to life during the Summer of 2004 founded by Mike Olson, Pat MacIntosh and Susie Kern.
The group is an organization of volunteers from the Boston area that
believes open wireless has the ability to change the nature of
technology and how people interact. Our volunteers are not just
technologists, they are people involved in public policy, community
organizations, and technology companies.
The mission for BostonWAG is:
To advocate for public access to the Internet via open wireless networks. BostonWAG believes that open wireless networks can strengthen communities, foster economic development, minimize the digital divide, and improve the quality of life in today’s information age.
To educate the public, policy makers, and the media about the value of Internet access via open wireless. BostonWAG provides practical, detailed information on the best practices of open wireless networks in order to inform community conversations, media coverage, planning, and project development.
To inspire people to embrace open wireless networks to benefit individuals and communities. BostonWAG leverages creative communication, lively discourse, and fun events to spark interest in wireless computing with the premise that only widespread adoption and useful applications will maximize the value of open wireless networks and make them ubiquitous.
BostonWAG is organized into three focus areas:
- Spectrum Policy - federal, municipal, and corporate policies that govern and affect our mission.
- Organizational Models - models of creating networks and communities that succeed. Compiling these models, citing best and worst practices.
- Technical - technical tools for providing access, including a platform and vendor-agnostic analysis of the best tools.