This is for the Meraki Pro division. You also pay more if you are going to make money from it. So a Mini in a standard edition cost you $49 but if you go Pro, then the same Mini costs you $149.

But getting back to the 20% charge, what if people are paying you as a mini WISP and they do not have credit cards??

This is for the Meraki Pro division. You also pay more if you are going to make money from it. So a Mini in a standard edition cost you $49 but if you go Pro, then the same Mini costs you $149.

But getting back to the 20% charge, what if people are paying you as a mini WISP and they do not have credit cards??

Another important difference between Meraki and Fon is that Meraki is a complete solution for creating a mesh network and spreading it over a large (or small) area. Fon is just a way to share your router and share others’ routers. In my mind they address very different needs.

Another important difference between Meraki and Fon is that Meraki is a complete solution for creating a mesh network and spreading it over a large (or small) area. Fon is just a way to share your router and share others’ routers. In my mind they address very different needs.

FON on the other hand is up front with the fact that they take 50% of the profits. But you also get to roam for free on any FON wifi network

FON on the other hand is up front with the fact that they take 50% of the profits. But you also get to roam for free on any FON wifi network

I’m in the Philippines with a DSL connection that’s pretty slow compared to the kind in America and the UK. I’m afraid that a mesh network, of any kind, would eat up what little bandwidth I get from the provider.

That’s the great thing about Meraki – you can set bandwidth limits for everyone on the network (and none at all for yourself). This means you could only be selling folks your “spare” capacity. (I mean, are you downloading 24/7?)

As Sanjit, CEO of Meraki pointed out to me, when most people are doing normal things on the web – e-mail, browsing the web, etc., they’re actually using up surprisingly little bandwidth. That’s why in the U.S. one single DSL connection spread through a meraki mesh network and offered up to up to 50 users is still a reasonable surfing speed for those users.

If you had a lock on your nabe, that would be perfect. Your initial cost will be however many nodes you’ll need to cover the geographical area. Keep in mind that in some cases you’ll have to jump between buildings (could mean additional nodes on windows to transmit signal between buildings). Merakis can also be powered through an ethernet cable, so that’s one option for powering outdoor Merakis.

Another issue is convincing your neighbors to be OK with having this weird little box plugged into their wall. Of course if, in the case of those particular neighbors, you let them know that this is how you’re going  to give them free internet, they might be more amenable…

Two final pieces of the equation: make sure your ISP is either cool with sharing or doesn’t check, and for folks who don’t have wireless capability in their computers, you’ll have to find those commodity USB wireless modems that can be had for as little as $20 and sell them those as well.

I’m in the Philippines with a DSL connection that’s pretty slow compared to the kind in America and the UK. I’m afraid that a mesh network, of any kind, would eat up what little bandwidth I get from the provider.

That’s the great thing about Meraki – you can set bandwidth limits for everyone on the network (and none at all for yourself). This means you could only be selling folks your “spare” capacity. (I mean, are you downloading 24/7?)

As Sanjit, CEO of Meraki pointed out to me, when most people are doing normal things on the web – e-mail, browsing the web, etc., they’re actually using up surprisingly little bandwidth. That’s why in the U.S. one single DSL connection spread through a meraki mesh network and offered up to up to 50 users is still a reasonable surfing speed for those users.

If you had a lock on your nabe, that would be perfect. Your initial cost will be however many nodes you’ll need to cover the geographical area. Keep in mind that in some cases you’ll have to jump between buildings (could mean additional nodes on windows to transmit signal between buildings). Merakis can also be powered through an ethernet cable, so that’s one option for powering outdoor Merakis.

Another issue is convincing your neighbors to be OK with having this weird little box plugged into their wall. Of course if, in the case of those particular neighbors, you let them know that this is how you’re going  to give them free internet, they might be more amenable…

Two final pieces of the equation: make sure your ISP is either cool with sharing or doesn’t check, and for folks who don’t have wireless capability in their computers, you’ll have to find those commodity USB wireless modems that can be had for as little as $20 and sell them those as well.

I’ll have to research to find out my initial cost, but I would be the only “ISP” in my barangay (subdivision/multiple neighborhoods).

I’ll have to research to find out my initial cost, but I would be the only “ISP” in my barangay (subdivision/multiple neighborhoods).