Melbourne Wireless REBOOT!
About me
👋 My name is Tyson Clugg.
On 14th December 2001 I attended the very first Melbourne Wireless meetup, and pushed the group to vote on incorporation at a meeting on 14th June 2002.
I’m currently available for hire, email tyson@clugg.net or visit clugg.net/tyson if you want me on your team. 🙂
The views presented here are my own, and are not an official representation of the position of Melbourne Wireless Inc.
Tip
This blog post was shown at the Melbourne Wireless meetup on 16th October 2024.
Small beginnings
14th December 2001 — just 11 people at the first meeting!
Melbourne Wireless was started by Steven Haigh in order to “create a Melbourne wide data network completely independent of any Telco or service provider and offer it as open access to anyone”.
🕰️ Timeline: Melbourne Wireless (pre-NBN)
- 1999
- 2001
- First meeting of the group that would eventually become Melbourne Wireless.
- 2002
- Regular meetings commenced at the Hawthorn Scout Hall.
- 24th June: The formalisation of Melbourne Wireless Inc.
- 2nd July: Presented at the APH House of Representatives inquiry into Wireless Broadband Technologies.
- November: APH report on Wireless Broadband released, Australians are cleared to use wireless technology outside of commercial arrangements without a carrier license.
📡️ Timeline: NBN
- 2007:
- November: The Labor Party won the federal election, and the Rudd government was sworn into office on 3 December. Soon afterwards, Senator Stephen Conroy announced the newly elected government’s commitment to building a national high-speed broadband FTTN network.[1]
- 2009:
- April: NBN Co established.
- 2010:
- July: First NBN customers connected.
- 2011:
- 18 May: Launch of NBN in Armidale (Melbourne) with 2,900 premises connected.
- 2013:
- September: The Liberal Party won the federal election. Turnbull announces that the FTTP rollout would continue in the short term, with the probability that rollout will be downgraded to ‘alternative technologies’ such as Fibre to the node.
- 2017:
- September: Report by the Joint Standing Committee on the National Broadband Network found significant issues with the technology used by the NBN and the performance of NBN Co.
- 2020:
- February: Rue announced that the NBN was 90% complete.
- September: The Coalition announced a $4.5 billion upgrade to the NBN, planning to bring faster internet speeds to up to 8 million people.
🌇 Timeline: Melbourne Wireless (post NBN)
- 2019:
- 26th March: Melbourne Wireless Inc. deregistered.
- 2020:
- COVID-19 pandemic, meetings suspended.
- 2024:
- September: Some old Melbourne Wireless members have an impromptu catchup over a meal, deciding to see if the group can be resumed.
- October: Here we are!
💰 Tangible assets
- Bank account:
- $9,751.02
- it’s unclear if we can use this now we’re deregistered
- $9,751.02
- Domain name:
melbournewireless.org.au
- Git repositories:
- Kubernetes configs
- PHP web source (PHP 5 EOL was December 2018)
- Web server:
- MySQL database
- User accounts
- Node database
- Community wiki
- MySQL database
🤝 Winding up
Melbourne Wireless Inc. has been deregistered, but not dissolved - the Model Rules for an Incorporated Association states the following:
76 Winding up and cancellation
(1) The Association may be wound up voluntarily by special resolution.
(2) In the event of the winding up or the cancellation of the incorporation of the Association, the surplus assets of the Association must not be distributed to any members or former members of the Association.
(3) Subject to the Act and any court order made under section 133 of the Act, the surplus assets must be given to a body that has similar purposes to the Association and which is not carried on for the profit or gain of its individual members.
(4) The body to which the surplus assets are to be given must be decided by special resolution.
🤝 Intangible assets
- Our members and supporters!
- Mailing list subscribers.
- User accounts and node database.
- Melbourne Wireless network and routing platform.
⚖️ Unincorporated associations
Consideration should be given to if incorporation is necessary to continue operations.
Consumer Affairs Victoria > Clubs and fundraising > Incorporated associations
Things to consider | If you incorporate | If you do not incorporate |
|---|---|---|
Membership | Your organisation must have at least five members. | Your organisation can have any number of members. |
Not-for-profit status | Your organisation may trade, but not in order to distribute profit to its members. | Your organisation is not restricted from trading or doing business for personal profit. |
Legal status | Your organisation becomes a ‘legal person’ (a legal entity that stays the same even if its members change). It can do the following things in its own name:
| Your organisation cannot do any of the things described in the ‘if you incorporate’ column. Individual members would do these things on behalf of the unincorporated association. A member of an unincorporated association is usually personally liable for contracts they enter into and decisions they make. |
Legal protection for members | Members and office bearers are protected against personal liability for the organisation’s debts. | Members could be personally liable if the organisation incurs debts or has legal problems. |
Statutory obligations | Your organisation must comply with requirements in the Associations Incorporation Reform Act 2012. This includes accounting, auditing and annual reporting requirements. | Your organisation is not bound by the Associations Incorporation Reform Act 2012. Your organisation is still bound by other state and federal laws, such as tax laws. |
| Costs | Your organisation must pay fees for incorporating and lodging some administrative forms. There may also be costs involved in meeting other obligations, such as financial reporting. | Your organisation will not have the expense of meeting statutory obligations of incorporation. |
Disputes | Your organisation must have a procedure for resolving internal disputes, or use the procedure in the model rules for incorporated associations. | Your organisation is not required to have or use a dispute resolution procedure. |
Contracts and agreements | Your organisation can enter into contracts and agreements in its own name. This offers more certainty to other parties, such as lenders, lessors, employees and suppliers of goods and services. | Your organisation cannot enter into contracts or agreements in its own name. |
Grants | Your organisation may be eligible to apply for more government and non-government grants. | Your organisation can’t apply for grants that require applicants to be incorporated. |
❓ What are we trying to achieve?
Melbourne Wireless aims to promote the development of wireless networking within the City of Melbourne, in particular the building of a free, community owned broadband network.
We will do this by providing opportunities for members and non-members alike to be part of an active community that provides discussion forums, regular meetings and a wealth of combined knowledge.
- Melbourne Wireless was all about:
- Community broadband (in times before the NBN).
- Not depending on commercial service providers.
- Social gatherings of like minded technical people.
- An opportunity to build and experiment with advanced network technologies.
- Times have changed:
- The NBN is ubiquitous, but still commercial in nature.
- Social aspects of technology are still important.
🌄 Possible new horizons
- Communications that don’t rely on line-of-sight (eg: LoRa / LoRaWAN):
- Extending the internet beyond traditional boundaries.
- IoT and “Smart home” technologies:
- Connecting devices without commercial services.
- Technology mentoring:
- Sharing knowledge and experience with each other.
Thanks!
- Community Connected HackerSpace for the venue.