COMNETS

Based on the success of its predecessors, the First International Workshop on CN and FTTx, held in Dallas, 2003, and the 2nd Workshop on Deployment Models and First/Last Mile Networking Technologies for Broadband Community networks, held in Boston, 2005, COMNETS 2008 is planned to focus on wireless community networks and will integrate the main aspects of planning, design, implementation and operation of community networks as well as the related socio-technical issues.

Community networks have evolved during the last decade in North America and, more recently, in Europe, from the concept of freenets or civic nets, and represent a dramatic shift from the classical telecom infrastructures, service provisioning methods and business models. Current related terms are wireless cities or regions, digital cities, digital communities. CNs are often created, owned and operated with the participation of local or regional governments.

The objective of this workshop is to cover the inter-related issues of planning, deployment and operation of wireless community networks. As opposed to telco networks, there is a specific set of services that the cities or regions want to implement, the definition of services and technologies is often done by participation of the community, suitable wireless technologies have to be selected, the applications and services have to be made accessible by a wide range of geographically diverse users, no matter where the user is located. And last but not least, suitable business models have to be defined with clever constructions of involving both the public and private sectors, while satisfying legal and regulatory requirements.

The workshop will have a strong inter-disciplinary character, topics of interests concentrate around the intersection of communication technologies, computer science, economic and social aspects.