Lynn LAN is a neighbourhood network in North Vancouver, British Columbia, that anyone can join to receive discount high-speed Internet service.
$20 CAD/month flat rate + monthly data charges
Data rates:
An average Canadian household uses about 100GB in a month so they'd pay $30/mo. Someone using 200GB would pay $35/mo. You can check with your current provider to find out your typical usage if you're not sure what it is.
150-900 Mbps, depending which antennas we use
Adam has a 1Gbps business fibre Internet connection from Telus that anyone in the neighbourhood can use.
We can connect the service to your household either by running a direct cable, if you're close enough, or more likely by using an outdoor WiFi antenna to establish a wireless link, so long as there's direct line of sight with not too many trees or other houses in the way.
A cable coming from the antenna outside your home will have to be run inside where it'll plug into a standard WiFi router. The router creates a WiFi hotspot or access point that your devices can connect to.
The router runs custom software from Althea (which I helped build!) that takes care of sharing the connection efficiently when we're both trying to use it, keeping track of bandwidth usage, and encrypting all the traffic to protect your privacy.
The service can work alongside your existing service as a separate hotspot so you can keep your current plan and try things out with no strings attached.
LIMITED TIME GRAND OPENING OFFER: Free equipment loan and installation and 6 months of free service to the first 3 households that sign up! Send an email to asoltys@gmail.com to book an appointment!
I have a 1000ft spool of this that I can cut to length for people as needed, free of charge.
I'll email an invoice each month with a report of your bandwidth usage, asking for payment by one of the following methods:
Yes, perfectly legal, and I've confirmed with Telus in writing that I won't be violating their terms of service by sharing or selling the connection because it's a business connection that I pay extra for.
Is it safe?Yes, the wireless antennas used to connect households are designed to operate well within regulatory limits on power output and are designed to operate over the public, unlicensed WiFi spectrum that everyone uses for their home connections already.
Is it worth it?Yes, besides getting much cheaper and faster Internet, you'll also be building a resilient network that will keep you and your community connected in the event of Internet disruption or emergency situations. Households on the network can continue to host services, share files, and communicate with each other even if the wider Internet were to become unavailable. There's potential to eventually connect up with similar networks in other neighbourhoods and towns, forming a kind of broader meshnet.
What about privacy and security? Can my neighbours snoop on my data or see what sites I'm visiting?No, all traffic is encrypted and routed to an unlogged remote VPN server using WireGuard before being sent off to the Internet, so neither your neighbours or even Telus can spy on it.
Can you help me install the antenna and router at my house and help with any other setup and configuration or troubleshooting?You betcha
Can I hook up my neighbours?Yes, once you have service from me, other people can connect to you and you can forward the service to them. You can even earn money for being a relay. Just ask me for details if you might be interested in that.
Is the service going to be stable and reliable? Who do I call if things aren't working?I haven't experienced a single outage from Telus since signing up for their fibre service in 2018. If there are issues though, they have a 24/7 tech support line for business accounts that I'll call right away. If the issue isn't with the upstream Telus connection to my place but with the connection between us, I'll be on call to troubleshoot. I have software in place to notify me immediately if things go wrong. Trust me, I'm a professional!
Who pays for the equipment?I have three pairs of high quality antennas and routers that I bought new and haven't used that I'm willing to lend out for free to the first few people who sign up. After that, new subscribers will be responsible for purchasing their own equipment. I can provide advice and help with installation.
How many people can join?The connection I have currently should comfortably service 40-50 subscribers. Before getting even close to that many though, I would consider getting another dedicated connection from Shaw or Telus at another household to provide more capacity and redundancy.
Can I get out of my current contract or bundle and switch to this instead?Sure, your provider may charge a cancellation fee if you're on a contract, something like $10/month for each remaining month left on the contract. I'd expect the savings you'd see from switching would more than make up for that cost.
How do I get started?Reach out and we can setup an appointment for me to come over and get you online. You can email me at asoltys@gmail.com.
Where can I learn more?There are a lot of great resources at althea.net and startyourownisp.com and I'll update this page with more information as the network gets going.