Comments on: A Phone Mesh

By: Steve

Steve — Fri, 11 Jun 2010 08:55:00 +0000

yes, that’s a pretty good description. The local sip client is actually an embedded version of Asterisk which is possibly overkill as a sip client but which offers us the capacity to build a voice UI via IVR to configure the MPs. And yes, it is possible to connect any local ethernet device to the MP whether OLPC or switch or another wireless AP.

By: LittleBit

LittleBit — Fri, 11 Jun 2010 07:20:34 +0000

So, if I understand it correctly,
you guys are implementing a kind of BATMAN mesh wifi network on MP-devices with a Openwrt like setup.
And every MP-device has a local SIP client with FXS interface for connecting an POTS analog telephone.
And the ethernet connection on the MP ?
Can that be used for connecting local ethernet devices like an lowcost OLPC (One LapTop Per Child) laptop ?

By: Steve

Steve — Fri, 07 Aug 2009 07:56:01 +0000

Hi Shawn. The devices have an Rj45 Ethernet and RJ11 POTs port.

By: Shawn

Shawn — Fri, 07 Aug 2009 06:54:02 +0000

I probably haven’t read enough for the answer, but am I understanding that these mesh devices will have both an ethernet port for data, and the rj11 for telephone? Or is it just an RJ11 for telephone only?

By: Beer, Coffee, and a little DSP » Blog Archive » Metro Mesh Networks for East Timor

Tue, 12 May 2009 04:25:22 +0000

[...] to would be great for VOIP – just plug in a SIP phone or use a Mesh Potato for free local calls (or mesh telephony). The magic of mesh networks means that as more people join the mesh it’s coverage [...]

By: Steve

Steve — Mon, 11 May 2009 18:33:37 +0000

Thanks Joshua. We can’t wait either. Hopefully no more than 2-3 months before the first production run.

By: Joshua Denila

Joshua Denila — Mon, 11 May 2009 13:18:28 +0000

I think using a non server platform for potato mesh solves a whole lot of problem, I cant wait to see a full functional potato mesh. I commend all efforts geared towards making this a reality.

By: Beer, Coffee, and a little DSP » Blog Archive » Mesh Telephony

Beer, Coffee, and a little DSP » Blog Archive » Mesh Telephony — Sun, 10 May 2009 21:57:42 +0000

[...] Song has just posted on Phone Mesh networks – a very powerful idea where Mesh Potatoes self-organise into ad-hoc phone networks. Unlike [...]

By: David Rowe

David Rowe — Sun, 10 May 2009 21:53:57 +0000

When Steve first brainstormed this idea with me I was blown away! Mesh telephony represents a major step away from the central server or telephone exchange model. Think about it – even VOIP and soft switches like Asterisk still use the central server model, each call made by your your SIP device must be processed by a central server. When comparing VOIP to traditional analog or mobile telephony, only the pipe has changed – we still have the “central office”. Mesh or peer to peer telephony breaks that paradigm – like the BATMAN algorithm intelligence is diffused through the network. Very cool.

Thanks Steve for spreading these powerful ideas……

By: Steve

Steve — Thu, 07 May 2009 11:44:33 +0000

@Alan Hey, give us a chance to get the Mesh Potato into production. Consider that it has been less than 11 months since the workshop at which the Mesh Potato was conceived. Now we have a virtually ready-to-go PCB design for the MP, a manufacturing partner, and the support of NetworktheWorld to underwrite the cost of the first run of a hundred Mesh Potatoes. Not to mention interest from orgs in more than 20 countries from around the world in testing or rolling out Mesh Potatoes. Another 6 months and I think you will be able to judge for yourself.

@sjur Looking forward to just that sort of innovation.