CNS-CRI: Unsolicited Community Infrastructure, Wireless National Scale Test Bed (WiNTeB) Workshop

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Researchers in US universities interested in working on wireless networks, both the technology and new applications, are currently unable to conduct national scale experiments. The creation of a National Wireless Test Bed using a public wireless carrier and a mechanism known as Mobile Virtual Network Operator (MVNO) may provide a suitable mechanism. A MVNO contracts with a public cellular network operator to gain access and buy time at wholesale rates. The MVNO then handles all the customer related tasks including usage contract, billing, and in some cases, provision of hardware. The concept here is to create a nonprofit MVNO aimed at supporting research. Potential benefits of a nonprofit MVNO for research include: a national scale testbed to experiment with mobile applications. There is also a possibility of the MVNO providing end-user devices, or base stations/femtocells bound to the MVNO's network to enable experimentation at lower layers. The first step to explore this concept is to hold a workshop in Washington DC attended by representatives from all the stake holders in a Wireless National Test Bed (WiNTeB). The purpose of this workshop is to define the research areas, implementation requirements, and to provide the foundation for planning a path toward realization of the concept.