eXO: a commons-based community network Internet Service Provider, description and subscribers usage patterns

The advent of Wi-Fi in the 1990s stimulated the creation of Community networks (CNs), a new networking paradigm deployed and maintained by their users. The non-profit and grassroots self-organization of CNs has shown significant potential in enhancing communication technologies grounded in ethical v...

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Detalles Bibliográficos
Autores: Baig Viñas, Roger|||0000-0001-9813-7678, Cerdà Alabern, Llorenç|||0000-0002-2799-6173, Vilchez Blanco, Pedro, Foglia Romero, Efraín
Tipo de recurso: artículo
Fecha de publicación:2024
País:España
Institución:Universitat Politècnica de Catalunya (UPC)
Repositorio:UPCommons. Portal del coneixement obert de la UPC
Idioma:inglés
OAI Identifier:oai:upcommons.upc.edu:2117/414271
Acceso en línea:https://hdl.handle.net/2117/414271
https://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.comnet.2024.110765
Access Level:acceso abierto
Palabra clave:Electronic villages (Computer networks)
Telecommunication -- Traffic -- Management
Community networks
Subscribers usage patterns
Ciutats digitals (Xarxes d'ordinadors)
Telecomunicació -- Tràfic -- Gestió
Àrees temàtiques de la UPC::Enginyeria de la telecomunicació::Telemàtica i xarxes d'ordinadors
Àrees temàtiques de la UPC::Enginyeria de la telecomunicació::Aspectes socials
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repository_id_str
spelling eXO: a commons-based community network Internet Service Provider, description and subscribers usage patternsBaig Viñas, Roger|||0000-0001-9813-7678Cerdà Alabern, Llorenç|||0000-0002-2799-6173Vilchez Blanco, PedroFoglia Romero, EfraínElectronic villages (Computer networks)Telecommunication -- Traffic -- ManagementCommunity networksSubscribers usage patternsCiutats digitals (Xarxes d'ordinadors)Telecomunicació -- Tràfic -- GestióÀrees temàtiques de la UPC::Enginyeria de la telecomunicació::Telemàtica i xarxes d'ordinadorsÀrees temàtiques de la UPC::Enginyeria de la telecomunicació::Aspectes socialsThe advent of Wi-Fi in the 1990s stimulated the creation of Community networks (CNs), a new networking paradigm deployed and maintained by their users. The non-profit and grassroots self-organization of CNs has shown significant potential in enhancing communication technologies grounded in ethical values, transcending mere Internet expansion to contribute to broader social impacts. Since its conception, hundreds of CNs have been deployed worldwide. However, many have faltered, primarily due to a lack of solid economic models and legal setup. This paper presents Expansió Xarxa Oberta (eXO) association, a commons Internet Service Provider (ISP). In contrast to commercial ISPs, eXO follows the same grassroots principles of CNs. Establishing a commons-based ISP is challenging, yet it is a key component for the sustainability and success of CNs. Therefore, our paper aims to dissect the complexity of a commons ISP by explaining eXO, a pioneering example that has already been in production for more than 14 years. To the best of our knowledge, this is the first time that a commons ISP is described in all its components. To describe eXO, we have proceeded in two parts. In the first one, we delineate the organizational structure, economics, funding mechanisms, activities, legal framework, and infrastructure. To gain more insight on eXO, in the second part, we conduct a technical analysis of traffic data collected from eXO’s core router, elucidating subscriber usage patterns. Our study encompasses various subscriber categories, including regular and financially subsidized users, Wi-Fi and optical fiber access, and traffic characteristics such as volume, TCP/UDP usage, services accessed, and traffic distribution across countries.This work was funded by the Spanish Ministerio de Ciencia Innovación y Universidades through the grant PDC2023-145809-I00/AEI/ 10.13039/501100011033; and PID2023-146066OB-I00 (AEI 2023 Knowledge Generation Projects); the Recovery and Resilience Mechanism of the European Union, and by the European Union NextGenerationEU; the Generalitat de Catalunya through the grants 2021-SGR01059, 2021-SGR-01476, and Comunalitats Urbanes 2022-2024; and the Universitat Politècnica de Catalunya through the grant ALECTORS 0BV05-1.Peer Reviewed20242024-12-0120242024-09-16journal articlehttp://purl.org/coar/resource_type/c_6501VoRhttp://purl.org/coar/version/c_970fb48d4fbd8a85info:eu-repo/semantics/articleapplication/pdfhttps://hdl.handle.net/2117/414271https://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.comnet.2024.110765reponame:UPCommons. Portal del coneixement obert de la UPCinstname:Universitat Politècnica de Catalunya (UPC)InglésengAgencia Estatal de Investigación http://doi.org/10.13039/501100011033 Plan Estatal de Investigación Científica y Técnica y de Innovación 2021-2023 PDC2023-145809-I00 REDES DE MALLA LORA PARA IOTopen accesshttp://purl.org/coar/access_right/c_abf2Attribution 4.0 Internationalhttp://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/info:eu-repo/semantics/openAccessoai:upcommons.upc.edu:2117/4142712026-05-27T15:37:01Z
dc.title.none.fl_str_mv eXO: a commons-based community network Internet Service Provider, description and subscribers usage patterns
title eXO: a commons-based community network Internet Service Provider, description and subscribers usage patterns
spellingShingle eXO: a commons-based community network Internet Service Provider, description and subscribers usage patterns
Baig Viñas, Roger|||0000-0001-9813-7678
Electronic villages (Computer networks)
Telecommunication -- Traffic -- Management
Community networks
Subscribers usage patterns
Ciutats digitals (Xarxes d'ordinadors)
Telecomunicació -- Tràfic -- Gestió
Àrees temàtiques de la UPC::Enginyeria de la telecomunicació::Telemàtica i xarxes d'ordinadors
Àrees temàtiques de la UPC::Enginyeria de la telecomunicació::Aspectes socials
title_short eXO: a commons-based community network Internet Service Provider, description and subscribers usage patterns
title_full eXO: a commons-based community network Internet Service Provider, description and subscribers usage patterns
title_fullStr eXO: a commons-based community network Internet Service Provider, description and subscribers usage patterns
title_full_unstemmed eXO: a commons-based community network Internet Service Provider, description and subscribers usage patterns
title_sort eXO: a commons-based community network Internet Service Provider, description and subscribers usage patterns
dc.creator.none.fl_str_mv Baig Viñas, Roger|||0000-0001-9813-7678
Cerdà Alabern, Llorenç|||0000-0002-2799-6173
Vilchez Blanco, Pedro
Foglia Romero, Efraín
author Baig Viñas, Roger|||0000-0001-9813-7678
author_facet Baig Viñas, Roger|||0000-0001-9813-7678
Cerdà Alabern, Llorenç|||0000-0002-2799-6173
Vilchez Blanco, Pedro
Foglia Romero, Efraín
author_role author
author2 Cerdà Alabern, Llorenç|||0000-0002-2799-6173
Vilchez Blanco, Pedro
Foglia Romero, Efraín
author2_role author
author
author
dc.subject.none.fl_str_mv Electronic villages (Computer networks)
Telecommunication -- Traffic -- Management
Community networks
Subscribers usage patterns
Ciutats digitals (Xarxes d'ordinadors)
Telecomunicació -- Tràfic -- Gestió
Àrees temàtiques de la UPC::Enginyeria de la telecomunicació::Telemàtica i xarxes d'ordinadors
Àrees temàtiques de la UPC::Enginyeria de la telecomunicació::Aspectes socials
topic Electronic villages (Computer networks)
Telecommunication -- Traffic -- Management
Community networks
Subscribers usage patterns
Ciutats digitals (Xarxes d'ordinadors)
Telecomunicació -- Tràfic -- Gestió
Àrees temàtiques de la UPC::Enginyeria de la telecomunicació::Telemàtica i xarxes d'ordinadors
Àrees temàtiques de la UPC::Enginyeria de la telecomunicació::Aspectes socials
description The advent of Wi-Fi in the 1990s stimulated the creation of Community networks (CNs), a new networking paradigm deployed and maintained by their users. The non-profit and grassroots self-organization of CNs has shown significant potential in enhancing communication technologies grounded in ethical values, transcending mere Internet expansion to contribute to broader social impacts. Since its conception, hundreds of CNs have been deployed worldwide. However, many have faltered, primarily due to a lack of solid economic models and legal setup. This paper presents Expansió Xarxa Oberta (eXO) association, a commons Internet Service Provider (ISP). In contrast to commercial ISPs, eXO follows the same grassroots principles of CNs. Establishing a commons-based ISP is challenging, yet it is a key component for the sustainability and success of CNs. Therefore, our paper aims to dissect the complexity of a commons ISP by explaining eXO, a pioneering example that has already been in production for more than 14 years. To the best of our knowledge, this is the first time that a commons ISP is described in all its components. To describe eXO, we have proceeded in two parts. In the first one, we delineate the organizational structure, economics, funding mechanisms, activities, legal framework, and infrastructure. To gain more insight on eXO, in the second part, we conduct a technical analysis of traffic data collected from eXO’s core router, elucidating subscriber usage patterns. Our study encompasses various subscriber categories, including regular and financially subsidized users, Wi-Fi and optical fiber access, and traffic characteristics such as volume, TCP/UDP usage, services accessed, and traffic distribution across countries.
publishDate 2024
dc.date.none.fl_str_mv 2024
2024-12-01
2024
2024-09-16
dc.type.none.fl_str_mv journal article
http://purl.org/coar/resource_type/c_6501
VoR
http://purl.org/coar/version/c_970fb48d4fbd8a85
dc.type.openaire.fl_str_mv info:eu-repo/semantics/article
format article
dc.identifier.none.fl_str_mv https://hdl.handle.net/2117/414271
https://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.comnet.2024.110765
url https://hdl.handle.net/2117/414271
https://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.comnet.2024.110765
dc.language.none.fl_str_mv Inglés
eng
language_invalid_str_mv Inglés
language eng
dc.relation.none.fl_str_mv Agencia Estatal de Investigación http://doi.org/10.13039/501100011033 Plan Estatal de Investigación Científica y Técnica y de Innovación 2021-2023 PDC2023-145809-I00 REDES DE MALLA LORA PARA IOT
dc.rights.none.fl_str_mv open access
http://purl.org/coar/access_right/c_abf2
Attribution 4.0 International
http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/
dc.rights.openaire.fl_str_mv info:eu-repo/semantics/openAccess
rights_invalid_str_mv open access
http://purl.org/coar/access_right/c_abf2
Attribution 4.0 International
http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/
eu_rights_str_mv openAccess
dc.format.none.fl_str_mv application/pdf
dc.source.none.fl_str_mv reponame:UPCommons. Portal del coneixement obert de la UPC
instname:Universitat Politècnica de Catalunya (UPC)
instname_str Universitat Politècnica de Catalunya (UPC)
reponame_str UPCommons. Portal del coneixement obert de la UPC
collection UPCommons. Portal del coneixement obert de la UPC
repository.name.fl_str_mv
repository.mail.fl_str_mv
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score 15.811543

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