# Community Mesh-Network ISP — Planning Meeting Notes

**Date:** July 29, 2026  
**Time:** 6:30–8:05 p.m.  
**Location:** Eastside Community Centre, Room 204 / Video call  
**Facilitator:** Maya Chen  
**Note-taker:** Daniel Ortiz

## Attendees

- Maya Chen — Project coordinator
- Daniel Ortiz — Network architect
- Aisha Rahman — Community outreach lead
- Leo Martins — Field operations
- Priya Nair — Finance and grants
- Sam Okafor — Municipal liaison
- Elena Petrova — Security and privacy
- Jordan Bell — Volunteer coordinator
- Councillor Renee Walsh — Ward representative
- Tessa Green — Eastside Housing Cooperative
- Omar Haddad — Local business association

**Regrets:** Noah Kim — Legal counsel

## Agenda

1. Review pilot-area survey results
2. Confirm network architecture and backhaul approach
3. Discuss pricing and eligibility
4. Identify permits, insurance, and property-access requirements
5. Set pilot timeline and community-engagement plan
6. Review risks and assign next steps

## Discussion

### 1. Pilot-area survey

- 286 households responded; 61% reported unreliable service or affordability concerns.
- The strongest interest came from the Eastside Housing Cooperative and the Cedar–King corridor.
- Approximately 90 households indicated willingness to host rooftop or balcony relay equipment.
- Residents emphasized predictable monthly pricing, privacy, and clear expectations during outages.
- Omar noted that several storefronts could provide powered mounting locations if installation does not interfere with signage.

### 2. Network design

- Daniel recommended beginning with three fibre-fed gateway sites connected to rooftop mesh nodes.
- Customer premises would receive managed indoor routers; outdoor relay equipment would remain ISP property.
- The pilot will target 150–200 active subscribers, with capacity reserved for community facilities.
- Leo cautioned that tree cover and older masonry buildings may require additional relay points.
- A pre-installation radio survey will be required before finalizing node placement.
- Elena recommended separate management and subscriber networks, encrypted administrative access, automatic security updates, and minimal retention of connection logs.

### 3. Pricing and service levels

- The working residential rate is **$25 per month** for a 50 Mbps symmetrical best-effort service.
- A **$10 supported rate** will be offered to qualifying low-income households, subject to grant funding.
- Installation will be free during the pilot; replacement charges may apply for lost or deliberately damaged equipment.
- No long-term contracts or data caps are planned.
- Business service will not be included in the first phase, although participating businesses may host infrastructure.
- Priya estimated that the pilot requires at least 135 paying-equivalent subscribers to cover routine operating costs after grant support ends.

### 4. Permits and access

- Sam reported that rooftop installations on municipal buildings will require structural review, insurance documentation, and a standard licence agreement.
- Tessa will seek cooperative board approval for access to three candidate buildings.
- Noah must review subscriber terms, host-site agreements, acceptable-use language, and privacy obligations.
- The group agreed that volunteers may assist with outreach and basic indoor setup but will not perform rooftop work.

### 5. Community engagement and support

- Aisha proposed two public information sessions and a staffed demonstration booth at the August neighbourhood market.
- Materials will be translated into French, Arabic, and Spanish.
- Support will launch with a shared phone line, email queue, and published outage-status page.
- Jordan recommended recruiting 12–15 “network stewards” who can help neighbours with basic troubleshooting.
- Training must clearly distinguish volunteer support from electrical, climbing, and network-administration work.

## Decisions

1. Proceed with a 150–200 subscriber pilot in the Eastside Housing Cooperative and Cedar–King corridor.
2. Use three fibre-fed gateway sites, subject to site surveys, landlord approval, and backhaul quotations.
3. Adopt a preliminary residential price of $25 per month, with a $10 supported tier if sufficient subsidy funding is secured.
4. Provide symmetrical best-effort service with no data caps or long-term contracts.
5. Retain only the operational logs required for security, billing, and fault diagnosis; Elena will propose specific retention periods.
6. Limit rooftop installation and maintenance to trained, insured personnel.
7. Hold the first public information session before opening subscriber registration.
8. Set a provisional service-launch target of November 2026, with a go/no-go review in late September.

## Action Items

| Owner | Action | Due |
|---|---|---|
| Daniel | Produce a pilot network diagram, equipment list, and capacity model | Aug. 7 |
| Leo | Complete line-of-sight and mounting surveys for the six priority sites | Aug. 14 |
| Priya | Update the three-year operating model for 150, 175, and 200 subscribers | Aug. 10 |
| Priya | Confirm grant conditions for subsidized subscriptions and capital equipment | Aug. 12 |
| Sam | Obtain municipal rooftop requirements and introduce the team to facilities staff | Aug. 5 |
| Tessa | Present the host-site proposal to the housing cooperative board | Aug. 11 |
| Omar | Confirm interest and power availability with five prospective business hosts | Aug. 9 |
| Elena | Draft security baseline, privacy notice outline, and log-retention proposal | Aug. 13 |
| Noah | Review draft subscriber and host-site agreements | Aug. 18 |
| Aisha | Schedule two public sessions and prepare multilingual outreach materials | Aug. 15 |
| Jordan | Draft the network-steward role description and training plan | Aug. 17 |
| Maya | Request final backhaul quotes from three providers | Aug. 8 |
| Maya | Circulate a consolidated risk register and updated launch schedule | Aug. 19 |

## Open Questions

- Whether the supported rate can continue after the initial grant period
- Final backhaul installation lead times and construction charges
- Availability of affordable liability and equipment insurance
- Process for serving renters when landlords decline exterior installations
- Minimum battery-backup requirements for gateway sites
- Whether sales tax applies to subscriptions and installation services

## Key Risks

- Delays in rooftop agreements or municipal approvals
- Poor wireless paths caused by foliage and building materials
- Insufficient subscriber uptake to sustain operations
- Volunteer burnout and unclear support boundaries
- Backhaul outages creating network-wide service interruptions
- Funding gaps for the supported-rate program

## Next Meeting

**Date:** August 20, 2026  
**Time:** 6:30 p.m.  
**Focus:** Site-survey results, revised financial model, backhaul quotes, and launch readiness risks