Doe Bay Residents Create own Wireless Network

Residents of Doe Bay on Orcas Island in Washington state banded together to create their own wireless Internet network that gets service to a section of the island not served by an incumbent, the Institute for Local Self-Reliance (ILSR) said. The Doe Bay Internet Users Association gets its signal from StarTouch Broadband Services via microwave from Mount Vernon on the mainland. Via a series of radios mounted on the community's water tower, houses and tall trees, the network serves about 50 homes with speeds of 30 Mbps download and 40 Mbps upload, ILSR said.