One of the greatest dangers to the freedom of expression is the corporate ownership of  the infrastructure by which the public accesses the internet. UCIMC developed CUWiN (cuwireless.net), an internationally  recognized leader in open source mesh network software.  Believing that the internet is for everyone, our team deployed the first open wifi network in Champaign‐Urbana, and then took this model to Homer, Illinois, the tribal lands of the Mesa Grande Reservation, and the townships of South Africa.  

UCIMC has been working with the Illinois Lieutenant Governor’s Office, the City of Urbana, and elected leaders to develop a non‐corporate  broadband  backbone in CU using the Illinois Century Network and free, open source open mesh architecture  developed at the UCIMC. The UCIMC and the City of Urbana have already partnered  to create a downtown wireless cloud, and this year were awarded a grant from the  Lieutenant Governor’s office to expand that network.  

Champaign‐Urbana was recently awarded $22.5 million dollars in broadband stimulus funds to connect neighborhoods that remain unconnected. UCIMC is designated as an anchor institution in this new fiber optic backbone; this will allow us to  greatly expand our services. Six UCIMC members serve on the Broadband Access Committee of the Champaign‐Urbana Telecommunications Commission, which is  charged with advising the twin cities councils on broadband policy. It was our committee that shepherded the submission of our community's  successful  Broadband Technology Opportunities Program application.  The UCIMC played the lead role in organizing civil society participation in the grant  process. With federal stimulus funds distributed through the Champaign County  Consortium, the UCIMC was able to hire a full time Broadband Access Advocate who  helped organize public forums, gathering public input and support for the proposal.  With the same stimulus funds, we hired four youth from low‐income families who  went door to door to collect hundreds of surveys to statistically prove the need for  broadband in target neighborhoods. Our AmeriCorps VISTA member chaired the  Public Computing writing group, pulling the best ideas from the local libraries and  community  technology centers. We created www.cuopenaccess.org to inform the  public of the opportunity and add transparency to the grant process. UCIMC worked  round the clock to ensure that the application had deep community buy‐in and  support.