Editing Freenet Manifesto (section)

== Stage 1: The Co-op ==

Stage one consists of the emergence of network access
cooperatives.  Stage one has already begun, so instead of speaking
hypothetically, I will tell you what it looks like on the ground. I'm
not entirely sure of the legality, but I am sure of the justice. Here
in Grinnell, IA, the Free Network Movement has built a mesh network
that we call grinnellMIND. It allows us to share a single internet
connection amongst many physically disparate locations. I live on
Broad Street, Dylan lives on Main Street, Martin lives on Park Street,
and Anna lives on East. We and many others are able to purchase
Internet access cooperatively, thus driving down the amount that each
of us pays. This works especially well because of the asynchronous
nature of network usage - if we each bought our own connections, they
would lay dormant much of the time. We imagine that some day, the
entire town of Grinnell might purchase access cooperatively. That day
has not yet arrived, but we think it is on its way. This struggle for
collective purchasing will have to happen in many towns and cities,
the world over. It will have to happen for city blocks and
subdivisions, in residential towers and intentional communities. This
won't be easy to accomplish, especially when telcos catch wind of
what's going on. Still, the obvious economic advantage to the end user
(reduced cost) makes this an easy sell to the people.