Udit Vira

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Udit Vira is an engineer, maker, and designer living in Toronto where he contributes to Steam Link Toronto and the Toronto Mesh project. His previous work and collaborations have included developing telecommunication integrated circuits for semiconductor companies, the Nanoelectronic-devices and Materials Group at McGill, and Idea Couture. He is a graduate of McGill University, with a background in electronics and physics.

Presenting with Garry Ing

Toronto's DIY Networks Ecology

In the last few years a number of projects centered around community owned networks have evolved in Toronto. These projects employ different technologies, organizational structures, and outreach methods that has informed some of the current work being done in building sustainable, community owned, network infrastructure. The Toronto Mesh project focuses on building a WiFi mesh network as an alternative to the privately-owned last mile internet infrastructure. Steam Link is a Low-Power Wide-Area Network (LPWAN) for machine-to-machine communication focused on providing connectivity to makers, artists, and citizen scientists.

This talk will explore the rich history of DIY networks in the City of Toronto; what worked, how they evolved, and lessons for the future. We will look at how these projects are engaging and collaborating with existing communities in the city. We will also touch on some of the technologies being used.