Sometime in the wee hours of the morning, Wireless Ypsi surpassed the 12,500 users mark. As we approach our one year anniversary, we just wanted to take time and reflect on the past year.

With the help of Jeff Donofrio from Representative Dingell‘s office, Wireless Ypsi spawned clones in Dearborn, Trenton, and Lincoln Park. Wireless Ypsi even helped an outfit form in Dexter albeit without Federal government intervention.

There are over 150 radios around town as well as in Ypsilanti Township. Wireless Ypsi even powers Ypsilanti legend David Kircher’s, Eastern Highlands apartment complex off of LeForge Road.

There is actually Wireless Ypsi in Clawson, Michigan. There are radios located in Clawson’s City Hall as well as their DDA office. That’s quite ironic considering their are no radios in Ypsilanti’s own City Hall and the DDA staff fought vigorously to come up with an obtuse legal opinion denying funds to our project. As a point of interest, when the Open Dearborn project started, the West Dearborn DDA gave their project $5,000. Go figure.

There’s also Wireless Ypsi in Ann Arbor. Earlier this month, the Big Boy on Plymouth Road went live with the promise of more coverage to come.

Finally, a non-profit organization near Troy, NY contacted me shortly after the holidays to get more details on our business model. (The secret is we fund it with our own money and lose tons of it.) Interestingly enough, this gentleman’s name was Steve Pierce. It should be pointed out that Wireless Ypsi is willing to partner with anyone and not just other Steve Pierces.

Next to the short time I spent in the Simbanese Liberation Army in November of 1974, Wireless Ypsi is perhaps the greatest project I’ve ever been associated with. And to commerate this fantastic milestone, Wireless Ypsi is giving a special gift to the great people of Ypsilanti and the surrounding communities by offering free broadband internet access to the next 12,500 new users.

As always, if you would like to share bandwidth or host a node, give us a call or drop us an email. We’d love to hear from you.