Goals of a MetropolitanAreaNetwork
There are several competing but mostly complementary goals for a MAN. They reflect different philosophies of what community wireless is all about, but in the long run can likely all be implemented at the same time, albeit with significant complexity.
ManOverlay: allow existing Internet users to create a backchannel to share information among each other
ManSharing: using existing Internet connections to 'unwire' other users while giving them Net access
ManRoaming: enabling wireless devices to roam all over the city while remaining connected to the Net