Adam Shand, Founder, PersonalTelcoProject

He's owned and operated Internet service providers for most of his adult life (including one of New Zealand's first), but Adam Shand's business acumen won't land him on the cover of “Forbes.” And though he describes himself as an admirer of the anti-establishment, the FBI probably isn't compiling a dossier on him, either.

Instead, the founder of PersonalTelcoProject is creating a digital-age vision of free love by setting up Wi-Fi hot spots around Portland, Ore., offering Internet service gratis to anyone with a laptop and an 802.11-compatible modem. Using bandwidth donated by local businesses and residential users, the all-volunteer group — founded in November 2000 — now operates 80 hot spots throughout the city.

“I have to admit there a little part of me that gets a kick out of the anti-establishment part of it,” Shand said. “That's fading, though.” Indeed, PersonalTelco is now a full-fledged nonprofit organization, even registering with the government for tax purposes — and that's about as far from anti-establishment as you can get.

The group's showcase hot spot is in Portland's Pioneer Square, where a local graphic design firm has willingly opened its access pipe to mobile users. “Most businesses have bandwidth that is sitting idle from 5 p.m. to 8 a.m., which is prime time for our users,” Shand said. “The businesses get to be seen as the good guys.”

That's not to say the group has had its anti-establishment DNA washed clean. Early this year, PersonalTelco volunteers pooled their funds to buy a retired 1986 Ford Econoline 350 television news van. Since retrofitted, the van now acts as a mobile repeater node. “We can go to a party and park the van in the middle of it and offer service right from there,” Shand said. Groovy.