About the network
Ashland Park is the newest LoTek network. Its residents had been told for years that upgraded commercial service was not economically viable, so through the winter they trained in monthly workshops, and on the last weekend of May 2026 more than 200 volunteers installed 140 rooftop nodes in two days.
More than 2,100 households connected in the first week. Like every LoTek network, it is owned by a residents’ cooperative and governed by stewards its members elect.
Schematic
Uptime
99.82% uptime over the last 90 days, with 1 day of degraded service or maintenance.
Governance
- Owned by
- Ashland Park Community Network Cooperative
- Legal home
- Nonprofit corporation with a member-elected board
- Members
- 2,896 households, one vote each
- Monthly assembly
- Third Wednesday of each month, 7:30 pm, at the community health center’s meeting room
- Annual assembly
- Every November
- Maintenance fund
- $10 a month per household, suggested. No household is disconnected for not paying.
Stewards
Elected by the members. Listed by first name and initial.
- Leon D.Network steward · since 2026
- Grace C.Treasurer · since 2026
- Kareem L.Membership steward · since 2026
- Damon C.Training steward · since 2026
- Bilal L.Rooftops steward · since 2026
Backhaul
Links that carry the network’s traffic to the wider internet.
| Link | Medium | Capacity | Far end | Peak use yesterday |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| LT-64-BH1 | Fiber | 10 Gbps | East Orange internet exchange | 34% |
| LT-64-BH2 | Licensed microwave, 11 GHz | 2 Gbps | Tower site, East Orange | 49% |
| LT-64-BH3 | Fiber, donated by the library system | 1 Gbps | Public library network | 49% |
Maintenance log
Power injector for N-3479 replaced after a surge.
High winds: 2 rooftop mounts checked and re-secured.
Backhaul fiber cut. A construction crew dug through the fiber. Traffic moved to the backup link at reduced speed until the provider spliced the cable.
Expansion: six new nodes in 2026, mostly in grids A2, A3 and C2.
Firmware 4.6.2 rollout. Staged firmware rollout to every node, one hub’s area at a time. Each node restarted once.
Hardware build night: 22 Stoop nodes assembled from parts.
More than 2,100 households connected in the first week.
Switched on: the sixty-fourth LoTek community network. Read the announcement
140 rooftop nodes installed in two days. The mesh formed and the backhaul was tested overnight.
Installation weekend begins: more than 200 volunteers on the roofs.
Founding assembly: the cooperative adopts its charter and elects five stewards.
First installer workshop for Ashland Park residents. Monthly sessions continue through May.