About the network
Eastgate covers about 48 blocks of Detroit’s northeast side, mostly garden apartments and duplexes. The network was built by a housing cooperative’s board after a school district survey found students doing homework in fast-food parking lots for the signal.
Schematic
Hover over or tap a node for its details, and click or tap again to open it. With a keyboard, move to the schematic and use the arrow keys.
Uptime
99.97% uptime over the last 90 days, with no days of degraded service or maintenance.
Governance
- Owned by
- Eastgate Community Net
- Legal home
- Cooperative corporation, owned by member households
- Members
- 1,307 households, one vote each
- Monthly assembly
- First Thursday of each month, 6:30 pm, at the community health center’s meeting room
- Annual assembly
- Every April
- Maintenance fund
- $5 a month per household, suggested. No household is disconnected for not paying.
Stewards
Elected by the members. Listed by first name and initial.
- Sandra L.Network steward · since 2025
- Nasser L.Treasurer · since 2022
- Valentina A.Membership steward · since 2022
- Shanice D.Training steward · since 2020
- Santiago R.Rooftops steward · since 2023
- Tariq E.Secretary · since 2020
- Ngozi T.Network steward · since 2025
Backhaul
Links that carry the network’s traffic to the wider internet.
| Link | Medium | Capacity | Far end | Peak use yesterday |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| LT-45-BH1 | Fiber | 10 Gbps | Detroit internet exchange | 21% |
| LT-45-BH2 | Licensed microwave, 11 GHz | 2 Gbps | Fordline | 30% |
| LT-45-BH3 | Fiber, donated by the library system | 1 Gbps | Public library network | 30% |
Maintenance log
Firmware 4.6.2 rollout. Staged firmware rollout to every node, one hub’s area at a time. Each node restarted once.
Maintenance fund audit presented to members and approved.
Grounding on N-2015 redone after an inspection found a corroded lug.
Dish on N-2188 re-aimed after a neighbor’s new extension blocked the path.
Annual assembly: 67 members attended and elected four stewards.
Hardware refresh: 21 nodes upgraded to Stoop R6 over the year.
Expansion: four new nodes in 2025, mostly in grids A4, B2 and E3.
Climbing safety refresher: 18 installers recertified.
Rooftop agreements reviewed; 3 renewed with new building owners.
Annual assembly: 125 members attended and elected two stewards.
N-2021 moved to the other side of the roof to clear a new air-conditioning unit.
Cable to N-2736 replaced; squirrels again.
Heat wave: 9 rooftop nodes throttled; all recovered overnight.
Radio on N-2020 replaced after water got into the enclosure.
Expansion: four new nodes in 2023, mostly in grids A4, E5 and F4.
Hardware refresh: 15 nodes upgraded to Stoop R5 over the year.
New hub on the apartment tower roof, twelve storeys: N-2139.
Network switched on: 32 nodes installed by 94 volunteers over a weekend.
Founding assembly: the Eastgate Community Net adopts its charter and elects five stewards.