About the network
Highbanks covers about 34 blocks of Louisville’s far south side, mostly bungalows and two-flats. The network was built by parents from the local elementary school after a subsidized broadband offer expired and prices doubled overnight.
Schematic
Uptime
99.95% uptime over the last 90 days, with 1 day of degraded service or maintenance.
Governance
- Owned by
- Highbanks Mesh Cooperative
- Legal home
- Tenants’ association, incorporated as a nonprofit
- Members
- 932 households, one vote each
- Monthly assembly
- Second Monday of each month, 7:30 pm, at the senior center
- Annual assembly
- Every December
- Maintenance fund
- $7 a month per household, suggested. No household is disconnected for not paying.
Stewards
Elected by the members. Listed by first name and initial.
- Kwame T.Network steward · since 2026
- Deborah G.Treasurer · since 2022
- Curtis F.Membership steward · since 2025
- Dolores B.Training steward · since 2026
- Isaiah I.Rooftops steward · since 2024
- Dalia G.Secretary · since 2024
- Jamal S.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-52-BH1 | Fiber | 10 Gbps | Louisville internet exchange | 15% |
| LT-52-BH2 | Licensed microwave, 11 GHz | 2 Gbps | Tower site, Louisville | 21% |
| LT-52-BH3 | Fiber, donated by the library system | 1 Gbps | Public library network | 21% |
Maintenance log
Firmware 4.6.2 rollout. Staged firmware rollout to every node, one hub’s area at a time. Each node restarted once.
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.
Mount on N-2599 re-secured after the host reported a loose mast.
Hardware refresh: 10 nodes upgraded to Stoop R6 over the year.
Power injector for N-2429 replaced after a surge.
High winds: 7 rooftop mounts checked and re-secured.
Annual assembly: 55 members attended and elected two stewards.
Expansion: three new nodes in 2025, mostly in grids D3, F3 and F5.
Hardware build night: 10 Stoop nodes assembled from parts.
Battery modules replaced at 3 hubs ahead of winter.
N-2436 moved to the other side of the roof to clear a new air-conditioning unit.
New hub on the church steeple: N-3008.
Expansion: four new nodes in 2024, mostly in grids B1, B2 and C2.
N-2433 replaced under warranty after its radio stopped associating.
Expansion: seven new nodes in 2023, mostly in grids A1, B2 and D2.
Maintenance fund audit presented to members and approved.
Radio on N-2428 replaced after water got into the enclosure.
Expansion: four new nodes in 2022, mostly in grids A1, A2 and B3.
Network switched on: 19 nodes installed by 152 volunteers over a weekend.
Founding assembly: the Highbanks Mesh Cooperative adopts its charter and elects five stewards.