About the network
Pearl Bottom covers about 19 blocks of Jackson’s lower east side, mostly public housing towers and the walk-ups around them. The network was built by a block club after a subsidized broadband offer expired and prices doubled overnight.
Schematic
Uptime
99.97% uptime over the last 90 days, with no days of degraded service or maintenance.
Governance
- Owned by
- Pearl Bottom Mesh Cooperative
- Legal home
- Community land trust program
- Members
- 963 households, one vote each
- Monthly assembly
- Second Tuesday of each month, 7:00 pm, at the YMCA multipurpose 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.
- Maria G.Network steward · since 2025
- Isaiah B.Treasurer · since 2025
- Reggie P.Membership steward · since 2024
- Anthony M.Training steward · since 2020
- José D.Rooftops steward · since 2026
- Lin A.Secretary · since 2018
Backhaul
Links that carry the network’s traffic to the wider internet.
| Link | Medium | Capacity | Far end | Peak use yesterday |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| LT-29-BH1 | Fiber | 10 Gbps | Jackson internet exchange | 14% |
| LT-29-BH2 | Licensed microwave, 11 GHz | 2 Gbps | Tower site, Jackson | 20% |
Maintenance log
Firmware 4.6.2 rollout. Staged firmware rollout to every node, one hub’s area at a time. Each node restarted once.
Cable to N-1208 replaced; squirrels again.
Maintenance fund audit presented to members and approved.
Rooftop agreements reviewed; 2 renewed with new building owners.
Annual assembly: 74 members attended and elected four stewards.
Hardware build night: 15 Stoop nodes assembled from parts.
Power injector for N-1215 replaced after a surge.
Hardware refresh: 16 nodes upgraded to Stoop R6 over the year.
Annual assembly: 103 members attended and elected two stewards.
Expansion: three new nodes in 2025, mostly in grids B1, C4 and F4.
Storm damage: 6 dishes realigned and one mast replaced.
Expansion: three new nodes in 2023, mostly in grids B2, D3 and G4.
Radio on N-1609 replaced after water got into the enclosure.
Dish on N-1218 re-aimed after a neighbor’s new extension blocked the path.
Dish on N-1216 re-aimed after a neighbor’s new extension blocked the path.
New hub on the community health center roof: N-2625.
Hardware refresh: 14 nodes upgraded to Stoop R5 over the year.
Firmware 4.0 rolled out to every node.
Hardware refresh: 9 nodes upgraded to Stoop R4 over the year.
Network switched on: 20 nodes installed by 71 volunteers over a weekend.
Founding assembly: the Pearl Bottom Mesh Cooperative adopts its charter and elects five stewards.