About the network
Schuylkill Flats covers about 25 blocks of Philadelphia’s north side, mostly mid-rise apartment blocks. The network was built by the public library’s branch staff and its regulars after the incumbent provider declined, again, to upgrade the area’s copper lines.
Schematic
Uptime
99.98% uptime over the last 90 days, with no days of degraded service or maintenance.
Governance
- Owned by
- Schuylkill Flats Community Net
- Legal home
- Cooperative corporation, owned by member households
- Members
- 1,099 households, one vote each
- Monthly assembly
- Last Monday of each month, 7:30 pm, at the tenants’ association hall
- Annual assembly
- Every March
- Maintenance fund
- $6 a month per household, suggested. No household is disconnected for not paying.
Stewards
Elected by the members. Listed by first name and initial.
- Kateryna R.Network steward · since 2025
- Renée T.Treasurer · since 2023
- Marcus L.Membership steward · since 2023
- Trina P.Training steward · since 2020
- Cedric H.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-44-BH1 | Fiber | 10 Gbps | Philadelphia internet exchange | 19% |
| LT-44-BH2 | Licensed microwave, 11 GHz | 2 Gbps | Sedgley Hollow | 26% |
Maintenance log
Firmware 4.6.2 rollout. Staged firmware rollout to every node, one hub’s area at a time. Each node restarted once.
Climbing safety refresher: 6 installers recertified.
Expansion: three new nodes in 2026, mostly in grids C4, D4 and G2.
Annual assembly: 74 members attended and elected two stewards.
Cable to N-2416 replaced; squirrels again.
Cable to N-1960 replaced; squirrels again.
Hardware refresh: 20 nodes upgraded to Stoop R6 over the year.
Expansion: five new nodes in 2025, mostly in grids A3, B1 and E4.
Annual assembly: 101 members attended and elected three stewards.
Steward training on monitoring and fault-finding: 17 attended.
Expansion: four new nodes in 2024, mostly in grids A2, A3 and B1.
Expansion: three new nodes in 2023, mostly in grids D4, F4 and G1.
Heavy rain: water ingress found and fixed in 6 enclosures.
Tree trimming along two backbone paths, with the city’s parks crew.
Hardware refresh: 5 nodes upgraded to Stoop R5 over the year.
New hub on the fire station roof, under a city agreement: N-2397.
Network switched on: 23 nodes installed by 103 volunteers over a weekend.
Founding assembly: the Schuylkill Flats Community Net adopts its charter and elects five stewards.