A network of rooftop antennas provides more than 1,000 members of the network access to the Internet at speeds 30 times faster than through telecom-provided Internet. The Athens Wireless Metropolitan Network (AWMN) began in 2002 as a response to the poor Internet service available at the time. As AWMN user Joseph Bonicioli toldMotherJones.com, “When you run your own network, nobody can shut it down."