ZAP Sherbrooke (ZAP stands for "Public Access Zone" in French") is a

non-profit A nonprofit organization (NPO), also known as a nonbusiness entity, nonprofit institution, not-for-profit organization, or simply a nonprofit, is a non-governmental (private) legal entity organized and operated for a collective, public, or so ...

community wireless network which provides free wireless Internet access to mobile users in public spaces throughout the city of

Sherbrooke Sherbrooke ( , ) is a city in southern Quebec, Canada. It is at the confluence of the Saint-François River, Saint-François and Magog River, Magog rivers in the heart of the Estrie administrative region. Sherbrooke is also the name of a territ ...

Quebec Quebec is Canada's List of Canadian provinces and territories by area, largest province by area. Located in Central Canada, the province shares borders with the provinces of Ontario to the west, Newfoundland and Labrador to the northeast, ...

Canada Canada is a country in North America. Its Provinces and territories of Canada, ten provinces and three territories extend from the Atlantic Ocean to the Pacific Ocean and northward into the Arctic Ocean, making it the world's List of coun ...

. The network was built using

Open-source software Open-source software (OSS) is Software, computer software that is released under a Open-source license, license in which the copyright holder grants users the rights to use, study, change, and Software distribution, distribute the software an ...

and inexpensive off-the-shelf

Wi-Fi Wi-Fi () is a family of wireless network protocols based on the IEEE 802.11 family of standards, which are commonly used for Wireless LAN, local area networking of devices and Internet access, allowing nearby digital devices to exchange data by ...

hardware to share broadband Internet connections. The initiative was created by a consortium of Sherbrooke University and

Bishop's University Bishop's University () is a small English-language Liberal arts college, liberal arts university in Lennoxville, a borough of Sherbrooke, Quebec, Canada. The founder of the institution was the Anglican Diocese of Quebec, Anglican Bishop of Quebec ...

along with hospitals and other colleges in the area. In 2008 the project received the OCTAS Award for "Technologies at the Service of Communities". ZAP Sherbrooke is available throughout Sherbrooke city in public areas (public parks, arenas, library, city buildings) as well as universities (Sherbrooke University and Bishop's University) and hospitals. It is also available in cafés, restaurants, bars, stores, and community organizations which pay a $200 fee the first year and $75 each subsequent year to join the network. As of March 2010, the network has over 35,000 registered users and over 240 live hotspots.

References

{{reflist Companies based in Sherbrooke Wi-Fi providers