Matt Blaze@alice Based on the label and the form factor, I'd say it's a (vestigial) Metricom "Ricochet" repeater. This was a low-speed 900 MHz wireless ISP that served various metropolitan areas until 2001.
Looks like the power cable has been removed.
@alice They leased space on lampposts in the service areas. Customers accessed the service via a brick that hooked up to the USB or serial port on your laptop. It was much slower than we're used to now, but really great at the time.
Ken McLeod@mattblaze @alice Ricochet predated USB ports. And was much slower than we're used to now.
Economy 2.4 Kbps $2.95 per month
Standard 9.6 $9.95
Executive 19.2 $19.95
Premier Unrestricted $29.95
Subscribers to the Standard, Executive and Premier plans may rent a Ricochet portable wireless modem for $20 per month. Alternatively, subscribers to any service level may purchase modems for $495. There is also a one-time activation fee of $95.
Mark Eichin@_the_cloud
Heh, I still have a pair of the rs232 ones that I used point to point from my house to my office (somerville, mid 1990s.) Though I think changes in spectrum allocations might make it illegal for me to use them now?
@mattblaze @alice
Heh, I still have a pair of the rs232 ones that I used point to point from my house to my office (somerville, mid 1990s.) Though I think changes in spectrum allocations might make it illegal for me to use them now?
@mattblaze @alice