In 2002, broadband wasn't something everyone could simply order. In parts of East Sussex, a useful internet connection was still out of reach. Wireless mesh technology offered another way: people could connect to one another and build a network together. I founded Feeed Mesh Network around that idea.
Looking back, it was the beginning of a story that has taken me from community broadband to wireless phones on Tesco shelves, and now to custom applications and AI-enabled software. The technologies have changed, but the thread running through my work is much the same: finding a useful possibility, bringing the pieces together and following it through to something people can actually use.
Connecting a community
Feeed Mesh Network grew through the people who became part of it. Local volunteers and volunteers further afield brought their time and skills, helping extend the network's reach beyond Sussex. It was a shared effort, and those contributions are an important part of the Feeed story.
There was something very tangible about that work. Wireless equipment and software became a way to connect neighbours and open up access to the internet. A technical idea had a direct, everyday purpose.
A November 2003 thinkbroadband report gives a glimpse of that ambition. It covered a proposed community node in St Leonards-on-Sea, supported by feeed.net, offering a £6.95-a-month proposition. That local example captures the spirit of what we were working towards: making broadband more accessible through a different approach to delivering it.
Taking the idea further
As the network grew, we needed a practical way to manage subscribers, control access and handle billing. I built a user management and billing solution compatible with LocustWorld mesh equipment. What began as software to run our own network soon attracted interest from other operators, and it went on to be used by mesh networks in the US, Canada, the UK, Spain and Germany, among others.
In 2004, Feeed Professional grew out of that work as a commercial venture, delivering wireless broadband connectivity and deployments for businesses, hotels and caravan parks. Community networking had shown what wireless could make possible; these projects brought it into new settings with different practical needs.
The work brought together equipment, software and the environment in which a connection would be used. That combination has remained a familiar part of my involvement in technology: understanding the whole solution, rather than treating each piece in isolation.
Networks, handsets and a show in Barcelona
Around 2005–06, that experience led into wireless voice over IP with RabbitPoint. As technical lead, I was responsible for building wireless mesh software and hardware solutions and integrating Wi-Fi mobile handsets. Now we were connecting more than computers: we were bringing the network and the phone together so people could make calls over Wi-Fi.
RabbitPoint exhibited at the 3GSM World Congress in Barcelona in February 2006. Personal Computer World's report from the show described our mesh reaching across the exhibition hall, bringing the wireless technology to an international audience.
For me, this chapter brought software, hardware, networking and mobile devices into one delivery effort. Each had to work with the others. It was a chance to carry an idea beyond the network infrastructure and into a device someone could pick up and use.
From integration to the Tesco shelf
RabbitPoint merged with Mobiboo to form Mobiboo Mobile, with tovo as its consumer brand. My team and I worked closely with Pirelli Broadband Solutions on the tovo t450g PocketFone, a dual-mode GSM and Wi-Fi handset that took a SIM card. Alongside it was the Wi-Fi-only t1000 HomeFone Plus, manufactured by UTStarcom.
I led the handset supply and retail rollout through Tesco. On 6 November 2006, the two models launched in an initial 19 stores. After the network development and device integration, the phones were now products customers could find on a shop shelf.
That end-to-end experience remains a particularly rewarding part of the story. It connected technical development with manufacturers, supply and retail delivery. Seeing all those stages come together gives you a broad view of what it takes to turn a promising technology into a working solution.
A long involvement, and new possibilities
My work has spanned networks, hardware, mobile devices, web development and hosting, including more than twenty years with PHP and WordPress. That breadth is useful today. A business application often sits between people, existing systems and everyday processes; understanding those connections is as important as writing the software.
Today's feeed brings the original spirit into custom web applications and AI-enabled software. We build integrations that connect customer, carrier and warehouse systems, applications that support operational teams, and tools that help turn business requirements into clear, deliverable work.
We also develop our own AI-supported requirements discovery and test and verification platforms. They help connect the conversation about what a business needs with the application we build and the checks that show it works. AI gives us new ways to carry that work forward, alongside the judgement and practical experience that delivery still needs.
From a community wireless node to a phone on a retail shelf or a new business application, the part I find most satisfying is bringing the pieces together into something useful. That's the thread I want feeed to keep following as technology opens up new possibilities.
If you have an idea to bring to life, or a business process you'd like to improve, I'd be happy to hear about it. Get in touch at russell@feeed.com and let's talk about what we could make work for you.
In the archives
A few pieces of contemporary coverage from the journey: