As a member of the TTN network in the Western Cape, we’d like to tell you about the developments in your local area over the past couple of weeks. Our goal is to cover the Cape Metro area by the middle of 2018 and we’d appreciate your help in making that happen.
Meetup 22 November, Stellenbosch
We held a meetup in Stellenbosch on 22 November - we had the pleasure of having the TTN guys including the co-founder of The Things Network, Johan Stokking. He spoke about how they started The Things Network in the Netherlands and the latest developments in the technology. We were inspired by the great attendance and interest shown during the meetup, and the valuable questions, suggestions and ideas.
Thanks to the speakers, Johan Stokking and Dominik van Veen from The Things Network, Polymorph Systems and Alphawave for sponsoring the event, without whom it wouldn't have been possible. Also the LaunchLab who let us use their excellent venue.
The Things Network Cape Town, The Things Network Stellenbosch - joining forces
On 1 December, the communities of Cape Town and Stellenbosch decided to join forces. Together we have more resources to arrange further meetups and to build the network. The joined community will be known as "The Things Network Western Cape" and covers not only the two cities, but the entire province. Have a look at our brand new landing page.
Following meetups
We will be planning a follow-up meetup in February 2018. Please let us know if there is anything you would like to know more about, or if you have something you want to show or tell us about. As always, any volunteers, sponsors, venue suggestions and speakers are very welcome.
Building the Network
A good place to start will be to create an account on TheThingsNetwork.org. With this account you can become a member of our community. With your TTN account you should also be able to join our slack channel #westerncape on https://thethingsnetwork.slack.com/.
We have also started to gather South African specific information about TTN on:
https://www.thethingsnetwork.org/forum/c/country/south-africa
We’re building up a map of available high sites here: https://goo.gl/mcT8dH.
If you have access to a high-site, or know someone who does, please add them to the map. As we write there are 4 locations eager for a gateway. We hope to put together a crowdfunding page shortly, so if you know anyone who would want to sponsor a gateway - please also let us know.
We need to get the word out about TTN across the Western Cape, so if you can mention us to any related communities (Silicon Cape? Startup Grind?), publications, companies, please do so! Let’s get everyone talking about TTN over the braais this Christmas period. Also please tell us if you have any experience in PR and can help us getting the TTN message out to a wider audience.
Get in contact via Slack, the Forum, or directly with us if you have any questions, comments, or if you are able to contribute to building the network. Remember, you are the network!
Best regards
JP Meijers, Richard Davies
And the rest of the TTN Western Cape core team
