Fort Wayne, Indiana, is now a “hot zone,” thanks to the Indiana Data Center, an ISP that serves Fort Wayne and its surrounding communities. The wireless distribution system, developed by Colubris Networks, uses dual-radio access points, situated on water towers, hospital rooftops, and fire stations, to cover the downtown area as well as the local… Continue Reading
Category Archives: Municipal
S.F. Picks Google, EarthLink
San franciso went with the Google/Earthlink partnership for bringing metro Wifi to the city. The partnership will be free for the city and provide free access to visitors and residents. There is talk of a pay service above the free, but presumably that means an ad free experience and uncapped speed. The decision was met… Continue Reading
The Revolution Will Be Wireless
The City of Santa Monica is rolling out a Municipal Wi-Fi system in select parts of the city. The logic being that it’s another service the city can offer to it’s visitors and residents. With the number of high tech companies around, it makes the city just that more attactive if they can offer to… Continue Reading
Google Employees’ Wireless Patents Published
Google was granted a few new patents for wireless. The patents cover several aspects of delivering ads from access points and modifying the browser look depending on the access point connected to. The idea is that in exchange for using the access for free, users will have ads show up on thier devices. While not… Continue Reading
Wi-Fi Providers Court Smaller Communities
Milpitas, California does’nt seem like a likely place but it is going to be one of the most unwired towns in the US. Smaller communities weem to have less problems with municipal WiFi plans and incumbant service providers don’t try to get in the way. Perhaps muni-WiFi needs to focus on the small towns first… Continue Reading
Sprint Offshoot Tries Muni Wi-Fi
So the telco’s jump up and down and lobby states to pass laws prohibiting municipalities from offering Municipal Wifi themselves, but are more than happy to step up and do it themselves. Sprint’s offshoot, Embarq is testing a few sites in Henderson, Nevada after the city expressed interest in municipal wireless in October. Via [wi-fiplanet.com]… Continue Reading
Can Muni Wi-Fi Be Free?
Craig Settles, noted Muni-wireless pundit has released a study of proposed muni-wifiinstallations and has found that very few realize that at the end of the day, someone has to pay. Touting it at a ‘free network’ is just plain wrong as it eventually becomes a bait and switch with residents and constituents. Politicians think in… Continue Reading
Wi-Fi Fight Brews In Big Easy
In the wake of hurricane Katrina, with internet service unavailable to many business due to flodded central offices, the city of New Orleans opened it’s wireless mesh network for anyone to access. This helped in an emergency situation and helped sustain businesses. Now 6 months after Hurricane Katrina, with a third of the city New… Continue Reading
US Cities Warned On Long-term Costs Of Free Wireless
Municipal WiFi costs are a tricky thing. Who pays for it, how, who runs it, what happens if it fails. Municipalities should be very cautious and go in with eyes wide open about the realities of providing a new utility to it’s residents. Unexpected costs can easily soar without proper planning. Via [msnbc.msn.com]… Continue Reading
‘Largest Wireless Network’ Planned For Arizona
The ‘largest’ wireless mesh network that originally started in Tempe, Arizona is expanding out to the neighbooring towns of Gilbert and Chandler. The 187 square mile network will be one of the largest in the world and one of the first featuring compatability and cooperation between multiple communities. It will be a pay service, but… Continue Reading
Municipal Wi-Fi Gets Backers
Only a short time ago telco operators were quietly pushing for legislation all over the states to prevent municipalities from starting thier own municipal WiFi programs for fear of competition and undercutting thier pricing. Now it seems that they have realized the oppourtunity in front of them and are starting to wake up and partner… Continue Reading
The Emergence Of Metro-Scale Wi-Fi
Large scale municipal WiFi installations is a dream of many municipalities, community groups and businesses. There are many technical challenges to such a deployment such as backhaul, bandwidth provisioning, and other less technical challenges such as who pays for it. Combining municipal WiFi with cellular networks may be the way to encourage thier growth. With… Continue Reading
Company To Bring WiFi Service To Toronto
Toronto Hydro Telecom Inc. announced plans Tuesday to blanket downtown Toronto with wireless WiFi coverage, allowing laptops to log onto the Internet anywhere within the zone, from park benches to cars and cafeterias. Via [seattlepi.nwsource.com]… Continue Reading
Philadelphia To Offer Wi-Fi For Under $20 Per Month
Cable and DSL broadband providers in Philadelphia are breathing easier Thursday after the city announced its final Wi-Fi contract with EarthLink that seeks to keep retail prices under $20 a month for individual customers. Verizon Communications, which had resisted the citywide wireless broadband deployment, currently offers DSL at $14.95 a month, for instance. Via [techweb.com]… Continue Reading
Down To Business: The Economics Of Metro Wi-Fi
Will metro WiFi ever really work? Governments who have trouble filling potholes responsible for a bleeding edge technology? Some people see it as a blessing and others as a huge curse. The economics of who pays for what, and even logistics such as how much of how much of a downtown office building should be… Continue Reading