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Tag Archive for 'community'

CBS Offers Midtown Manhattan Free Wireless Internet Access

Published by

Kristin Abraham

November 29, 2007 in Municipal and Community. 5 Comments

CBS has just made an announcement that is sure to delight New Yorkers. From Times Square to Central Park and from 6th to 8th Avenue will become the new CBS Mobile Zone. This zone will carry free Wi-Fi for cell phones, laptops and other devices that want to access the internet or even make voice over internet phone calls.

In return, CBS gets ad impressions, tons of them. Visitors to the region will be greeted with a sponsored homepage with hyperlocal news and information for people within the specified area.

CBS Outdoor Chairman and CEO, Wally Kelly, explains that this is just one example of how CBS is dedicated to turning Outdoor assets into next-generation interactive platforms.
Via [centernetworks.com]
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Google-funded Startup To Offer Free Wi-Fi In San Francisco

Published by

Kristin Abraham

September 11, 2007 in Google, Municipal and Community. 2 Comments

The city of San Francisco has had its ups and downs with a citywide Wi-Fi system and still there is no system in sight. Google has most recently entered the fray, at least peripherally.

Meraki, Google funded start up, claims it can cover the city with Wi-Fi for a fraction of the current plan’s costs, won’t require any commitment from the city, and they will use hardware that is more reliable than Earthlink. So far the company has set up internet access points across the city that have been hit by approximately 7000 different machines. They’re now hoping to expand their coverage to the rest of the city.

Rather than following Earthlink’s expensive and flawed system of placing access points on light poles, Meraki relies on volunteers who place transmitters in their windows and allow neighbors to piggy back on the service, in fact some people are actually providing access to their own DSL connections.

All of the kinks aren’t worked out of the system, but it looks as if Meraki’s neighborly approach may be the solution to San Francisco’s internet woes.
Via [theregister.co.uk]
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SF Sets Wi-Fi Vote, But Deal May Fade

Published by

Kristin Abraham

August 15, 2007 in Municipal and Community. 0 Comments

San Francisco has spent three long years working toward citywide Wi-Fi and it appears as though a November election will finally settle the debate. The problem is the city’s deal with EarthLink may go south before it is ever implemented.

EarthLink has raised concerns about the citywide Wi-Fi agreements they have signed and are no longer willing to add new buildouts until they can insure the deal will be profitable.

So, it appears as if the city of San Francisco has worked up a deal that the city is content with but the Wi-Fi provider is unable to deliver.
Via [infoworld.com]
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Learning To Share Your Wi-Fi

Published by

Eliza Villarino

July 11, 2007 in HotSpots and Community. 0 Comments

Wanna share your Wi-Fi? Now you can, and with three choices to boot.

The Whisher beta software is available for download and can operate with most, if not all, Wi-Fi routers or access points. Users must register their Wi-Fi network and to do so, they would need to disclose its name, physical address, and WEP or WPA encryption key (Whisher demands that networks be encrypted), which will go to a database containing information of other Whisher members’ networks. Through the database, Whisher members can locate and log on to each other’s networks for free but they need not worry that other members will see their key since this is only known by the software. Beware, however, of the possibility of network slowdown because controlling the volume of of wireless bandwidth used by Whisher members is impossible.

FON is another option. Unlike Whisher, sharing WiFi through FON is not for free — you need to buy the La Fonera router, which is sold for $40 or half the price if referred by existing FON members — but you can limit the amount of bandwidth use. Plus, you may earn a few bucks since FON allows users to impose a $3 daily fee or $10 for five days for network use, though you can only get less than half of that, after deducting FON’s share and Paypal’s fee, on top of surrendering your free access to other FON networks.

If security is of high importance to you, then WeFi may not be your best choice. The software, which is in beta, works on non-encrypted networks, and at present, with Windows XP only.
Via [wi-fiplanet.com]
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Pilgrims On The Wireless Trail

Published by

Kristin Abraham

June 25, 2007 in Deployment, HotSpots and Community. 0 Comments

People in Cape Cod, Massachusetts just weren’t getting the internet service they hoped for, so instead of fighting with carriers they decided to find their own solution.

The non-profit group, OpenCape Corp was started with about $300,000 in donations from local colleges, communities and development agencies. The group is already taking steps toward its goal by installing point to point radios along the Cape and neighboring Martha’s Vineyard and Nantucket. These radios will form the backbone of the proposed wireless network.

OpenCape currently estimates that the commercial transport net will cost about $2 million to build while the public net will hit the $3 million mark. The commercial side is expected to generate enough revenue that it will pay for the operational costs of both sides.
Via [techworld.com]
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Wireless Internet For All, Without The Towers

Published by

Eliza Villarino

February 13, 2007 in Deployment, Commentary, Municipal and Community. Closed

Meraki Networks is testing a WiFi network that aims to provide affordable wireless Internet connection. In several neighborhoods, the Mountain View, California-based start-up has installed $49 boxes, which is equipped with a Wi-Fi router-on-a-chip and software that supports a “mesh network”. This network redirects signals when boxes are removed or added and when network performance fluctuates due to environmental conditions. Michael Burmeister-Brown, a director of Portland, Oregon-based non-profit group NetEquality, put the Meraki â€œminiâ€� to a test in several low-income communities. The service delivered a bandwidth that is similar to DSL but was reduced to dissuade bandwidth-consuming downloads. According to Burmeister-Brown, web browsing was quite fast and, privacy is not compromised if standard Wi-Fi security protocols are enabled.
Via [nytimes.com]
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Taking Wi-Fi Power To The People

Published by

Eliza Villarino

November 8, 2006 in Deployment, HotSpots, Fon and Community. Closed

FON has offered free WiFi routers in San Francisco and plans to do the same in New York later this year. During the “Freedom” events, the Spanish start-up would distribute its La Fonera, a newly-released device that supports 802.11g technology and allows broadband subscribers to share bandwidth with WiFi users. La Fonera complements FON’s software and is easily installed. Outside the promotional campaigns, the device is sold for $5 through the company’s website.
Via [news.com.com]
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Silicon Valley Wireless Project Moves Forward

Published by

Eliza Villarino

September 28, 2006 in Deployment, HotSpots, Municipal and Community. Closed

The Wireless Silicon Valley Task Force has chosen Silicon Valley Metro Connect to build and run a wireless network that will stretch over 1,500 square miles of the region. Metro Connect is a consortium involving Cisco Systems and IBM. The project, however, still requires the approval of individual municipalities before the construction of the network can begin. It aims to provide free access to basic broadband Internet service but users wanting other features like Internet-based phone calls or streaming video will be charged a fee.
Via [linuxinsider.com]
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Minneapolis Goes Wi-Fi, With WiMax To Follow

Published by

Eliza Villarino

September 22, 2006 in WiMAX, Deployment, HotSpots, Municipal and Community. Closed

Minneapolis aims to create a citywide wireless network with the help of BelAir Networks and US Internet. Minneapolis Mayor R. T. Rybak said the city “has chosen both a business model and a technology solution that ensure immediate, ongoing, and sustainable benefits.” Under the plan, the suppliers will develop a 54-squre-mile network that will initially support WiFi and can be be upgraded to WiMax and 3G later. According to BelAir spokeswoman Sheila Burpee Duncan, a one-mile-square WiFi pilot network is now operating in the city.
Via [informationweek.com]
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Taipei Becomes Wireless City, Offering Residents Access To Internet Anywhere In City

Published by

Eliza Villarino

September 19, 2006 in Deployment, HotSpots, Municipal and Community. Closed

Taipei, according to its mayor Ma Ying-jeou, is now a wireless city. Over the last two years, city officials have installed around 4,000 access points in several buildings to allow anyone to connect to the Internet anywhere in the area for a fee. Residents need to pay 400 New Taiwan dollars or about 12 US dollars per month to have broadband service. Taipei’s visitors may also access the network for a minimal fee.
Via [iht.com]
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Ghana Set For Nationwide Mobile WiMAX

Published by

Eliza Villarino

September 17, 2006 in WiMAX, Deployment, Municipal and Community. Closed

Ghana is due to have a nationwide WiMax coverage. Internet Ghana will use Navini Network’s Ripwave MX solution with smart WiMAX to build the first 802.16e software upgradeable network in the African country. “With high consumer demand, poor DSL access and long customer connection times Ghana is absolutely ready for mass market, rapid install, broadband wireless services. We will be first to market across the whole of Ghana, beginning in the capital Accra followed by the regional capitals and commercial towns,” Internet Ghana CEO Leslie Tamakloe said. The first phase of deployment will cover the capital city of Accra and ten other cities including Tamale, Kumasi and Tema.
Via [edn.com]
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Wi-Fi ‘Blogmobile’ Travels The Streets Of New York

Published by

Eliza Villarino

August 28, 2006 in Deployment, HotSpots and Community. Closed

For a week, New Yorkers were able to chat with celebrities like Billy Wagner of the New York Mets and Ms. Universe Zuleyka Rivera over the Internet through the Blogmobile, an oversized van that houses a dozen PCs and acted as a WiFi hotspot. The blogmobile used Telkonet NuVisions technology to enable connection among the PCs, 20-inch and 40-inch plasma TVs, CD/DVD players, and Sony PlayStation 2 players. The technology created a WiFi “cloud” that was deployed around Columbus Circle and covered a broad area of Central Park. The activity is part of the ChatWithAStar.com project.
Via [informationweek.com]
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Hurdles Still Block The Road To Faster Wi-Fi

Published by

RenderMan

March 20, 2006 in Standards and Community. Closed

802.11n promises much higher bandwidth over wireless to satisfy the demands for high end multimedia applications, streaming video and the like. However, as with most standards body decisions, the manufacturers are left figuring out “how the heck do impliment that?”. 802.11n seems to be no exception. Trying to span both the 2.4 and 5 Ghz spectrum in a consumer friendly manner seems to be giving some manufacturers headaches.
Via [computerworld.co.nz]
Continue reading ‘Hurdles Still Block The Road To Faster Wi-Fi’