We are all willing to pay our DSL, cable modem or fiber optic bills to get broadband access at home, willing to pay usurious rates at hotels, airports and even 'borrow' our neighbors open wi-fi on occasion. We all get free radio broadcasts. We all get cell service. And we all need city-wide Wi-Fi service.
It would take only a fraction of what we now pay, as a tax, to support the system. The new distribution points could be integrated with new lighting, bus shelters, public phones booths or any number of possible points of attachment to the City’s infrastructure.
In a few years it will seem inconceivable that a major city is without a free public Wi-Fi system, and just as New York has the nation’s largest subway system it should have the largest and most comprehensive Municipal Wi-Fi system.
And, while we are at it, Wi-Fi on the subways would be a way to avoid the frightening prospect of cellphone enabled ‘rolling phone booths’ while allowing people to do some work, map their next destination or contact friends to say you would be a bit late.
We cannot let Akron be the first.
1 Comment
ATT I believe is on this. Times Square and Charlotte NC (not entire town), so far to help off load folks off the 3G network. Smaller cities have been tossing the idea around as an attraction for businesses, hoping to boost their local economy. Would wifi be better than phones to prevent remote detonation? I was under the impression this is why US doesn't provide service in trains while other countries do.
Block this user
Are you sure you want to block this user and hide all related comments throughout the site?
Archinect
This is your first comment on Archinect. Your comment will be visible once approved.