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Worldwide wifi hotspots reach 50,000 milestone

From Business Wire:

"The number of worldwide WiFi Hotspots has surpassed the 50,000 milestone according to recent numbers released by JiWire, the leading provider of WiFi content and Hotspot information (www.jiwire.com). A Hotspot is a physical address where people can connect to a public wireless network, such as a cafe, hotel or airport.

In addition, London tops JiWire's list of WiFi-friendly cities for having the greatest number of Hotspot locations, followed by Tokyo and New York. For a full listing of the Top Ten Hotspot Cities and Top Ten Countries, go to (http://www.jiwire.com/search-hotspot-locations.htm)."

Activists bring the digital frontier to new communities

From Dissident Voice, by Michelle Chen:

"A laptop and an antenna might not signify political activism to most, but in the Digital Age, they might soon become indispensable vehicles for social change.

With the rapid growth of wireless internet technology since the 1990s, the allure of using unlicensed airwaves to enable widespread high-speed internet access has created new alliances and new tensions among grassroots nonprofit organizations, government agencies and corporations, all of which have a stake in developing wireless technology, or "WiFi." Wireless networking — which allows for decentralized, sharable internet connectivity at low or no cost to the user — has the potential to connect millions to the internet — even remote and poor populations. This is an empowering prospect for community organizations and corporations alike. And where there is power, a struggle is never far behind."

Wireless to drive internet growth, tech leaders say

From Reuters, by Duncan Martell:

"Wireless services will lead the next growth phase of the Internet as venture capitalists who helped fund the early boom open their wallets again, industry leaders said Monday.

"I think the Internet's largest opportunities are in bringing new services, ones that we barely imagine, to billions of people around the world, wirelessly," said John Doerr, one of Silicon Valley's most renowned venture capitalists and a partner at Kleiner Perkins Caufield & Byers.

"We're probably in the early ... adolescence of this Internet world."

Lompoc: Eager to be best connected

From Wi-fi Planet, by Naomi Graychase:

"As more and more cities jump into the emerging Wi-Fi as residential broadband market, a wide variety of business models are being tested. Starting early next year, the city of Lompoc, Calif., a city of 40,000 located just north of Santa Barbara on the state's central coast, plans to join the growing number of American cities offering wireless access. In its case, wireless access will be offered as a city-run utility.

In response to a report issued by the Federal Communications Commission (FCC), which stated that the number of households using broadband increased by 55% in 2002, the Lompoc city council decided to take initiative and launch its own broadband access as part of the Lompoc Utility Department. The hope is that the city's $26 million investment in wireless and fiber optic networks will pay off by generating revenue for the city in years to come.

The network will use Tropos Networks mesh architecture equipment based on 802.11b and the faster 802.11g (which Tropos just announced). Other cities using Tropos equipment on live networks currently include Half Moon Bay and San Mateo, Calif., and Chaska, Minn. The City of Lompoc is planning to deploy 130 piece of equipment, each with a range of about 300 feet. "

San Francisco Sets Goal of Free Citywide WiFi

Reuters reported:

"SAN FRANCISCO (Reuters) - San Francisco Mayor Gavin Newsom set a goal on Thursday of providing free wireless Internet activity in his city that sees itself as a vanguard of the Internet revolution.

"We will not stop until every San Franciscan has access to free wireless Internet service," he said in his annual state of the city address. "These technologies will connect our residents to the skills and the jobs of the new economy."

The race to expand web hot spots is on; Is it worth winning?

From the Wall Street Journal by Lee Gomes

"What is being contested here is who will provide the next step in wireless Web connectivity, the one that will take us beyond the Wi-Fi hot spots that exist today. The goal, in effect, is to make the whole world a hot spot.

There are two competing ways of making this happen, and this is where the handicapping comes in. The first method uses a beefed-up version of the current cellphone network. Verizon is the most closely associated with the phone-based approach, by way of its $80-a-month "BroadbandAccess" service, which is now being rolled out across the country."

"In the other corner is new technology called WiMax, which is being pushed heavily by Intel. WiMax promises to be many times faster than the Verizon-style approach. The downside of WiMax is that it will require the construction of a new network of transmission towers, something much more expensive than the simple upgrades the cell companies are doing. What's more, WiMax is still a few years out."

SBC will launch cut-rate offering for Wi-Fi service

From the Wall Street Journal by Almar Latour

"SBC Communications Inc. launched a cut-rate Wi-Fi service for its existing broadband customers, the latest in a series of promotions offered by large phone companies to keep high-speed Internet customers from defecting.

The San Antonio company plans to offer the service for $1.99 a month to current customers of broadband service offered over its phone lines, known as digital subscriber line, or DSL, service. The combined SBC Wi-Fi and broadband package will cost $29 a month. Wi-Fi, or wireless fidelity, is a technology that gives users wireless, high-speed access to the Internet in a confined public area. SBC's Wi-Fi service, which normally costs $19.95 a month, can be accessed at 3,900 locations, or "hot spots," across the country. Its Wi-Fi network is among the largest in the U.S."

Who pays for wireless cities?

From Technology Review:

"These days, Wi-Fi is shorthand for wireless mesh networking technology. Instead of connecting to the Internet through a cable or telephone line, users are free to roam while their PDAs and laptops ferry data packets through radio waves and across a series of fixed access points. The average range is about 50 meters. Airports, shopping malls, coffee houses, and even campgrounds are actively courting the digital crowd by offering Wi-Fi service.

The wrinkle in the public-service spin on Wi-Fi is who will bear the cost for the service. The answer splits proponents into two camps, and both are problematic. On one side are those who see wireless broadband as a public amenity—a basic service that cities and towns should provide free to residents as they do, say, trash pickup. Missing from this scenario is consensus on how municipalities, perennially short on funds, will pay the Wi-Fi tab. Among the models being considered are a payout from the general allocation fund, or, for larger municipalities, the sale of bonds. Philadelphia officials are considering the imposition of new tourist fees to defray the city's Wi-Fi costs.

In the other camp are those who eye Wi-Fi as a potential revenue generator. Proponents of this model say cities and towns could negotiate affordable residential Wi-Fi rates as part of the bundle of wireless broadband services they purchase for local government departments, such as fire, police, and schools. A more hands-off approach, already being tried in some places, is to contract out the installation and management of local Wi-Fi in exchange for franchise fees paid by the contractor.

Wi-fi alliance unveils media streaming quality tech

From The Register:

"The Wi-Fi Alliance (WFA) today introduced its Wi-Fi Multimedia (WMM) brand, as anticipated and announced the first nine products that support it.

But despite touting the new technology as central to bringing the wireless networking technology into the consumer electronics world, the list of certified products comprises the usual list of access points and PC add-in card adaptors.

Such technology will play a key role in home entertainment networks set up to pump multiple TV, video and audio streams around the house. The WFA wants to get in early, not only to make sure such products are available as soon as, but to provide CE vendors with a guarantee of interoperability."

Supercharged Wi-Fi to blanket all Amsterdam

Reuters reported:

"Amsterdam's Web surfers could soon be liberated from their home computers and Internet cafes, as a start-up company plans to make their city the first European capital where laptops can hook up anywhere to the Web.

HotSpot Amsterdam launched a wireless computer network on Monday with a supercharged version of the Wi-Fi technology that is used to turn homes, airports, hotels and cafes into Web-connected "hot spots."

The first seven base stations are up and running, connecting historic areas that date back to the 13th century, and the entire city center will be covered by 40 to 60 antennas within three months, HotSpot Amsterdam founder Carl Harper said.

That network would be able to support several thousand users, he said.

"We'll go on to cover all of Amsterdam with 125 base stations. The idea is to prove to the big boys that it can be done and that consumers can live with a mobile phone and mobile Internet. The landline is dead," he said. Many computer makers build Wi-Fi chips and access cards into their products.
The Finnish town of Mantsala has an 11 square-kilometer Wi-Fi network, available to the public and schools, while New York plans to build a city-wide Wi-Fi network.

The Port of Amsterdam installed a Wi-Fi network three months ago, covering its 30 square kilometers, but that network is not for public use."