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Wednesday Aug 02, 2006
Boston's wi-fi in the hands of amateurs
The Mayor of Boston needs to take his tablets and have a lie down.
No doubt this will be the response from commercial internet providers when they hear that Mayor Menino has decided that the US east coast city should have blanket wi-fi – and that this wi-fi should be managed by a not-for-profit. Is he mad? Everyone knows that non-commercial companies haven't a clue and should stick to knitting yogurt for disabled pensioners.
More from the Mayor: "What this will do is give us citywide service at a reasonable cost. We're not turning it over to someone else. We'll be able to control our destiny. One outside corporation shouldn't have a monopoly over this technology." Go Mayor.
According to at least one analyst, the model being used in Boston could become a standard if it works. Up until now, other US cities have basically put their wireless strategies in the hands of commercial providers which will, naturally, focus on where the money is. This is what is also happening in the UK where wi-fi provider The Cloud is wifi-ing up the financial city of London – a place where people might be willing and able to fork out five to ten pounds an hour for wireless internet access. ""We are building according to demand in the marketplace," says The Cloud.
There has been a rather strange development locally though, right in YouthNet's backyard. Upper Street in Islington has been wifi-ed up by Islington Council and dubbed 'technology mile' (we can pick it up from inside our offices). It seems like the oddest place to put wifi; every second shop is a café or pub with free or charged wi-fi. Islington has dozens of council estates – why not throw the free wi-fi there instead?
Posted by Dom Waghorn ( 3:51 PM ) Link to this post Comments[0]