Mayor Carl Brewer has listed as a top goal developing free or low-cost citywide wireless access, which would give people access to the Internet from laptops anywhere in the city. But cities such as San Francisco, Cincinnati, Houston and Chicago are shelving plans to provide blanket wireless Internet coverage, citing unexpectedly high costs, unexpectedly low public demand and other complications, according to an article in USA Today.
This summer, City Council members delayed entering negotiations with a wireless company so they’d have time to further research the idea. Considering other cities’ mixed experience with wireless, Wichita’s go-slow approach makes sense.
Posted by Randy Scholfield
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20 Comments
maybe carl can get us a free upgrade on the wireless service.
The city is so behind the time. WiFi is so yesterday.
There is something new and it is called: WiMax and it’s becoming the world standard
5,000% more powerful in reach and strength than WiFi
WiMAX, the Worldwide Interoperability for Microwave Access, is a telecommunications technology aimed at providing wireless data over long distances in a variety of ways, from point-to-point links to full mobile cellular type access. It is based on the IEEE 802.16 standard, which is also called WirelessMAN. WiMAX allows a user, for example, to browse the Internet on a laptop computer without physically connecting the laptop to a router or switch port via an ethernet port. The name WiMAX was created by the WiMAX Forum, which was formed in June 2001 to promote conformance and interoperability of the standard. The forum describes WiMAX as “a standards-based technology enabling the delivery of last mile wireless broadband access as an alternative to cable and DSL.”
This is something best left to the private sector. If there is a demand for it- which is questionable- they will build it. Absent that, the city should only build it downtown first and measure the demand to see if there is demand for it.
The slow approach makes sense? The fact that they were doing it in the first place doesn’t make sense.
Actually that is not true. It’s a great political ‘gimme’ that the paper will love those policians for ‘providing’ it to the ignorant masses.
Well. now that we are all dutifully impressed with your world class techie knowledge, Right Angle. Too bad you aren’t aware that the city has been looking at WiMax for a year now.
Missed that part of it, didn’t you.
The go slow approach is less by design than normal work pattern.
Besides, they need the money for sheltering the homeless.
Carl Brewer has no idea how to run a city. It is easy to give away other peoples money. Everyone has access to the internet. If you do not have it at home or business, there is always the library.
Why was out tax dollars?
“Too bad you aren’t aware that the city has been looking at WiMax for a year now.”Missed that part of it, didn’t you.Posted by: Taz | September 26, 2007 at 07:05 AM
————————————Do you mean for other than the below
IF YOU MEAN FOR THE PUBLIC, PLEASE PROVIDE REFERENCE. THEN MR. BREWER WILL WANT US TO PAY FOR NEW COMPUTERS WITH THE CHIP INSTALLED FOR EVERYONE.
“Wichita Area WiMax Communications Design and ImplementationCapital Cost: $3,200,000Deployment Timeline: Near TermDescription: This project will design and deploy a WiMax communicationsdesign within the limits of the City of Wichita. This will provide a seamlesswireless communications backbone throughout the city for the transmission ofdata between city vehicles and dispatchers. An AVL application is to bedeveloped to make use of the WiMax network. Users of this network areanticipated to be public safety vehicles, transit vehicles, and public worksvehicles.”
One company wanted to bring free wireless to the entire nation just like ABC, NBC, etc provide free television to the nation. However the FCC rejected it as not in the public interest. Who would really want free internet access anywhere in the nation?
Sometimes Conveniences is a bad thing.And sometimes wolves will dress themselves in sheep clothings.
Citywide Wi-Fi isn’t dead yet
By Marguerite ReardonStaff Writer, CNET News.comPublished: September 25, 2007, 4:00 AM PDT
http://www.news.com/Citywide-Wi-Fi-isnt-dead-yet/2100-7351_3-6209837.html?tag=st.prev
Microsoft Renews Wireless White Spaces PushBy Roy MarkSeptember 21, 2007
Microsoft and Philips claim new testing shows no interference between unlicensed broadband use and television channels.
http://www.eweek.com/article2/0,1759,2186762,00.asp
I wonder if instead of city-wide just going for hotspots. For example Old Town, Water Front or WaterWalk? Then maybe business associations pay for it.
The only reason the Wichita WiFi project is dead is because of City Hall.
If the Wichita Wireless Network Consortium had been allowed to evaluate each proposal and the companies behind them fully without political influence, Wichita would be on its way to a city wide wireless network.
Ben, that type of situation makes allot of since.
It doesn’t make financial or practical since to put in a full city wide network for the public in Wichita.—–
Doug made a crucial point.
You want broadband? Your choice is 1)Your ONLY cable provider, or 2) Your ONLY DSL provider. If that.
The Telecommunications Act of ‘96 and the Fucc made this happen.
It didn’t HAVE to be this way.
Munipical wireless Internet is LONG overdue.
rage
there are also two major wireless companies in town and about a half dozen around town.
Thanx for the info, OW. The stock line: Toto, I’m not in Kansas anymore.
So I’ll shut up.
I have wireless internet (it’s smokin fast). I was fortunate enough to get in on the Beta phase with Sprint. After a few months, they announced that they weren’t going to pursue residential service, but everybody in the Beta group got to keep the service. I can’t imagine why it didn’t fly. It’s a little pricey, but the service is amazing.
Maybe the answer is to do the city-wide wireless and charge a small fee.
XXX,
Sprint recently started selling access to that wireless network again. Its very quite and you have to know who to call and how to get it, but you can get new service on their system.
The problem with the sprint system here is that they were giving away thousands of dollars worth of gear to get people to sign up. it cost them so much to get the people hooked up in town that they eventually had to stop because the program ran out of money. Than on top of that, Sprint started to divest its local wireline service (which the wireless Internet service was managed by) which caused the program to be stuck by the way side.
Recently they have managed to come into a bit more cash and now they are beginning to sell again, but very quietly. They are doing this so that they don’t have a repeat of what happened when they first hit the market.