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Citywide Wi-Fi
Newton looks to become first wireless city in Massachusetts
Officials in Newton are looking into blanketing the city's 18.5 square miles with wireless Internet transmitters, this would be the first city of its kind in Massachusetts, and one of several places in the nation to offer the service on such a wide scale. The plan would involve mounting routers on telephone poles throughout the city, this would allow users within 100 yards of any router to be able to access the Internet using a password. The city plans to charge about $10 per month to use the service, which could begin to be available in as early as six months.
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dadkins
Can you do Blu?
MVM
join:2003-09-26
Hercules, CA

dadkins

MVM

Wi-Fi is here people!

I can't wait until we are ALL un-wired!

Optimized
MVM,
join:2001-05-03
Ringwood, NJ

1 recommendation

Optimized

MVM,

Re: Wi-Fi is here people!

said by dadkins:

I can't wait until we are ALL un-wired!
Amen

That will be nice ...

John Galt6
Forward, March
Premium Member
join:2004-09-30
Happy Camp

1 edit

John Galt6 to dadkins

Premium Member

to dadkins

Pie In The Sky

Read the article...

It seems like the ONLY person that knows anything about this is the guy proposing the service. Everyone else is going 'WTF....?' HIS phone is going to be busy for the next week or so.

These 'city-wide' ideas just won't work...given the technology of today. The throughput will end up being zero.



There are only REALLY 3 channels available at 2.4 GHz...what about all the 2.4 phones out there? Is someone going to have to turn off their phone because THEY are interfering with 'municipal services'??

IF cities are interested in doing this, they should concentrate on providing REAL service where people will use it, not try and provide service for every squirrel in town.

Nerdtalker
Working Hard, Or Hardly Working?
MVM
join:2003-02-18
San Jose, CA

Nerdtalker

MVM

Re: Pie In The Sky

said by John Galt6:

These 'city-wide' ideas just won't work...given the technology of today. The throughput will end up being zero.

There are only REALLY 3 channels available at 2.4 GHz...what about all the 2.4 phones out there? Is someone going to have to turn off their phone because THEY are interfering with 'municipal services'??
Good point. I'm still not sure why all these cities are so eager to install wifi for everybody.

Is this going to be encrypted using WPA or even WEP? Probably not. The city will be setting everybody up for a heck of a mess with this.

Why pay for some mediocre municipal service when you can probably find some person with their AP wide open anyways?

John Galt6
Forward, March
Premium Member
join:2004-09-30
Happy Camp

John Galt6

Premium Member

Re: Pie In The Sky

I'm still not sure why all these cities are so eager to install wifi for everybody.
It's because it's this weeks 'buzzword'...everyone has 'heard about Wi-Fi' but nobody really knows anything about it. But it SOUNDS so 'cool'. Just say it a few times..."Wi-Fi, Wi-Fi.."...! Just ROLLS off your tongue!



People like to think that Government is going to give them something for free...no matter WHAT is costs. As long as they get theirs...!

The guy who proposed this is probably running for re-election...gotta do something to get the 'Techno-vote', ya know!

sherpaboy
join:2001-07-06
Seattle, WA

sherpaboy to dadkins

Member

to dadkins

Re: Wi-Fi is here people!

Nerdtalker and John Galt,

Thankyou for some rational posts.

I find the growing dependency on government in this country very scary.
shashinka9
join:2000-09-16
West Boylston, MA

shashinka9

Member

Newton, MA wireless for $10 a month

that sounds great! I wish worcester would do that.

kennydillon
Premium Member
join:2002-06-09
Goddard, KS

1 edit

kennydillon

Premium Member

I wonder...

I wonder how fast this would be. Could not be all that fast but broadband at 10.00 a month would not be bad. How long before this is available in every city?

KENNY DILLON

linicx
Caveat Emptor
Premium Member
join:2002-12-03
United State

linicx

Premium Member

I thought I heard ...

I think Fox news, or maybe it was CNN announced PHilli was doing it for free.

Optimized
MVM,
join:2001-05-03
Ringwood, NJ

1 recommendation

Optimized

MVM,

Re: I thought I heard ...

said by linicx:

I think Fox news, or maybe it was CNN announced PHilli was doing it for free.
BBR Story from last month »Wi-Fi Cities
Check out the link at the end Philadelphia citywide Wi-Fi at 50% off

I'm sure there are other stories out there as well ... free is good
sherpaboy
join:2001-07-06
Seattle, WA

sherpaboy

Member

Re: I thought I heard ...

quote:
Free is good.

Would that include the services you sell to your current employer?
Anarchocap
join:2004-02-29
Phoenix, AZ

Anarchocap to Optimized

Member

to Optimized
Nothing is free. Tax dollars are going to fund this. You ARE paying it and either they are raising taxes to do so, or taking from other budgets to create the infrastructure. If the city has extra money to do this crap, please, freaking refund my cash please. I'm out.

Transmaster
Don't Blame Me I Voted For Bill and Opus
join:2001-06-20
Cheyenne, WY

Transmaster

Member

hear the Hammers

Another nail in the Coffin of BPL. It will be easy for a Wi-Fi network to beat it in, cost of installation, performance, and utility.

blargh0
join:2001-02-20
West Newton, MA

blargh0

Member

hoorah

yay! I live in Newton

too bad RCN's just running dandy for me

P Ness
You'Ve Forgotten 9-11 Already
Premium Member
join:2001-08-29
way way out

P Ness

Premium Member

Re: hoorah

so i guess everyone in MA is fed, have homes and jobs?

when will these govt sponsered hot spots just stop. there are so many additional problems that we should not have our tax dollars spend on WiFi...
dave
Premium Member
join:2000-05-04
not in ohio

1 recommendation

dave

Premium Member

Re: hoorah

said by P Ness:

so i guess everyone in MA is fed, have homes and jobs?
In Newton, they probably are. And as far as I can tell from the article, it's Newton's money that's being spent, not MA's.
when will these govt sponsered hot spots just stop. there are so many additional problems that we should not have our tax dollars spend on WiFi...
It's not 'your' tax dollars, it's the citizens of Newton's tax dollars.

I have no specific opinion on whether this makes sense for the town. I look upon it as something like the provision of a lbrary, say: something that improves the quality of life for those of the residents who care to take advantage of it.

Do the taxpayers of Newton want to spend their own money on a municipal WiFi network? That's for them to say (I'm assuming the townspeople of Newton have input into their own budget - in my town we'd certainly vote directly on a line item like that).

That's democracy for you.
VirtualLarry
Premium Member
join:2003-08-01

1 edit

VirtualLarry to P Ness

Premium Member

to P Ness
said by P Ness:
so i guess everyone in MA is fed, have homes and jobs?
Dunno, ask the brazilians that live usually in a 4-to-1 occupancy overcrowding ratio in apts. in downtown Fram. Or the people that have to stay in the homeless shelter. So I guess not. Although in Newton, I don't think there are any homeless. Anyone that looked like they were, would probably get mysteriously "disappeared" during the night, so that the property values wouldn't drop.
said by P Ness:
when will these govt sponsered hot spots just stop. there are so many additional problems that we should not have our tax dollars spend on WiFi...
Is this one really gov't sponsored, or "community wireless"? There is a difference, however slight. I was reading some time ago about a community wireless project getting started in Newton, it sounded quite interesting. I wonder if this is the same project, or something different? Either way, Newtonites have more than enough money, either to chip in towards community wireless, or to each order their own broadband. I wonder how much coverage it could have, though, because of the numerous hills and foliage. Or will it be restricted to downtown-only? (Benefiting the businesses located their, and their customers, primarily.)

I don't have any problem with it; it sounds like a neat idea for me. Indeed, it could somewhat re-vitalize the "downtown" area of many small towns in the US, by providing free wifi, and getting people to congregate and take advantage of it. How ironic that WalMart is getting interested in providing Wi-Max services, seeing as how they are probably one of the largest destroyers of "small downtown atmosphere" in this country.

John Galt6
Forward, March
Premium Member
join:2004-09-30
Happy Camp

John Galt6

Premium Member

Re: hoorah

That might work out...they could order from Amazon.com and not have to drive all the way to Wal-mart.


blargh0
join:2001-02-20
West Newton, MA

blargh0 to P Ness

Member

to P Ness
If you happen to take a drive around Newton, you'd notice that they are more than enough who are adequately fed...

It's a good thing to see spending coming around to benefit those who are actually paying most of the taxes instead of it falling into a blackhole that tries to solve the irreparable problems of society.

keyboard5684
Sam
join:2001-08-01
Pittsburgh, PA

keyboard5684

Member

Spectrum

There is just something about thousands using "WI-FI" throughout an 18.5 square mile area. WI-FI can be propagated and work with one access point for about 1-2 miles. This also means that the radio waves can propagate much further (the internet may be usable in 1 mile).

So with thousands of people transmitting it seems that the service would end up being crap eventually. With experience with WI-FI networks this is just a bad plan. WI-FI was never meant to be used large scale and never meant to be used outside.

It can be done, it will work at first, but what happens at 7pm on a Monday, its raining, and there is little more to do but pull out the laptop. The network simply will no longer function. With the RF spectrum (WI-FI is spread spectrum so it uses so much and scatters it) so used up the problems will be huge.

I have seen offices that take down there neighbors network because they were on the same channel, imagine what hundreds of access points, 2.4ghz phone, microwaves, and internal lan access points all operating in 18.5 square miles will end up looking like.