Broadband Wireless Internet Access (BWIA) / WiMAX Stories

World's Largest Wi-Fi Having Growing Pains

From SFGate / San Francisco Chronicle - www.sfgate.com

Taipei's system began 15 months ago, but subscriptions have fallen far short of what city, contractor had expected

Ryan Kim, Chronicle Staff Writer

(04-09) 04:00 PDT Taipei -- Since it began 15 months ago, this city's Wi-Fi system has grown rapidly to become the world's largest, with more than 4,200 antennas and counting. The response of the populace, though, has fallen short of expectations.

The city has struggled to get subscribers to sign up for the service called WIFLY due to some perceived performance issues, competition from free hotspots and a lack of applications.

So far, about 30,000 people are using the system on a consistent basis, well short of original estimates.

Taipei's pioneering experience has implications for cities in the United States that are pursuing similar networks. It is especially relevant in the Bay Area, where many small networks are running and others are planned. Taipei's network is also instructive because of the similarities between the two regions in urban density and an abundance of free hotspots, both potential problems for paid Wi-Fi systems.

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Full story at:
http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?file=/c/a/2007/04/09/BUGK8P4DCO1.DTL&type=tech

(Lead for this story from Dewayne Hendricks posting to the Dewayne-net mailing list.)

Muni Wi-Fi Powers Hope at San Francisco Housing Project

From Wired.com - www.wired.com

Sarah Lai Stirland
04.04.07 | 2:00 AM

SAN FRANCISCO -- The Westside Courts is a bleak concrete housing project in the city's Western Addition where violence is closer than a high-speed net connection, and one resident's first steps online include plans to create a memorial for the people who've died here.

Last month, volunteers turned on a novel broadband network in this 135-unit block, throwing a digital lifeline to Emma Casey and other tenants. Using a refurbished PC she picked up for $100, the 47-year-old mother of two adult children is now going online to help her son find a job, get health information and, she says, pay tribute to neighbors who've met with violent or untimely deaths.

"I want to get more literate," says Casey, who receives disability payments, and subsists on just over $1,000 a month. "I see other people working on computers, and little kids pecking on the things, and I thought to myself: 'I've got to learn.'"

Academic debates about the reality and cost of the so-called digital divide -- and the ability of individuals to fight economic disadvantage with nothing more than a computer and an IP address -- seem to crumble in a place like this. Like water and heat, internet is a clear necessity in the modern world, opening doors to education, employment and engagement.

Until now, Casey and her neighbors have endured spotty access to computers and the internet at a local community center a few blocks away. Time on the communal PCs is limited, and many residents of Westside Courts fear working on computers in an open environment in the neighborhood because of the ever-present threat of random violence.

Full story at:
http://www.wired.com/politics/onlinerights/news/2007/04/wifiproject_0403

(Lead for this story from Randy Burge / Dewayne Hendricks posting to the Dewayne-net mailing list.)