I think it's ridiculous to say it's a human right to have internet access. But I think it's cool they're doing it. From what he says, it won't cost the city. I would expect that the providers will foot the bill for it, but I don't know how they will recoup their costs.

I wouldn't be doing anything secure over their network, that's for sure. Wireless networks do get cracked.

Your speed will be dictated by what they use to connect the wireless network to the internet. It is HIGHLY unlikely that you will see 11Mbps throughput to your laptop from the internet - and that's if they use 802.11b access points. They will most likely use 802.11g access points - which run at 55Mbps. You will still see nowhere near that kind of throughput, but it will certainly be faster than dialup.

 

It shouldn't be a human rights issue for those who can't afford the internet.

Internet access is a privilage, not a necessity, just like driving. IMHO

Every municipality tries to raise taxes; even in Va.

 

andym, they'll find a way to recoup the cost somehow.

Higher fees, maybe even some sort of government tax break, who knows.

Maybe we have to keep up or ahead with the rest of the world, or we'll lag behind, if that makes sense.

 

It's becoming a human rights and education issue. More libraries are getting their texts scanned and on-line, and there's a plan to produce a $100 laptop so every student will have one.

 

It's definitely a smaller world thanks to the internet.

 

From the San Francisco Examiner:
"Every San Franciscan could have access to free wireless Internet service in as little as six months and the service would cost taxpayers little or nothing, Mayor Gavin Newsom said Monday"

*Dr Evil voice* Riiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiggggggggggghhh hhhhhhht.
*end voice*

I'll believes it when I sees it.

Also, won't access speed also be affected by the number of users?

 

I'll believe it when I see it to. I'm not going to hold my breath on this one.

I'll bet our stupidvisors won't want this because it was the mayors idea/plan, and they don't really get along.

Politics; go figure.

 

Glad to hear SF is catching up to other progressive, hi-tech metro areas. Like Sandy, Oregon, for example.

edit: this is really no joke. In 1999, we had friends that lived across the street from Central Park in NYC. They had neither cable nor DSL access yet, and couldn't believe that we did...in Boring, Or.

 

We're progressive? Dam.

Now I'm really depressed.

 

It's important to move past the limitations of 802.11. This standard served it's purpose by allowing just about anyone with the technical "know how" to to rig up an access point and do the internet thing, because the 2.4 GHz freq is basically free.

Google, or any other company with piles of money can easily recoup on something like this. Especially in SF. From a wireless standpoint, the city is surrounded by hills with towers on them. Perfect for wireless. (Do a little research on 802.16e, you'll be suprised on what little you need to get coverage.)

There are existing WiFi companies that service the outer areas, that could buy wholesale bandwidth on Googles system. These smaller companies better jump at the chance, because with the 802.16 standard, these citizens of SF will see speeds of probably 300Kbps - for free. (Do a few realistic ping checks on your cable access during a high load time and see what you have.)

By having the main infrastucture in key locations, sitting on fiber, it's not that hard to add equipment to keep up with load. You see slowdown on cable because of bandwidth limits on the cable going through your neighborhood. This will be wireless and works off not only different channels, but both phase and frequency shift - at the same time.

How are they going to make money? Basically, the same way they do now. If you want faster speed, (1.5Mbps is easy with 802.16), you pay more. If you have a company that uses enough workstations that usually shows a need for multiple T-1s, they pay. No more miles of cable. Many cities own the land where the big towers are and where they have the city water tanks. When, like say, cellular companies locate on those areas, they pay money to the city for lease. Whether the city throws this cash in a "special fund" or gives it back to the taxpayers in the form of free internet is up to you.

The question I have is who is going to pay for the wireless modem everyone will need to hook up? The private providers will probably still be on the old 802.11 system, but the new system will take a new modem. I guess I'd buy a $100 - $200 modem for free internet.

But really, the big moneymaker is speculation. Once they have the WiMax 802.16 fixed system in place, it won't take much to move to the next step to 802.16e - mobile internet. This won't only mean taking your notebook and PDA anywhere you want, but means Google will be able to offer phone service, then the sky is the limit. Imagine the possibilities of this thing. Not just for the little web surfer, but for business.

Whoever jumps on this first stands to make a little cash. San Fransisco supplies the land and the customer base, Sprint and Nextel supply the Freq. and backbone, Google supplies the cash, promotion and organization - not a big deal.

 

I wonder if the other internet service providers will lower their rates.

 

Instead of lower rates, they would probably have speed upgrade deals. Googles counting on being kind of a subcontractor for the local ISPs. It's going to be interesting to see if the other cities follow suit, if SF does this. You're a major market down there. Hope it's a go for you..

 

They will, kinda. They still want to get X amount of dollars out of you every billing period. They'll just throw something in keep you around. It's like when I called a famous pizza chain, they wanted pretty much the same amount of money if I bought one pizza or four, they just wanted my 20 bucks.

 

Do you guys know what WiMax ISP's there is....besides Clearwire?

 

Here's a link to this wi-fi subject.

Apparently, it's growing to other cities.

I'll have to read this artical.

http://news.yahoo.com/s/usatoday/200...tywifinetworks