Can Wi-Fi make it in Manhattan?

calidan · Dec 13, 2005, 03:13 AM

If Wi-Fi can make it in New York, it can make it anywhere.

New York City lawmakers are taking a long, hard look at using 802.11-based Wi-Fi or some other technology to get the city's roughly 8 million citizens access to broadband.

New York's interest in municipal broadband comes just as the citywide Wi-Fi buzz hits a fever pitch. Other cities, such as Philadelphia, New Orleans and San Francisco have already started down the Wi-Fi path, but if New York builds out its own Wi-Fi network, it will be the biggest deployment of municipal Wi-Fi in the country, and perhaps the world.

"It's likely not a question of 'if' but 'when'," said Craig Mathias, an analyst with Farpoint Group of Ashland, Mass. "Every major city is going to have some kind of citywide Wi-Fi access. It will become an expectation like electricity or telephone service. But New York is definitely a challenge from a technology perspective. You may not be able to get it in every nook and cranny."

At this point New York is still in the very early stages of planning its broadband strategy. While cities like Philadelphia, New Orleans and San Francisco are moving full steam ahead on their projects, New York is still just trying to get a commission together to look at the issue.

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Read More / Source: News.com

Dec 13, 2005, 03:13 AM	#1
calidan Frozen in Carbonite Join Date: Mar 2003 Location: Kansas City, MO Posts: 1,409 Rep Power: 0 System Specs	Can Wi-Fi make it in Manhattan? If Wi-Fi can make it in New York, it can make it anywhere. New York City lawmakers are taking a long, hard look at using 802.11-based Wi-Fi or some other technology to get the city's roughly 8 million citizens access to broadband. New York's interest in municipal broadband comes just as the citywide Wi-Fi buzz hits a fever pitch. Other cities, such as Philadelphia, New Orleans and San Francisco have already started down the Wi-Fi path, but if New York builds out its own Wi-Fi network, it will be the biggest deployment of municipal Wi-Fi in the country, and perhaps the world. "It's likely not a question of 'if' but 'when'," said Craig Mathias, an analyst with Farpoint Group of Ashland, Mass. "Every major city is going to have some kind of citywide Wi-Fi access. It will become an expectation like electricity or telephone service. But New York is definitely a challenge from a technology perspective. You may not be able to get it in every nook and cranny." At this point New York is still in the very early stages of planning its broadband strategy. While cities like Philadelphia, New Orleans and San Francisco are moving full steam ahead on their projects, New York is still just trying to get a commission together to look at the issue. ____________ Read More / Source: News.com __________________ Steam Community :: ID :: calidan "Don't try to be like Jackie. There is only one Jackie.... Study computers instead." - Jackie Chan