NPR’s Joshua Levs reports (ram) the University of Georgia is creating a 24-block wireless zone. The totally “free” cloud covers all of downtown, Athens, Ga. It’s also providing a chance for university students to dream up brand new uses for wireless technology.
Scott Shamp, director of the New Media Institute (FAQ), is creating “ a slow-building coalition dedicated to making cool things happen” with the Wireless Athens Group.
The NMI developed a device called the 3GBox. The 3GBox connects to the “WAGZone” using 802.11b and BlueTooth. It also communicates with central head-end servers using the higher bandwidth 802.11a technology. With this equipment, individuals should have connection speeds of at least 2MB/sec: enough to handle broadband audio and video content. The 3GBoxes utilize commodity technology although they plan on evolving the WAGZone to include emerging wireless technologies as they become available.
The Athens-Clarke County government has signed a letter of agreement allowing them to use utility poles throughout downtown Athens. 3GBoxes will be mounted on these poles providing connectivity throughout downtown.
WAGZone Sponsors have the opportunity to be associated with a progressive and innovative project, have branding opportunities in WAGZone materialsand are free to publicize and promote their involvement in the WAGZone project. Equipment sponsors will be able to perform product testing and market research with WAGZone resources.
According to Shamp, the Athens project will cost under $75,000. “We joke that this is not state of the art. It is state of the Wal-Mart. It shows that the technology is ready to be used,” he said.
Athens and Clarke County have donated space on light poles throughout Athens for access points, as well as power to run them. Most of the equipment used is low-cost, commercially available 802.11b and 802.11a equipment offered by vendors such as LinkSys.
Athens joins a number of other cities that offer the public wireless online access — sometimes free — in specific areas of town. Rob Flickenger explains the fundamentals of setting up a Broadband Block Party. Other municipalities with wireless access to the Internet including “free nets” from:
- Jacksonville’s “WIZ”
- Pittsburgh Wireless
- Ashland, Ore.
- New York’s Bryant Park by NYC Wireless
- PersonalTelco’s Free Nodes
Other networks require fees.
Auckland’s RoamAD. “RoamAD’s star-grid topology provides redundancy of overlapping signals. RoamAD’s technology goes way beyond hotspots. The central business district of Auckland, New Zealand, an area of three square kilometers, is now one giant hotspot.
The City of St. John’s is undergoing a wireless makeover equipping over 100 civic workers with handheld devices. Their Citizen Service from EVER America provides intergovernmental collaboration for disaster management.
Singapore Telecommunications (SingTel) has the biggest. It will cover most of Singapore. More than 300,000 SingNet users and more than a million Mobile customers will be able to access WiFi at zones marked with a SingTel ‘Wireless Surf Zone’ in the central business district, suburbs, Starbucks cafes, Burger King outlets, Shangri-La Hotel, country clubs and among other places. There is no monthly subscription fee but customers are charged $0.11 per minute.
