Hotzone How-To
A quick one.
If you’re thinking of setting up a local hotzone, a nice How-To: Set up a Wi-Fi Hotzone Using Meraki part 1 / part 2. Nice general overview, but could be a bit more in depth. (yes, we’ll need to write one ourselves.)
NSW Gov free wifi plan shot and buried
The city provides drinking fountains to quench our thirst.That still didn’t stop anyone from opening a cafe, bar, pub,… and make money out of it. The government provides (relatively) cheap public transport, and public roads.That didn’t stop anyone from providing a service of driving a car or a minibus and have people pay for that. So when will free, open Internet access be considered a part of the public service offered by (local) government? Well, it won’t be any time soon for Sydney and NSW unfortunately as the NSW Government decided to abandon any plans for a free wireless broadband network for the CBD areas in and around Sydney.
Eric Roozendaal said the Government had evaluated proposals from 15 providers keen to build the network but concluded it wasn’t practical based on technical and financial grounds.
From an SMH opinion piece:
This came almost a year after Mr Roozendaal said the Government was in the “final approval stage” of selecting a supplier to build the network, which would provide free internet access to anyone within range.
And apparently Unwired, which by the way has a business model of selling wireless broadband internet access, was happy to do it:
Unwired rejected Mr Roozendaal’s core justification that it would expose taxpayers to tens of millions of dollars in losses, saying its proposal would require next to no extra Government funding. Unwired’s chief executive, David Spence, said all the company required from the Government was access to building infrastructure such as rooftops.
Unwired already has more than 100 free wifi hot spots dotted across Sydney - running under the uConnect brand - and would use this existing infrastructure while funding it by advertising. The uConnect hotspots are only available between 5am and 7pm though. Another initiative similar to uConnect is CafeScreen, a wireless billboard system which also offers free wifi at independent cafes. As CafeScreen puts it:
Cafés are the new meeting rooms, living rooms, study spaces, and as such have become a natural point in which to expect WiFi Internet access outside the home and workplace.
So businesses do see value in providing free wifi. The New York Times has a nice article on the business of free/paid wifi.
Some people though don’t “see” it just yet, probably the same people who didn’t see a use for mobile phones either. It certainly is debatable if any and how much taxpayers money should be spend on free internet access. But pointing to overseas failed projects, which often were too ambitious or where bureaucracy made anything impossible, and then decide to quite the whole project, not even trial in a single CBD? That displays an obvious lack of vision. A vision of a modern, interconnected city which has to compete with not only world cities like New York and London, but also closer with Singapore, Hong Kong, Shanghai for business, tourism and innovation.
And with the US as an example, for failed projects according to the NSW government, Wired has a nice overview:
Dozens of lower-profile locales are launching government-sponsored networks. Most are smaller cities and counties, where bureaucracies are less onerous and costs are lower.
Do check out the map, or download the pdf from the print article! They are not all free, sometimes requiring a small monthly fee.
Anyway, we’ll keep on going grassroots style, promoting the bottom-up approach (”Share your wifi!”), from the outside in, from suburb to CBD. At one point in time government might catch up, business might jump on board (even more) and we all meet up.
Again, can you imagine your world without the Internet? I can’t. I wouldn’t be in Sydney if it wasn’t for the Internet. It changed so much, touching everyone every day, in ways you probably don’t even know. I won’t iterate what it means to me, but just imagine what it could mean to have Internet access everywhere, for free. But we don’t know what we don’t know. Innovation happens in the strangest places. But it might not be Sydney (for now).
(edit) More success stories…
Free WiFi in Estonia :
And the whole effort has been and still is driven largely by just one man: Veljo Haamer, a technology geek who conceived this dream of wiring - or rather unwiring — his country about 6 years ago. “I realized way back in 2002 that, for Estonia, the Internet could be just like electricity,” says Haamer, who along with a group of volunteers, created a non-profit association WiFi.ee. He started being a technology evangelist and started promoting free access to the Internet as a human right. “I took upon myself the task of convincing everyone I could that the benefits of Internet are enormous.”
Or BBC’s Tiny Estonia leads Internet revolution.
Boston launches Wi-Fi pilot; at least they launch a project.
And Boston Banks on Non-profit Model
While many in the muni Wi-Fi world are skeptical about a non-profit model, Boston is soldiering on in its attempt to “bridge the digital divide” by offering free or low-cost Wi-Fi to its residents using donated funds and equipment.
Singapore’s Wireless@SG:
Wireless@SG is a wireless broadband programme developed by IDA as part of its NextGeneration National Infocomm Infrastructure initiative. It will be run and developed in the next two years by three local wireless operators who will deploy a wireless broadband network in Singapore. Users can enjoy free, both in-door and outdoor seamless wireless broadband access with speeds of up to 512kbps at most public areas.
Closer to home, myKP:
at myKP we recognise that our local communities are our future and we are using the internet to stimulate economic and social growth in these communities. myKP are working with local governments and businesses to improve the general climate of our local communities with economic growth and create a positive environment for users.
myKP provides free wireless internet access in community centres, with a focus on providing users an opportunity to conveniently access the internet free of charge in their local community hotspots. in addition this provides local businesses the opportunity to take advantage of inexpensive online advertising that will help attract new customers to their business.
Lane Cove ALIVE signs with myKP to provide the Lane Cove Village area free wi-fi.
Pittwater Council signs with myKP to provide the Newport Village area free wi-fi.
Gilgandra Shire Council signs with myKP to provide Gilgandra’s Central Business District free wi-fi.
Another free Wifi project to keep an eye on, Hong Kong:
Government Wi-Fi Programme (GovWiFi) is one of the major initiatives under the 2008 Digital 21 Strategy to build Hong Kong into a wireless city. The Programme aims to provide free wireless Internet access services to all citizens by installing Wi-Fi (IEEE 802.11 b/g) facilities at designated government premises.
We are progressively installing Wi-Fi facilities starting from early 2008 to mid 2009 at about 350 government premises in different districts. These premises include public libraries, Public Enquiry Service Centres, sports centres, cultural and recreational centres, job centres, community halls, large parks and Government joint-user buildings.
Meraki’s Chattanooga Airport Case Study
Again we’re not promoting Meraki explicitly, but they do make a great point. A local airport supporting 10000+ users in the first couple of months, with 5 Merakis, installed by a third party, for 1100 USD.
Read a comprehensive review of the Meraki hardware over at Practically Networked.
Free Australia Wireless at BarCamp
BarCamp Sydney v3 has passed again. We set up a wireless network for attendees to use. With the Internet connection handled by UNSW, so plenty of bandwidth, we set up two gateway nodes and one repeater (one Outdoor and two Mini’s). Of course, we could easily manage the splashpage with a BarCamp welcome, as well as have BarCamp and Free Australia Wireless text banners.
The Meraki’s handled traffic pretty good, with people playing WoW, watching youTube, surfing, demoing,… with the Meraki’s handling about 50 users and transferring 1.8 Gb over each day.
You can clearly see when lunch was on…
We talked to lots of people, mostly in the hallway, and in our presentation on Saturday we focused on the Meraki Dashboard and its settings. We also had a group discussion on developing meshing software for mobile devices or laptops. And then there was even a presentation on how, with the help of a couple of Merakis, a student circumvented his school’s net censorship… Some people signed up for a group buy (we’ll get back to you soon!).
Sunday afternoon, we had a Meraki Mini to give away to the attendees.
Wireless World Day 2
Another great day at Wireless World. More positive feedback, support and best wishes - which was really encouraging. Mark Pesce gave a presentation titled “Everywhere” at the main speaking slot at the Wireless and Mobility Summit.
Lots of people were interested in being involved in the project with some even committing to participate in the next hardware bulk buy. We also gained some valuable contacts with vendors, organisations and government bodies which we will be looking for opportunities to work with in the future.
Wireless World Day 1
Day 1 at the Wireless World expo was quite successful. Lots of positive feedback (nearly non negative), and great industry contacts. Read Nat’s write-up:
“Really good day, got lots of people interested in the project and got a chance to hone our project spiel and a better idea of which points to emphasise or explain in more detail or in different ways.“
Big thanks to Nat for driving up to Sydney from Canberra in the morning (4 hours!), and back again in the evening! And big thanks also to Alison to show up and help out (on her free day, and with beautiful weather outside). Sometimes the two of us just wasn’t enough to handle all people at the booth.
Meet us at Wireless World and BarCamp next week
Come say hi at booth 65 of the Wireless World 2008 expo in Darling Harbour this week Wednesday and Thursday. The expo is free to attend, though you do need to register at entry. Heckle us with your questions, get touchy-feely with a Meraki up-close (oooh), or just say hi!
“Now into its fifth year and still experiencing unprecedented growth, Wireless World has become the region’s biggest dedicated end-user, solutions-focused event.
The event brings together mobile workers and wireless enterprises and provides them with an effective way to research the industry and then choose the best fit technologies, solutions and suppliers for their organisations.
In short, Wireless World is all about the integration and convergence of wireless, mobile, RF and IP solutions and how this can be applied to improve the way we all communicate and do business.”
I know most of us need to work during the week, so meet us next weekend Saturday and Sunday at BarCamp Sydney v3! Free again!
NO SPECTATORS, ONLY PARTICIPANTS
BarCamp Sydney April 5 & 6, a whole weekend!
When you come, be prepared to share with BarCampers.
When you leave, be prepared to share it with the world.
BarCamp is an ad-hoc unconference born from the desire for people to share and learn in an open environment.
It is an intense event with discussions, demos and interaction from attendees.
Anyone with something to contribute or with the desire to learn is welcome and invited to participate.What’s Next?
Sign up on the wiki, check out the blog, tell all your friends, prepare your presentation, ask your company if they’re interested in sponsoring…
Free Google access on FON
You can now access Gmail, Google Maps and other Google services for free whenever you’re around a Fonera (a FON access point). Usually access to a Fonera is only free when you offer a Fonera at home yourself. You get a 15 minute slot for free, but afterwards you’ll need to pay up:
“Another great way of promoting FON and our shareholders is to allow all of our users to have free access to Google products, like Google Maps, news, search, and now Gmail. We’ve learned that when people get to try FON they are more likely to buy a FON pass or become a Fonero by purchasing a Fonera and sharing at home so they can roam for free.”
I wonder if this is officially endorsed by Google, or if FON is just riding on the back of Google’s success. Google wouldn’t mind of course, as they get more eyes on their ads.
Read the newsletter at FON.
According to their newsletter, there are 760.000 Foneros, worldwide. Unfortunately, they don’t offer their products for sale in Australia (yet). I wonder why that is.
Gets you thinking (me at least) on how different FON and Meraki are, and what Google expects out of their investment in Meraki.
Houston mayor plans 10 ‘bubbles’ of free WiFi
Houston to get 10 ‘bubbles’ of free WiFi | Chron.com - Houston Chronicle
On Monday, Mayor Bill White announced the city will use about $3.5 million [...] to build 10 free wireless network “bubbles” in low-income parts of Houston to give residents access they otherwise might do without.The long-term possibility, White said, is that the bubbles could be connected and the areas between them added to the network, providing WiFi access across the city [...] In addition to installing Internet service, the city is working with
social service groups to provide computer access and training for
users. Each bubble will include about 15 public access points at
schools, city facilities and community organizations within the area.
Customers want free wifi
Starbucks (US) has set up a social networking site where customers can sign up and share their Starbucks experience, fire off new idea’s and have people vote on them. Current number one is “All stores free wifi”. As some customers comment:
“I purposely go to a cafe in my home town that offers free wi-fi. I drive by 3 Starbucks on the way there and pay 50 cents more for the mocha for the free wi-fi.”
As an added bonus, the coffee may probably be better too… Read more over at Computer World.
If I think of all the small, independent coffee shops around town, you could form a really big mesh of free wifi in the CBD.