Posted on 11/30/2005 8:36:12 PM PST by nickcarraway
Tempe, Ariz., moved ahead this week with plans to become the first U.S. city to offer wireless communications across its entire community with a network called WAZTempe. The 40-square-mile city is working in a partnership with NeoReach Wireless and Cox Communications to complete a wireless infrastructure by February 2006. The Tempe network will be available to residents, university students, visitors and businesses, as well as to first responders and city workers who take advantage of real-time video surveillance over the network, according to a statement. Handheld devices using Session Initiation Protocol and Wi-Fi-enabled phones will also be supported.
The network will have about 400 antenna and radio units located on streetlights and buildings.
About 300 U.S. cities of various sizes have public Wi-Fi deployments planned, under way or already in place, usually in heavily populated or downtown areas, said Zeus Kerravala, an analyst at Yankee Group Research Inc. in Boston. Generally, the municipalities charge a fee for service.
In another sign that wireless technology is gaining popularity, the WiFi Alliance on Monday announced that annual sales of Wi-Fi chip sets for 2005 have already passed the 100 million mark, and are on their way to the 120 million mark for all of 2005.
The alliance, based in Austin, said it has certified more than 2,200 products with Wi-Fi chip sets since 2000. It put the annual growth rate of chip sales at 64%.
"WiFi has truly come of age," Frank Hanzlik, managing director of the WiFi Alliance, said in a statement. He noted that more than 90% of notebook computers being sold are now Wi-Fi-enabled, meaning they adhere to one of several versions of 802.11 standards for wireless networking.
Despite the apparent popularity of Wi-Fi, Kerravala sees competition from other technology. "I still think EVDO [Evolution Data Only/Evolution Data Optimized] is the future," he said.
Kerravala explained that EVDO, a 3G wireless broadband cellular mode, gives users the advantage of working with one carrier, over one network with access from virtually anywhere.
Some business users have objected to the need to find public Wi-Fi hot spots to make connections, which vary from place to place. However, IT officials in major cities have pushed public Wi-Fi as a way for users, including residential and business taxpayers, to stay better connected and to bolster a city's emergency response and administrative networks.
Gartner Inc. estimates there are now more than 60,000 hotels, airports and other locations offering Wi-Fi hot spots around the globe.
The mayor lives close by. Maybe I can cut a deal with him.
If "first responders" are going to rely on wireless networks for mission-critical tasks then Tempe residents are in for a world of hurt.
I was in a McDonald's today in Nashua, NH which offered to get me on the internet via WiFi as cheap as $2.95.
I'm a cheap bastard and will never pay to connect. The restaurant is just down the hill from a large apartment complex and guess what happened when I enabled WiFi on my PDA sitting in my car in the parking lot with my Filet O' Fish?
Everyone needs to change their default Linksys password, or whatever, and enable WEP. I find unprotected WiFi networks all the time. It's way too easy and I'm not even a geek.
Hey! Please don't tell people about their "unsecured" networks, I, too find it very convenient to use other people's wi-fi when I travel- Shshshshshshshs...
I still like this:
PRINCETON, Ill. -- Starting in December this town of 7,500 will begin offering high-speed Internet service over the electrical lines that power the city.
It is among a handful of communities nationwide to plunge into a new technology called broadband over power lines, or BPL, that competes with Internet connections provided by telephone and cable TV operators. Combined with wireless technologies, broadband service delivered over power lines--and perhaps one day even through natural gas pipelines--raises the likelihood that going online anywhere at any time for very low cost will soon be a reality.
Does anyone here know if it's possible to set up a WiFi network such that anyone who logs in is forced to start at a specific URL as their homepage for that session?
If you could do that, then you could make a custom homepage ("Welcome to JennyNet!"), open up your WiFi network, and put up a PayPal donation box & see if you get any tip activity for your trouble. If you're in an apartment, or if you live next door to a Starbucks, it might even pay for itself.
Yeah. *snicker* Enable WEP. *snort* You'll be secure! No...really! *LOL*
http://wepcrack.sourceforge.net/
http://airsnort.shmoo.com/
http://www.cr0.net:8040/code/network/aircrack/
Give me fiber or decent copper any day of the week. Wireless is a last resort technology.
I have been thinking about getting the USB wireless system for my old laptop. Has anyone used this sytem?
Why not? I did!
I have a linksys Wireless G USB Network Adapter....works great.
Well, we're behind the times, using hard-wired Ethernet to link the home computers together... but when my wife activates the wireless feature of her hand-held, an intriguing "Network Debbie" pops up on the screen.
Haven't done anything with it... yet. But I'm kind of tempted to see if we could "Do Debbie..."
"Debbie Does Data."
In other words, the City of Tempe and Cox are conspiring in anticompetitive practices against QWEST and other internet providers.
City of Tempe should should focus on not eviscerating it's citizens civil rights before worrying about free wifi.
http://www.geocities.com/SiliconValley/Hills/9579/gun_grabbers.html
"I have three neighbors all on broadband using unsecured 108Mbps 802.11g access points. I'm starting to think I can drop my own broadband service and just use theirs."
It's trivial to find the location of a station connected to a wifi network.
You could use something like Kismet on unix or Netstumbler on windows and just walk in the direction that makes the signal stronger.
And don't forget your Pringles cantenna! ;o)
I've found Trader Joe's coffee cans work in a pinch, too. (I recommend the Kauai, myself.)
" And don't forget your Pringles cantenna! ;o)"
I actually have a specially built yagi that does 14 dbi gain and mounts on a camera tripod H:-D
I've been able to hit wifi network and connect to them from over a mile with a clear line of sight, like on the top floor of a parking garage and across a freeway. You can still find the client though, because it's directional in a cone type shape. It's just harder than if you're finding an omnidirectional antenna. (i have those, too)
Here's one of my favorites omnidirectional antennas
http://www.senao-us.com/oscommerce/product_info.php?products_id=101&osCsid=5041c5cd55a123c11432a0cbaceeeae4
(the H is a geeky properller beanie)
Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.