Tempe, AZ To Provide Wireless Broadband 199
jangobongo writes "City officials of Tempe, Arizona are laying claim to being the first major metropolitan area in the United States to deploy citywide wireless Internet access. MobilePro Corp. and Strix Systems have been contracted to provide a mesh network covering the entire city, which is to be in place by late summer or early fall. Downtown Tempe and the Arizona State University will have free access available, while the rest of the city will be offered monthly subscriptions ($20 for dial-up speed and $30 to $40 for high-speed wireless). Local broadband suppliers have been quiet on this, unlike elsewhere."
They're quiet because.. (Score:5, Insightful)
Local Broadband Supplies Should Not Worry (Score:5, Insightful)
If I had a deal like that in my hometown, I would subscribe; however, I would not shut my home connection down by any means.
Let's face it, I have it pretty good: a static IP, a connection that never goes down, an ISP that filters all my mail and good support. Why would I cancel that? Wireless is nice to have, but doing it old school does not have to conflict with that.
I Don't See This as Something to Celebrate (Score:2, Insightful)
It's just not right to make everyone pay for something only some will use.
New cell for me (Score:3, Insightful)
Re:I Don't See This as Something to Celebrate (Score:5, Insightful)
Re:Steve down the street has open acccesspoint (Score:2, Insightful)
Chris
If most of the Internet is like trash... (Score:3, Insightful)
My village of about 60,000 includes trash pickup as a village service, paid by taxpayers. It's cheaper for them to contract it like that than each homeowner to do it on their own (I don't think businesses get a free ride here, so they're subsidizing my trash heap, most likely).
The only ones whining about these things are the service providers hoping to make more money off individuals.
And like trash, everybody, not just residents, benefits. Tourists like the trash they can find on the internet.
Re:I Don't See This as Something to Celebrate (Score:2, Insightful)
Re:I Don't See This as Something to Celebrate (Score:3, Insightful)
Re:They're quiet because.. (Score:2, Insightful)
Re:I Don't See This as Something to Celebrate (Score:2, Insightful)
Re:So many new opportunities (Score:3, Insightful)
Re:Steve down the street has open acccesspoint (Score:4, Insightful)
Re:Good Show (Score:3, Insightful)
I look at these apartment locators and house listing services, and think that people are missing a major business opportunity... partner up with some DSL provider (pick one) and mark each listing that you can get DSL at that house... new subscribers for the DSL and tech savvy people buying the house.
I still can't understand why slashdot thinks (Score:5, Insightful)
Face it, you are giving government control of the medium. You are giving them the power to censor the internet when they control it like this. You are already seeing the FEC trying to graple the internet for political speech (which the 1st ammendment is there to protect at its BASE!!!). Giving the government the power to distrubute connections is tantamount to giving them the rights to distribute newspapers and sell "spectrums" for TV/Radio stations to broadcast on (whcih they already do).
Look where the FCC has gone with its control over that medium, they have been cracking down on "questionable content" for a long time.
Be careful what you wish for.
Is it my imagination or what? (Score:3, Insightful)
One can circumvent that by lil' wardriving and getting it for free. 8.8 cents per mile for gasoline until an unsecured hotspot is detected.
YMMV.
Re:I Don't See This as Something to Celebrate (Score:3, Insightful)
It *doesn't* mean you get the right to make me pay for it.