On Fri, 1 Aug 2003, Lance Murdoch wrote:
>
> On Fri, 1 Aug 2003, Westrich, James wrote:
>
> > http://www.theregister.co.uk/content/69/32116.html
> > I owned a Wi-Fi PDA (alas it was stolen recently while on the subway)
> > and was surprised at how few free/easy hotspots there are. Most
> > shocking was my trip to Seattle at the end of May (great town, but not
> > much non Starbucks Wi-Fi--it was easier to find a good free/cheap
> > wired cafe than wireless). I found Wi-Fi in airports to be nearly
> > useless even in Boston, Seattle, and Chicago.
>
> Why is this surprising? Public Wi-Fi poses a direct threat to the cable
> companies and telephone companies.
speakeasy gets it:
http://wifinetnews.com/archives/001395.html
Speakeasy Networks offers its DSL customers Wi-Fi package for explicit sharing (follow link to new customer signup): Speakeasy Networks is offering a free SMC Networks 802.11a or 802.11b access point to new DSL and T-1 subscribers. Speakeasy is a national DSL/digital line provider, which in the spirit of full disclosure is my home and work DSL provider. Some telephone companies have offered limited discounts or promotions for equipment from Linksys and other vendors, but this is the first free promotion I've heard of.
There's a quote in the press release, which I normally shy away from including, but is quite explicit in its authorization of community and neighborhood networking. "Unlike traditional ISPs, which either prohibit wireless networking entirely or grudgingly allow it but saddle customers with extra fees, Speakeasy is encouraging unfettered access. Speakeasy users can extend their broadband connections wirelessly -- to additional computers in their homes or even to computers in neighboring homes," said Mike Apgar, Speakeasy CEO. "Speakeasy is virtually alone in encouraging neighborhood Wi-Fi networks." Later in the press release, Apgar notes that restaurants and coffee shops can buy this kind of DSL and share it, too: it's not just limited to home sharing.
-gr