Engadget

Virgin Media to roll out free WiFi in London, bums with iPads rejoice

Joseph Volpe — Wed, 03 Aug 2011 20:12:00 EST

Fancy some free municipal WiFi, London? Yeah, we know, the service has been promised several times before, but that's not stopping Virgin Media from giving it the ol' college try. In his address to investors, CEO Neil Berkett announced plans to piggyback the gratis service on its existing cable backhaul "in the not too distant future," shoring up the gap left by operators' unreliable 3G coverage. Seems the media conglomerate's cable network runs mostly idle during the day -- a fact revealed during last week's earnings call -- and with only four percent market share, Virgin could certainly handle the extra traffic. The move is a straight shot at BT's similar, albeit partially free offering, and would provide download speeds of 0.5Mbps to the general public, with the truly blazing 10Mbps reserved for the company's own internet subscribers. But don't expect this business extension to break Virgin's bank, costing only a "few million pounds," this free-of-charge WiFi network's just a drop in its two tonne bucket. All that's left is a few permissive nods from the city's councils and you Londoners can keep up with the latest TOWIE drama wherever you go.

Virgin Media to roll out free WiFi in London, bums with iPads rejoice originally appeared on Engadget on Wed, 03 Aug 2011 20:12:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Philadelphia wants to buy Earthlink's former hardware, keep municipal WiFi dream alive

Tim Stevens — Thu, 17 Dec 2009 08:54:00 EST

It never came to pass. Philadelphia's city-wide WiFi plan was announced in 2006 and then, after struggling on for two years, died when Earthlink decided it wanted nothing to do with muni wireless. A private company called NAC bought the hardware last year and now the city wants to buy it from them for $2 million. The Mayor's Office pledges to "provide free internet in targeted public spaces," which is somewhat less aggressive than the previous city-wide reach, but ditching the $20/month that Earthlink was asking seems like a fair trade. The only question now is exactly which spaces will be targeted, and if South Street Philly Bagels doesn't make the list that's a damn shame.

Philadelphia wants to buy Earthlink's former hardware, keep municipal WiFi dream alive originally appeared on Engadget on Thu, 17 Dec 2009 08:54:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Akron, Ohio to provide free citywide WiFi, inevitably fail within a few years

Nilay Patel — Tue, 01 Jul 2008 16:06:00 EST

Municipal WiFi systems in the US have been pretty much failures across the board, but the good people of Akron, Ohio are apparently in for another go-round -- the city's just committed some $800,000 to build out a free wireless network over the next five years. The service will be installed and operated by a nonprofit called OneCommunity, which just received a $4.5M grant as part of a $25M commitment from the John S. and John L. Knight Foundation to implement digital access projects in 26 cities. The University of Akron has kicked in another $350,000, since the signal will cover its campus as well as the downtown area -- all in, some 90,000 residents and 31,000 workers will get access through the project. The network will start lighting up in the next year -- let's hope it fares better than other city WiFi projects.

[Thanks, Glenn]

Filed under: Wireless

Akron, Ohio to provide free citywide WiFi, inevitably fail within a few years originally appeared on Engadget on Tue, 01 Jul 2008 16:06:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Local investors step in to save Philly's WiFi network

Donald Melanson — Tue, 17 Jun 2008 12:38:00 EST

Well, it looks like Philadelphia's on-again, off-again WiFi network won't be going dark for good quite just yet, as The Philadelphia Inquirer is now reporting that a group of local investors are stepping in to keep it aloft. While complete details are a bit light at the moment, the new company is apparently at least considering going with an advertising-supported business model that'd provide free access wherever the network is available, as opposed to the $20 a month Earthlink was charging for the service. To bolster that potentially losing proposition a bit, the company will also apparently be going after institutional subscribers like hospitals and universities, who'd be offered the opportunity to extend their own secure wireless networks into the city.

[Thanks Brad L, image courtesy of Stippling]

Filed under: Wireless

Local investors step in to save Philly's WiFi network originally appeared on Engadget on Tue, 17 Jun 2008 12:38:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Oklahoma City claims world's largest municipal WiFi mesh network, leaves public out

Darren Murph — Wed, 04 Jun 2008 09:25:00 EST

With just about every other US city shutting down any Muni-Fi project that managed to get off of the ground, we can't help but have mixed feelings about this one. Oklahoma City is boasting of having the world's largest municipal WiFi mesh network, but for whatever reason, it's being reserved exclusively for "public safety and other City operations." In other words, it's not there to provide wireless internet access to the general public -- yet, at least. The network itself covers 555 square miles with 95% service coverage in the city's core, took two years to construct and was funded with $5 million from "public safety capital sales tax and City capital improvement funds." Talk about a tease.

[Image courtesy of OKWebCenter]

Filed under: Wireless, Networking

Oklahoma City claims world's largest municipal WiFi mesh network, leaves public out originally appeared on Engadget on Wed, 04 Jun 2008 09:25:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Philadelphia citywide WiFi officially shut down

Nilay Patel — Tue, 13 May 2008 15:29:00 EST

We knew it was coming, but Philadelphia's citywide WiFi is now officially being turned off, and Earthlink is planning on pulling down all of its access points. Like basically every other municipal WiFi project, it seems like the cost of keeping the system going outweighed the benefits, and Earthlink couldn't find a buyer willing to take things over. Current Earthlink customers will get 30 more days of service, until June 12, and then it's ~~lights~~ bytes out. Here's hoping Philly coffee shops are ready for an influx of urban warriors.

[Via Philebrity, thanks Andy R.]

Filed under: Wireless

Philadelphia citywide WiFi officially shut down originally appeared on Engadget on Tue, 13 May 2008 15:29:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Philadelphia's citywide WiFi close to shutting down

Darren Murph — Sat, 10 May 2008 23:48:00 EST

It'd be absolutely spectacular to actually see one of these admittedly ambitious municipal WiFi projects actually work out every now and then, but instead, we're seeing the nails start to sink into yet another citywide WiFi coffin. This go 'round, the network blanketing most of Philadelphia, Pennsylvania is on the verge of sending out its last signals unless the city can devise a plan in short order to take it over from EarthLink, who unsurprisingly wants out on the double. Unfortunately, we don't have a great feeling about the system's future -- history has a way of forecasting, you know?

[Via CNET, image courtesy of Stippling]

Filed under: Networking

Philadelphia's citywide WiFi close to shutting down originally appeared on Engadget on Sat, 10 May 2008 23:48:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Covad rejuvenates Silicon Valley muni-WiFi project

Darren Murph — Sat, 01 Mar 2008 19:08:00 EST

We know, you're already rolling your eyes, but this time it's really for real. At least that's what Covad Communications wants us to believe. Reportedly, said outfit is jump-starting a gigantic municipal WiFi project to blanket Silicon Valley that fell apart after upstart Azulstar failed to garner funding to kick things off in 2007. Covad is hoping to cover one square mile of downtown San Carlos, California for three months, and during the test period it will gauge just how lucrative such an initiative is. If successful, it may expand into surrounding locales, but at the moment, such an endeavor is "too much to dive into." Best of luck, Covad -- history says you'll need it.

Filed under: Wireless

Covad rejuvenates Silicon Valley muni-WiFi project originally appeared on Engadget on Sat, 01 Mar 2008 19:08:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Earthlink puts municipal WiFi business up for sale

Donald Melanson — Fri, 08 Feb 2008 17:51:00 EST

It looks like Earthlink was talking about plenty more than just Helio and revenue figures during its recent earnings call, with CNET News.com now reporting that the company also dropped word that it's selling off its much-hyped and significantly-scaled-back municipal WiFi business. Of course, that news hardly comes as a bombshell given the company's recent rumblings on the matter, to say nothing of its drawn out, ill-fated attempts to spread its WiFi signals throughout San Francisco. Earthlink apparently hasn't found any takers just yet, however, and there's no word about how much their asking for it, but we wouldn't let that stop you from putting in an offer -- just be ready to put up with plenty of competition.

Filed under: Wireless

Earthlink puts municipal WiFi business up for sale originally appeared on Engadget on Fri, 08 Feb 2008 17:51:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Meraki promises free, citywide WiFi network for San Francisco

Donald Melanson — Fri, 04 Jan 2008 14:34:00 EST

It looks like the folks at Meraki are angling to the fill in the WiFi gap left after San Francisco pulled the plug on the much-hyped Google / Earthlink deal, although, conveniently for them, that doesn't amount to them doing anything all that different than what they've always been doing. Still, with a fresh $20 million in funding, the company is certainly better positioned to put the citywide mesh network into place, which they say could eventually use as many as 15,000 wireless antennas to bounce WiFi signals around the city (quite a boost from the 500 repeaters now providing service to a few neighborhoods). If the network spreads as far as the company hopes, it would apparently be the largest mesh network in the US and, obviously, be quite the showpiece for the company to use to attract business elsewhere.

[Thanks, Paul B]

Filed under: Wireless

Meraki promises free, citywide WiFi network for San Francisco originally appeared on Engadget on Fri, 04 Jan 2008 14:34:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Earthlink considers "strategically" withdrawing MuniFi investments

Conrad Quilty-Harper — Sun, 18 Nov 2007 06:02:00 EST

In a statement so laden with PR speak that it'd bring even the most heartless PR flack to the brink of wretching, Earthlink's CEO has announced that the company is to withdraw investment in Municipal WiFi schemes unless the "model" of these networks becomes more closely aligned with Earthlink's undefined "strategy." Translation? Earthlink ain't making a big enough return on its investments in MuniFi projects, and the shareholders are getting antsy. This could leave various cities high and dry without WiFi, although Earthlink apparently won't be able to simply walk away from the contracts that they've already signed. This could be a major setback for blanket WiFi coverage in cities across the US, although we doubt it'll be long before someone else picks up the baton (either that, or the cities will probably drop it.)

[Via Slashdot]

Filed under: Wireless

Earthlink considers "strategically" withdrawing MuniFi investments originally appeared on Engadget on Sun, 18 Nov 2007 06:02:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Sonic.Net aiming to provide another WiFi option for San Franciscans

Darren Murph — Mon, 03 Sep 2007 10:17:00 EST

For those paying attention, you'd know that betting the farm on San Francisco's muni WiFi project ever coming together wouldn't exactly be the best move, but it appears that Sonic.Net is stepping in to provide an alternative. The California-based ISP has reportedly conjured up an initiative to bring an ad-supported MuniFi model to San Franciscans, and would utilize hardware from Meraki. Apparently, Sonic.Net customers can snag a Meraki wireless mesh router "at a subsidized cost," which would enable them to share "up to 500kbps" of their DSL line. Users of the service will spot a Google ad bar atop their browser, and there's even mention of ad revenues being shared with customers in order to reduce their monthly bill in the future. Notably, the platform could even expand to "other areas" outside of SF if it proves successful.

Filed under: Wireless, Networking

Sonic.Net aiming to provide another WiFi option for San Franciscans originally appeared on Engadget on Mon, 03 Sep 2007 10:17:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Ocean City, NJ geeks up the beach

Nilay Patel — Thu, 26 Jul 2007 02:17:00 EST

Visitors to the Jersey shore will soon have more to look forward to than just big hair and Bon Jovi -- Ocean City, in south Jersey, is currently accepting bids for a planned beach network that will encompass everything from tracking parking spots to monitoring garbage can levels. The $3M system, which will feature a mix of WiFi and RFID devices, is expected to cut the costs of running the beach dramatically -- trimming almost half of the $282,000 budget for access badge checkers, for example. Other planned features include the ability to link access wristbands together, so that parents can be alerted via SMS if one of their kids ventures beyond the boundaries of the boardwalk, and RFID payment services for food and souvenir shops. Now all they need is some of those Segway beach cops and the future will have finally arrived.

Filed under: Misc. Gadgets

Ocean City, NJ geeks up the beach originally appeared on Engadget on Thu, 26 Jul 2007 02:17:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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L.A. mayor wants muni WiFi by 2009

Paul Miller — Thu, 15 Feb 2007 01:11:00 EST

Antonio Villaraigosa, the mayor of Los Angeles, wants municipal WiFi in his fair city, and he seems to have the wherewithal to make it happen. Such a project, covering 498 square miles of the sprawling city, would be a massive undertaking, costing somewhere around $54-$62 million. The city will probably partner with a private provider such as Google or Earthlink to pay for and manage the installation, and should be seeking bids this fall. Villaraigosa is already forming a working group, and plans on hiring an expert to iron out the details. Aware of the certain, ahem, problems encountered in San Francisco and other places, Villaraigosa says the initiative is "not going to be a study to put on the shelf." L.A. also owns its own street light and power poles and electric utility, overcoming an obstacle with Southern California Edison, which has denied WiFi installations a place on its own poles in other California cities. Of course, there are plenty of ways that a project this massive could go wrong, but if L.A. can pull this off it'll have some quite notable bragging rights, that's for sure.

[Thanks, Gary N]

Filed under: Wireless

L.A. mayor wants muni WiFi by 2009 originally appeared on Engadget on Thu, 15 Feb 2007 01:11:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Boingo launches worldwide WiFi service -- just for mobile phones

Brian White — Mon, 12 Feb 2007 15:47:00 EST

3GSM is cranking along and so are the carrier and manufacturer announcements. Among one of the brightest ones today has been the announcement that Boingo Wireless -- the world's leading wholesale network aggregator (fancy term for WiFi ISP) -- will soon unveil the "Boingo Mobile" service to provide what appears to be the first global WiFi Internet service. Sounds rather solid -- but it gets even better because Boingo Mobile is specifically designed for WiFi phones and devices as opposed to dedicated computers and computing devices (not that there's anything wrong with the 802.11n lappy). So, you have a feast for that newer UMA handset and have looked for a solution that goes beyond that slower-than-I'll-get-out HSDPA access? If you're near on of the thousands of Boingo WiFi hotspots around the world, you can tap into the Boingo Mobile network at the flat rate of USD $7.95 per month by visting mobile.boingo.com/download to get Boingo's free software and to check for mobile handset / device compatibility (hint -- WM5 is all for now). It's great to see a global WiFi operator differentiate -- and treat -- two different uses of WiFi at separate and appropriate price levels, since, ya know, not many are BitTorrenting from their handsets these days.

Filed under: Cellphones, Wireless

Boingo launches worldwide WiFi service -- just for mobile phones originally appeared on Engadget on Mon, 12 Feb 2007 15:47:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Tropos Networks releases new MetroMesh WiFi routers

Paul Miller — Tue, 22 Aug 2006 17:16:00 EST

With gear currently being used in New Orleans, Philadelphia and San Francisco municipal WiFi projects, Tropos Networks must be doing something right. Their new Tropos 5320 outdoor MetroMesh router, however, is their first to offer dual-band WiFi. Along with the added bandwidth this provides, Tropos has updated their MetroMesh operating system to allow operators to switch between 5GHz and 2.4GHz bands depending on interference and the continuing proliferation of such devices. Next up for Tropos is multi-radio routers, which they hope to combine wireless technologies like MIMO, WiMAX, 4.9GHz and 3G/4G cellular to create one router to rule them all.

[Via The Wireless Report]

Filed under: Wireless

Tropos Networks releases new MetroMesh WiFi routers originally appeared on Engadget on Tue, 22 Aug 2006 17:16:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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