MuniFi
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Cuba is getting island-wide WiFi hotspots next month
Cuba's making it easier and cheaper for its citizens to get online by building out an island-wide network of WiFi hotspots. According to local paper Juventud Rebelde, the nation's state-run telecommunications company will open up internet access in 35 locations that should be available from the start of July. The move will also cut the price of getting online in half, with an hour of connection pegged to cost $2 per hour. According to Cuba's director of telecommunications, Luis Manuel Diaz, that's still too expensive for the bulk of the island's citizens. It's hardly a surprise, either, since the cost of a Netflix subscription in the country is around a third of the average monthly wage.
Thanks Gov: free WiFi to be installed in 1,000 public places across the UK
If you're anything like us, free WiFi is essential to your enjoyment of basically every situation. Luckily, providers like The Cloud, O2 and BT, as well as independent hotspots, have you covered most of the time. Plenty of dead zones still exist, though, but the government is aiming to patch a few of these by installing 1,000 hotspots in public buildings across the UK by March 2015. The Department for Culture, Media and Sport has announced that museums, galleries, libraries, sports venues, transport hubs, civic centres and other public places will benefit from the roll-out, with some hotspots already up and running. The project is part of the government's "SuperConnected Cities" investment programme, but not all participating cities are on the shortlist to receive free WiFi. Still, there are already plenty of reasons to visit Newport as is.
GOWEX turns on free WiFi network in New York City, curbs coffee-shop hopping
The Big Apple already has a candy coating of free WiFi, between permanent providers, transient offers, and the million coffee shops (et al) with a router inside. If there were any dead zones left in the city, GOWEX probably has them covered, with its 1,953 free WiFi hotspots now live throughout Manhattan, Queens, Staten Island, Brooklyn and the Bronx. Repeat: this isn't a plan, the network is up and running right now. Each connection gets 1Mb of bandwidth, and you can jump on access points with GOWEX's app (also free) for iOS and Android, which also hosts content like a hotspot map and other city-specific info not related to WiFi. The company has other major cities in the US on its to-do list, and expects to bring free internets to two additional locales during 2013. Not that it matters to users, but GOWEX ain't doing this for fun -- it'll be profiting from advertising, its "Smart City services," and charging carriers for lightening traffic on their data networks. Who needs a data plan, anyway? It'll soon be impossible to find anywhere in NYC without a free WiFi hotspot, or seven.
O2 offering free WiFi around London's busiest streets
O2 is making good on its promise to coat the busiest parts of London in free WiFi. Between now and the end of July, seven locations including Oxford Street, Regent Street, Exhibition Road, Leicester and Piccadilly Squares will offer unfettered access -- even if you don't subscribe to O2's cellphone network. There's no word on if the network will remain free forever, but given the painful time we spent crouching in Starbucks doorways on recent trips to New York and Paris, we hope the company does the right thing for the sake of harassed visitors to the capital.
Beijing's rolling out city wide 'free' public WiFi, just hand over your phone number
Heads-up, locals: China's Mobile, Unicom and Telecom carriers are building a city-wide public WiFi network across Beijing. Residents will enjoy free 2Mbps internet for up to three years, if they sign up to the "My Beijing" service. Like most things that are gratis, there's a catch: you have to submit your phone number in exchange for access. Privacy enthusiasts aren't thrilled at the idea, (you know, since it's backed by the Government), though a representative said that the numbers would only be used for "identity authentication" -- insinuating that they would only be tracing individuals whose online activity might "endanger social security." High-minded privacy concerns aside, there's the very real danger of phones being bombarded with spam, not to mention what happens when the three year trial period expires -- users of the service could get stung with exorbitant costs to feed a public WiFi addiction.
O2 plans free and open WiFi network across the UK, Sky picks up The Cloud
Only a handful of Muni-Fi projects ended in anything greater than eternal tears here in the States, but hopefully O2's up for the challenge across the pond. The UK carrier just announced its intentions to "refine the WiFi landscape" in its home nation by launching O2 WiFi, with a raft of "premium hotspots" to be rolled out and managed by key venue owners. As of now, it's hard to pinpoint who exactly will begin hosting O2's routers, but the key part is this: they'll be open for all customers to access for free, no matter which mobile or broadband provider they are with. Making no bones about who it's coming after, the operator has affirmed its intentions to "at least double the number of premium hotspots currently offered by BT Openzone and The Cloud combined by 2013," with the rollout to begin as early as today and continue for as long as it takes. 'Course, doubling up The Cloud may take a little more work given that Sky just picked it up for an undisclosed sum, but hey, we're sure every Briton in existence would just love to see these two duke it out for WiFi supremacy.
Covad rejuvenates Silicon Valley muni-WiFi project
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.
Earthlink puts municipal WiFi business up for sale
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.
Earthlink considers "strategically" withdrawing MuniFi investments
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]
