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The Wireless City

Posted by ryuzaki0 on from the hey-buddy-wanna-buy-a-laptop dept.

bigfatlamer writes "This week's NY Times City Section has an article (FRRYYY) on wireless access in New York City's busiest park, Bryant Park. The director of the park has installed a free 802.11b network with complete coverage of the park with help from NYC Wireless. From the article: 'With some clever engineering and hardware from Cisco Systems and Intel, the wireless park was born. Just as park users could sit wherever they liked, so too could they gain access where they liked. The eight-megabytes-per-second connection was as free as the sunshine and the green grass.' NYC Wireless is currently working with the Parks Dept. to put similar networks in Madison Square and Tompkins Square Parks. If they could do Prospect Park (3 blocks from my house) life would be perfect." NYCwireless helps those who help themselves...

11 of 262 comments (clear)

  1. Unacountable bits? by LostCluster · · Score: 5, Interesting

    I'd love to see a wide-open WiFi access system installed at my local park, but I'm concerned that the network might be abused for use in spamming, DOSing, or other hacking. What logical restrictions should be put on a public WiFi center so that the majority of good people can enjoy the system while the small number of people who would do the Internet harm are foiled?

    1. Re:Unacountable bits? by stratjakt · · Score: 2, Interesting

      I'd imagine a transparent proxy that won't let you do anything past HTTP and POP3.

      I doubt they want warez kids sitting in the park to download their gamez on the fat wireless pipe, either.

      --
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  2. Sustainability? by Mannerism · · Score: 5, Interesting

    NYCwireless looks like a great initiative, but I have to wonder how sustainable not-for-profit wireless networks like this are. Even if sponsorship covers the initial infrastructure (and I can see a "give 'em the network, sell 'em the network adapters" strategy perhaps working for Lucent, Cisco, et. al.), there must be a substantial ongoing operational cost. Does anyone know whether NYCwireless or any similar operations have announced their long-term strategies?

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    1. Re:Sustainability? by NickV · · Score: 4, Interesting

      In most areas of the US, I would say you have a valid point, but it's pretty easy to make a non-profit sustainable wireless zone over Manhattan because of the sheer density of the island.

      The key is having enough wireless routers out there to provide a signal for a bunch of radii of coverage so that there are no "dead zones." In a place like LA, you'd need 100s and 100s of routers spread over relatively sparse sprawl. The nice thing about Manhattan is you can have one or two people put up a router and that router will theoretically cover hundreds to thousands of people.

      This is exactly why (if you look at the map found at the wireless map) you'll see that Manhattan is ridiculously well covered, but the other boroughs (which are sparser) are not.

      Will this work in all of America? Keep in mind that after Manhattan -- The Bronx, Brooklyn and Queens are the three densest counties in America (with SF as #5.) And it's not really working in any borough outside of Manhattan...

  3. Sweet by Gary+Franczyk · · Score: 2, Interesting

    Now if they could set up wireless access on the beaches here in Florida, we would have something!

  4. Re:The net is infrastructure... by NDPTAL85 · · Score: 3, Interesting

    Power companies, health care, and telephone service are private interprises. What makes the internet so special that it should be any different?

    --
    Mac OS X and Windows XP working side by side to fight back the night.
  5. Government Sponsored.... by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 1, Interesting
    I live near the government campus of Some Country(TM), and from the parks arround, you can access many, many WiFi Nets, most of them BEHIND the firewall... You can get at so much stuff it is not funny.

    A whole new meaning to "the government providing a service".

    Why do I post this anonymously ? Because I can get at SO many secret things there, and SO much bandwidth, that I don't want them tightening up....

  6. Eight Megabyte by Rosonowski · · Score: 5, Interesting

    The eight-megabytes-per-second connection was as free...

    Ok, am I the only one who caught this? I'm hoping (not really) that it's a terminology error, because a 64mbps connection sounds real, real nice, especially when it's free.

    The project as a whole, though, sounds very cool. I think I would like to try that out when I go this summer.

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  7. Re:Wireless Park In Portland by _ph1ux_ · · Score: 3, Interesting

    RF-ID wrist bands for kids ($2.99) or "find friends" (free)

    This is a really interesting IDea. It would be a useful thing in theme parks and anywhere there are large crowds. What would be neat is kiosks with screens on them. and when you walked up and stood in the little circle in front of the screen it would show you as a dot on a map - and if the tags could be given a group ID - you could see all the other people in your group as dots (they are here) on the map.

    It would be neat to also be able to touch the map and set a waypoint for all the people in your group to meet up at.

    To add people to your group - you touch add ID - then the person you want to add puts his wrist up to a reader that has a very small proximity reader (so it doesnt add the people walking by mistakenly)

    Each band would just have a unique ID.

    (although it would be funny to watch the map update the location of your friends while they are riding around on roller coasters.)

  8. Cool, Tompkins Square is on the list... by DooBall · · Score: 2, Interesting

    I live directly across from it on 7th street (East Village).

    I wonder if I'll be able to tap into the network for free. :)

    The city has been trying to pimp this area for a while now, it was really bad years ago. I guess they'll do anything to get MORE people here (E. Village = one big ass bar and resturant)

  9. Density vs. Effective Range by minitrue · · Score: 2, Interesting

    Actually, NYC's density is both a godsend and a burden. Yes, there is some node overlap, but there are plenty of dead zones too. And although the theoretical range of 802.11b is measured in hundreds of feet, the heavy radio saturation in Manhattan (cordless phones, microwaves, etc) and older buildings (thick walls) can drop the effective range of these boxes to less than 100 ft. I know b/c I have three nodes on nycwirelss - one in Manhattan and two in Brooklyn. The one in Manhattan is within 500 feet of two universities and a major broadcaster. I had to install a high gain antenna on the midtown router to get coverage similar to the range i get on my two nodes in Bklyn.