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NYC: Leverage Fiber, Offer Free Wi-Fi

Posted by timothy on from the fiber-rich-money-poor dept.

gpmap writes "A new study from the New York City Council is recommending that the Big Apple throw open the competitive bidding process for its annual $130 million phone and Internet bill in order to leverage one of the most expansive -- and underused -- fiber optic networks in the country. In so doing, New York City could not only cut its annual telecom bill, but would also be in a position to deploy wireless networking links as the "last mile" connecting metropolitan area networks, or MANs. In addition, it suggested using the fiber to deploy free Internet access with a Wi-Fi Network in Brooklyn's Prospect Park."

4 of 69 comments (clear)

  1. How does one police anonymous access? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 5, Interesting

    Let's say free access happens. What happens when people start using it (in mass) to conduct fraud, send death threats to the President, start a boutique email spam business, etc.

    1. Re:How does one police anonymous access? by terraformer · · Score: 5, Interesting

      You can't. It is a twist on the tragedy of the commons and it will likely never happen. There is no reason why some form of municipal access system couldn't happen though. /. has done some recent articles on them.

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    2. Re:How does one police anonymous access? by Mad+Bad+Rabbit · · Score: 3, Interesting
      Let's say free access happens. What happens when people start using it (in mass) to conduct fraud, send death threats to the President, start a boutique email spam business, etc.

      "Free" doesn't have to mean anonymous; they should probably make people sign up for accounts beforehand, so they can verify you're a NYC resident and enforce appropriate terms of service, etc.

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      >;k
  2. Mod Parent Up! by weston · · Score: 3, Interesting

    "Free" doesn't have to mean anonymous;

    Absolutely true. That's the most convenient model -- you walk in the park, you're assigned an IP via DHCP, presto -- but that doesn't have to be the way it is. You may have to signup, just like I did for my local library. And that's OK with me.

    Something else: the terms of service can also be enforced technically -- that is, what you're free to do can be constrained. You could throttle port 25 for each computer, for example, or watch for certain traffic patterns that suggest a kind of attack...

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