Largest Citywide Wi-Fi Deployment

Grumpy writes "Yahoo! News is reporting that Aiirnet will begin installing, next month, the largest single Wi-Fi deployment in the nation in the city of Cerritos in Southern California. Ultimately, anyone with a laptop or wireless device will be able to surf the Web from virtually anywhere in the city's 8.6-square-mile area. Scores of wireless networking transmitters are being placed atop public buildings, traffic lights and other structures to blanket the city. The 51,000 residents of Cerritos have not had DSL broadband access to the Internet because the city is too far from the telephone company's central office and Cable Internet access has not been an option either."

Comments

Typical slashdot response.

[dominion]

Government planning is just plain socialism and is really bad...

Unless it results in something really fsck'ing cool.

mod -1 flamebait

Re:Cerritos is getting the bad end of the deal.

[Tailhook]

So... Cerritos is paying Aiirnet to set up Wi-Fi transmitters all over the city and Aiirnet will keep all the profits.

You are confused. The Cerritos city government is paying for 60 accounts. Ariinet is paying for the network.

What's in it for Cerritos?

I'm certain Cerritos will be very pleased with broadband becoming available locally. The citizens of Cerritos, that is. For whom the city government of Cerritos is employed...

Perhaps you meant "what's in it for the municipal government of Cerritos?" Several things;

1.) 60 inexpensive, mobile broadband accounts
2.) A healthy number of pleased voters
3.) Zero capital outlay to provide the above

You're desire to discover some iniquity on the part of Aiirnet is misplaced. Please resume whining about Ashcroft or some other equally meaningless activity.

Thanks.

Re:Quesions of

[Tailhook]

City funds (your taxes) subsidising porn?

More confusion.

The Ariinet network is being built by Ariinet, not the city. The accounts will be paid for by the subscribers, not the city. Therefore, no city funds will serve to subsidize porn.

It happens that the city will also obtain 60 accounts. Naturally, use of those accounts will be subject to the same rules as any other municipal network resource. Ostensibly that would exclude porn.

The city government has decided to allow a vendor to distribute a service in the cities geographic area. This should sound familiar because it's the same arrangement they already have with whomever provides cable. Said cable service being another likely source of porn...

...and it's "subsidizing"