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Wireless Street Lamps for Traffic Monitoring

RMH101 writes "The Register has a story about a UK initiative to create a country-wide wireless data network using street lamps. It's come to pass through a government initiative to monitor all cars' speed and location, all the time, everywhere. The company involved, Last Mile, are proposing an intelligent mesh of smart street lamps embedded with storage and wireless networking to create 200MBit network access across the UK, including remote areas not reachable by conventional broadband. Work is due to start this year."

24 of 563 comments (clear)

  1. What if... by zeux · · Score: 5, Funny

    ... someone hacks in the system and makes the local police think that you are doing 150 mph with your 2 CV?

    1. Re:What if... by KlomDark · · Score: 1, Funny

      It a way of measuring how bad a coke problem someone has...

  2. Cognative Dissonance in a nutshell by shystershep · · Score: 5, Funny
    Big Brother-like monitoring/control vs. wireless connectivity everywhere there is a road.

    Gods and fishes! Somebody get me some aspirin!

    --
    The bigotry of the nonbeliever is for me nearly as funny as the bigotry of the believer. - Albert Einstein
  3. Never in the US by Yoda2 · · Score: 5, Funny

    I'm sure all the cars going the wrong way would easily crash the software.

  4. One problem... by sasquatch21 · · Score: 5, Funny

    As member of a rural area desperatly waiting for broadband, I see one big problem with the plan; most rural areas don't have streetlights!

    1. Re:One problem... by shystershep · · Score: 2, Funny

      I see a potentially bigger problem -- do you live in the UK?

      --
      The bigotry of the nonbeliever is for me nearly as funny as the bigotry of the believer. - Albert Einstein
    2. Re:One problem... by gbjbaanb · · Score: 3, Funny

      lol. so, you can speed as fast as you like, with no chance of getting caught, but only in those places where you can't see where you're going.....

      excellent! :)

  5. War driving... by bc90021 · · Score: 2, Funny

    I'm guessing that war driving will get *really* easy after this... It will probably increase the number of "war walkers" as well, and I'd bet we'd even start to see "war sitters" on the curbs! ;)

  6. It's official by Darth_brooks · · Score: 5, Funny

    All brit's posting to slashdot have officially lost the right to make references to the U.S. being an orwellian, facist state in comparison to their own.

    You guys seem to have so many cameras and tracking systems going in that country of yours you probably enjoy the privacy offered by Las Vegas casinos.

    --
    There are some people that if they don't know, you can't tell 'em.
    1. Re:It's official by jxs2151 · · Score: 2, Funny
      The drug alcohal damages the liver.

      And apprently the brain.

  7. 1984... by jargoone · · Score: 2, Funny

    Only 20 years later.

    Do people really put up with this? If this were implemented in the US, it would be 5 seconds flat til that network was cut into 500 million pieces.

  8. Comment removed by account_deleted · · Score: 3, Funny

    Comment removed based on user account deletion

  9. Re:monitoring by Trigun · · Score: 5, Funny

    College girls dormitories, although I'm petitioning to have that changed.

    Think of their safety!

  10. Hopw long before we see... by bc90021 · · Score: 5, Funny

    ..."professional women" with wirless enabled PDAs? Possible slogan: "The newest technology for the world's oldest profession." ;)

  11. Re:monitoring by sinucus · · Score: 5, Funny

    What are you talking about? I just got an email 10 minutes ago advertising British college girls caught totally unaware!

  12. Timeline: by Realistic_Dragon · · Score: 2, Funny

    1: Goverment masturbate over new interconnected data paradigm that can enable key economic resource in an efficient manner.
    2: Project is funded.
    3: Press release about how the government is promoting small business.
    4: Funding is approved.
    5: Press release about how great the goverment is.
    6: Work starts.
    7: Press release about how the government gets things done!
    8: BT and NTL realise how much money this will lose them, hands cash in brown envelopes to MPs.
    9: Press release about our existing world-class interenet infrastructure that was pushed through by government.
    10: Project cancelled.
    11: Profit! (For existing telcos, the bastards.)

    For pessamists, no ??? is required. We know that step, and it's bloody awful.

    --
    Beep beep.
  13. 1984 Anyone? by pragma_x · · Score: 5, Funny

    But the constant monitoring by the streetlamps is for our own safety, lest we succumb to breaking the law.

    All brit's posting to slashdot have officially lost the right to make references to the U.S. being an orwellian, facist state in comparison to their own.

    Surely, brother, we shouldn't make such references to our beloved state. The principles of INGSOC must be upheld in all aspects of life.

    To do otherwise is CRIMETHINK. Please report to room 101 for re-education.

  14. Re:What about just maintaining the roads... by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 1, Funny

    Yeah. They're covered with these damed humps. They really give my suspension a hard time when I drive over them at exactly the speed limit :-)

  15. Re:vandalism just got a lot more fun for criminals by Black+Parrot · · Score: 3, Funny


    > Street lights are what, 15-20 feet tall? (5-6 meters for our European friends :) Not the easiest place to gain access too.

    Ha! I see where people have left their tennis shoes up there all the time.

    --
    Sheesh, evil *and* a jerk. -- Jade
  16. Re:What about just maintaining the roads... by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 1, Funny
    ...1 in 5 miles of road in the UK was in such a poor state that it was unfit to drive on.

    I'm jealous. Here in Detroit, MI, USA, 6 of every 5 miles are unfit to drive on...

  17. Re:Huh? Transformers make GREAT targets! by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 1, Funny

    posted anon for obvious reasons

    Because you want the government to have to get a search warrant before tracking you down?

  18. yay brits! by cr@ckwhore · · Score: 2, Funny

    street lamps ... or, "telephone poles" as we know them here in the US.

    Well, whats the point of creating a wireless network using telephone poles, when the fucking telephone poles already carry wires.

    "Well Bob, you see, there are these things called 'wires' that run between the street lamps."

    "Ok Bill, can we do stuff with these 'wires'?"

    "I don't know Bob. We might have to go wireless."

    Scratch your head and run, it's safer that way.

    --
    Skiers and Riders -- http://www.snowjournal.com
  19. Re:monitoring by rivaldufus · · Score: 2, Funny

    People get too concerned about these things. It's necessary for government agencies to promote better living. We're already seeing improvements - why, last week the government raised the chocolate ration to 80 grams from 70 grams...

  20. Google - spelling fascists! by BigBadBri · · Score: 3, Funny
    I tried Googling for "free speach zone", and it complained!

    This creeping spelling fascism really has to stop - damn it, if I want to misspell stuff, then I damned well ought to be able to.

    Next thing you know, they'll ban waving your willy in public.

    Bastards.

    If you don't believe me, look here for Googles jackbooted response to my exercising my freedom of speach.

    --
    oh brave new world, that has such people in it!