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Estonia Embraces Wi-Fi Wireless Internet Access
securitas writes "BBC Technology's Clark Boyd reports on one man's efforts to make free 802.11 Wi-Fi wireless Internet access ubiquitous in Estonia. An estimated two-thirds of Estonia is now covered by wireless hotspots according to Veljo Haamer, who convinced Estonia's major oil companies, Neste and Statoil, to install free hotspots at gas stations. Two-thirds of Estonia's approximately 280 public hotspots are free to use, all of which are marked with signs. But Haamer still wardrives for dead-spots and next plans to get free wireless access to public parks and green spaces. Last year Slashdot covered Estonia's legislation declaring Internet access a human right."
I ride the train to and from work all the time here in Tokyo. The other day an obviously mentally ill woman walked down the isle and asked everyone to turn off their cellphones. The signals made her heart murmur, she said. So at first I turned off my cellphone and just cursed her under my breath.
Later, after it was clear that she had satisfied her mental illness and sat down in her seat, I fired up my cellphone again for a short game of tetris. Please note that I am about half a train length away from her. When she decided it was time to bother people again, I put my foot down and refused to turn off the phone.
First of all, the phone is not emitting any signals of significant strength, especially not enough to cause heart palpitations in someone 10 yards away. Second, I was not talking on the phone, which could definitely be considered rude. Finally, I had simply had enough with her mumbo jumbo and needed to express my frustration.
Now I read this story and begin to wonder if I've caught her mental illness. I am not saying that I get physical side effects from electronic devices. God knows that I'd be dead from exposure by now if that were the case. But I wonder how much technology is enough. If there is any point to trying to maintain a technology free area.
The crazy woman was trying to create a small radio-free zone around her. I thought she was insane, but now I'm not so sure.
I have been pwned because my
wow I would never have imagined petrol station operators being that generous.
A anti-geek as it may sound, I really can't see a need for 100% wireless coverage of any country large or small.
When I got to parks or outdoors, I do it to relax and escape the technology that I work with and live with. I go find a tree in a nice park near the river and sit quietly and listen to the water, the wind and the birds.
I really don't want to sit there and hear some guys talking about how they can watch their stock prices change second by second now, or some brat fragging a buddy whilst enjoying nature.
Oh well, I am safe from it in Australia at least.
"That is not dead which can eternal lie...."
Nimheil
If only my college campus could have wireless access comparable to Estonia's. And I go to Berkeley, you'd think it would look more like the future by now.
This is America, we're supposed to have the best of everything at the mere cost of selling our souls. So how come I don't get free wireless internet? How come we're 10th in percent of the population with broadband access? I blame monopolistic business practices. Wake me up when SBC finally opens their lines to competitors like they were allegedly forced to years ago.
"TV is great! Every New Year's I make a resolution to watch more TV." - Ann Coulter
Links:
yush
And Statoil is not Estonian, either.
It is Norwegian.
http://www.statoil.com/
The problem with socialism is that they always run out of other people's money. - Margaret Thatcher
That's not how to do it :-)
Companies like statoil (which is a norwegian state owned company) might release this service as free in a certain "test" period. But i doubt they wont charge people for this if wi-fi really takes off. Statoil did this in norway too. You coud access free wifi hotspots, but after a couple of months you had to pay for it. (About a dollar pr. mb transferred). Though Estonia and Norway are two different countries (here, gas makes only for 13% of gas stations income profits. The biggest is actualy sousages and soda)... but as i said. Im skeptical.
280 hotspots cover 2/3 of the country? I knew Estonia was, but sheesh.
how in the world do 280 public hot spots cover two-thirds of a country (that is 45,226 sq km in area)?
what is the technology behind these super hot spots? or is this just another case of aggrandized mathematics?
now supporting:
cmdrTaco for president '04
michael for oval office intern summer '05
Countries of Vatican and Luksemburg quickly followed the lead and covered their respective territories by Wi-Fi access points. One per country.
My other Beowulf cluster is... er...
I'm not sure where this is leading to. Certainly other /.'ers haven't said much about this. Yet.
Education is declared a human right in several countries, specifically the developing countries, but do they get it? Even with government-funded schools and subsidies? Isn't this a case of stuff-in-your-face?
OTOH, it's good to have Wi-Fi access points at as many places possible. This is truly a step towards the ever-shrinking, connected, global society. But then again, what would be the impacts? How will such a culture change us? With easier and faster access, it isn't far when the only sport would be "surfing" - and the one that doesn't involve any boards !
http://efil.blogspot.com/
Just imagine how tight you would have to have the security, and even then it would be hard to keep control over it all.
Administration of it all sounds like a impossible mission. We'll maybe not impossible, but very hard.
Estonia hey...
that's an aweful lot of pringles cans I'm gonna need for free net.
Estonia and the other EU countries are increasingly becoming a new threat. With the rise of statism, how much longer until we are all under a single world government? The implications for liberty and privacy are worrying. Ein Volk, ein Reich, ein Fuhrer indeed.
First, I live in Estonia.
The claim of 2/3 coverage is of course nonsense. I don't know where this came from. The BBC article tells that 2/3 are free to use (although I don't think it's true, maybe it was so half a year ago), not that 2/3 of the country is covered.
I am astounded by all the angsty anti-technology comments here.
I feel a kind of sad, when I see similar opportunities wasted here in Poland, where Internet access is still a luxury due to TP S.A. - national telecommunication monopoly.
At least once both Estonia and Poland are in the EU emigrating won't be that hard... ;)
I saw a TV programme that featured a teacher who has become hypersenstive to electomagnetic radiation. He can't get close to mobile phones or computers or he becomes ill. Apparently copy machines are the worst.
I'm sorry if I haven't offended anyone
Education is declared a human right in several countries, specifically the developing countries, but do they get it? Even with government-funded schools and subsidies? Isn't this a case of stuff-in-your-face?
It is, and it should be. Education is not just a basic human right, but also a basic human responsibility towards others. If you don't want to learn how to live in a civilised society, go live in a cave somewhere.
I pity all the people who don't have access to free education, or are denied it all over the world, while some fat kids from rich countries think it is their right to sit in front of the TV and never learn to spell. Let them eat cake, I say.
It seems that every other day there is a big article or TV show that reveals how advanced Estonia is in every hi-tech domain.
Let's just not forget that Estonia is a really tiny country with a population slightly over 1 million people.
It is very easy to introduce such initiatives on such a small scale.
Most of Paris has free Wi-Fi now offered by the Paris municipality, and this in terms of population is bigger than Estonia. I don't see anyone bragging about it.
The other day they showed on TV how advanced Estonia is. You can pay your parking lot or buy flowers by SMS. Wow, that's really advanced and even if it so, I don't see how practical it can be. Come on, lose 2 minutes to type and SMS instead of paying by cash or credit card....
A hungry bear does not dance!
The problem here is evident in the way you phrased your post. The right should be quiet and let the loud and wrong walk all over them. This is why the Yakuza is as strong as they are, this is why the streets are littered with bags of garbage.
In the west we have the saying "all it takes for evil to succeed is for good men to do nothing". However in Japan, the emphasis on minding one's own business and keeping one's hands clean is an overarching theme. Because of this, no one is willing to put up a fight when the time demands it, whether it be taking back a neighborhood from gangsters, admonishing children who are acting up in public with no supervision, or even something simple as demanding that the police do something about grafitti.
Rather than do something proactive, the Japanese would rather put up a little sign encouraging everyone to play nice. I drive along 357 between Tokyo and Makuhari frequently and see the trash along the side of the road. This is household stuff, in garbage bags. It isn't your absentmindedly tossed pet bottle or coffee can. The signs they put up recently encourage us, "michi wo kirei ni shimashoo" - "let's keep the street clean".
This kind of passivity encourages the wrong-doers because they know that there is no penalty for doing wrong. Whether it be tossing trash on the road, harrassing other train riders, or driving unmuffled motorcycles through neighborhoods at 3 in the morning, there is no penalty. Anything can be done with impunity in Japan, you just have to have the right attitude. No one will confront you, and no one will take steps to prevent you from doing it again.
I think it is a cultural flaw that this kind of heiwa-boke exists in Japan. If telling off a woman who is harrassing everyone on the train is wrong, then I don't want to be right.
I can't find Estonia on my Cold War era globe.
In Soviet Russia, free wireless internet is accessible by you!
Why did I click that link?? Now THEY've got my IP. Gotta hide... gotta hide!
All rites reversed 2010
In the UK we do not have full cellphone coverage, the fact that there are 5 competing operators makes it even less economically viable to equip remote or mountainous areas where, perversely, they are more likely to be needed in cases of genuine emergency. Having full internet coverage by any means, except maybe by hovering airships, which is being seriously considered to cover rural areas, is simply impossible. Maybe Estonia has suddenly become very rich, if so, well and good, but I think in most countries there would be more pressing needs. Nonetheless technically it is quite an achievement to have got so far, and I am impressed.
So why can't my cable company, NTL, give me broadband? I live in London, the largest city in the UK, if not Europe. It really makes me sick, maybe I should move to Estonia, or make it a human rights issue when we are freed from the horrific oppression of Blairism.
Okay, Poland has the people and the position, but I'd say Estonia is the most promising of the new ex-Soviet EU states.
Ten years ago, as I read on the BBC, only 15% of homes in the country had a regular phone! Now they have wireless internet, the majority of people have cellphones, and quite a few people speak English. The government has radically pushed away from Soviet norms in implementing low business taxes, and is fostering a great environment for new businesses. And from what I've learned through the CIA Factbook and the BBC, Estonia has a very low crime rate and chicks who look like this. Per capita income is also still low, so employees would be cheap. The country also looks pretty.
The downsides? It's darn cold in Winter, and it's not cheap to fly to (yet).
Still, it looks like Estonia is a promising little nation who understands the concepts of the free market and capitalism in generating better living conditions.. and if I had to choose one of the new EU states to live in.. well, Estonia looks the most promising for those in business.
Who needs Life, Liberty, and Property when you can have the Internet? James Madison really missed the boat on that one.
It's not that cold. Well, depends on what you're used to, of course, but this past winter here (my first in Estonia) was comparable to the ones from the Midwest in the US. It got a little colder, but less snowfall. In any case, I don't want people to get the impression it's Arctic cold.
And yes, as software engineer living in Estonia, I can say that the economy seems very promising for the tech industry. Wifi all over country may not be that necessary, but its indicitave of the investment that the government and industy is willing to make in popularizing tech. Also, the people here are generally quite tech savvy. No checks in Estonia; everything is bank-to-bank transfer done generally through the internet (most people (literally) use internet banking here).
And just to complete the brochure here, it's a very pretty country. I live in the capital, Tallinn, which is a pretty hip town, especially in the warmer months. It's got an old downtown with beautiful medieval age architecture, but with a lot of good restaurants and bars and shops. The countryside is also pretty, relaxing, and easy to get to. Finally, every thing is dirt cheap (compared to America). Oh, and yes, the parent poster is correct: Estonia has the most beautiful women in Europe. The sidewalks may as well be runways; it's uncanny.
Low crime rate?! I have to call bullshit:
8th worst nation for murders
5th worst nation for robberies
amitofu = "buddist" monk in Chinese?
Or do I misinterpret
___
It's the end of my comment as I know it and I feel fine.
since when does slashdot have a real news team??? I thought slashdot was just a bunch of little babies that like to invent MS bashing stories, or imply that the world is under MS control...all for the hope to make linux look better (can't linux grow up and mature without the slashdot immaturity tarnishing its reputation??)
Elbonia.
-ted
Get a cheap flight to Sweden or Finland and then boat to Estonia. That's what I always do... (except when I don't...)
Even the Estonian government has gone hi-tech. Cabinet ministers meet weekly in a room fitted with more than a dozen high-end computers, complete with flat screen monitors and broadband connections.
/. karma. :-)
Ahhh, so when the meeting gets boring, they can surf the web and check their
Browsers shouldn't have a back button!! It's all about going forward...
I agree with posts above - 100% Wi-Fi coverage is not necessary. I hate looking at a laptop monitor outdoors. You can't see anything anyway - And all that dust...
Malls, buildings, bus/train/plain statations YES
Parks/supermarkets NO
Esta es una firma en Espanol.
What? Estonia? Oh, all right then.
Nevermind...
That which does not kill her only prolongs my agony.
Well, it might look that way from the US, but the reality is different. Estonia gets a lot of money from tranist of oil and other goods from Russia to Europe. And not because they add a lot of value, they are just located properly. Expect this to stop as soon as Russia finishes its own terminals on the Baltic sea. Second huge source of money in Estonia was Swedish and Finnish capital. These countries were very eager to invest in this little friendly country when it because independent, but it's not like they got huge profits from that. And the boom is certainly over. So there is really nothing radically great about Estonian economy and, while things like e-voting and better than average wifi coverage are good, they do not make it a high-tech heaven or something.
Future Wiki -- If you don't think about the future, you cannot have one.
Statoil is Norwegian, not Estonian. It's the Norwegian State Oil Company, and Norway is the only European country that is a major, major oil exporter.
It costs more. The operators take their share. Costs more, takes more time. Is it gonna live? No.
You're forgetting that Estonia is getting everything from the EU, that's the only reason it may appear to be the "most promising" - through handouts, which it got from the EU before it even joined!
I'm also a software engineer in Tallinn, like another poster. To address a few of the points:
- As someone else mentioned, 2/3 of the land area of the country isn't covered. You could actually make an argument that 2/3 of the population is in a WiFi area, but that's mainly because 2/3 of the population lives in the 2 largest cities (Tallinn and Tartu). At least for me, when I travel to another town in Estonia, I check the wifi.ee website to see where the nearest WiFi point is in that area, so I can get on the Net.
- I've been in the room where the cabinet ministers conduct business, and it really is a computer at each minister's seat. I haven't seen a live session so I can't say how much they use them, but apparently they are used to distribute information (instead of printing out lengthy documents).
- The places that charge for WiFi are not that pricey. It's usually about 70 eurocents to use it for a 24-hour period. You just fire up your browser and try to go to a URL and you end up at a webpage that tells you to SMS a certain number and it'll SMS you back with a password. The nice thing about it is almost all for-pay WiFi points are run by the same company (Uninet), and your password works at all Uninet access points during that period. I jump from coffee shop to coffee shop. You can also buy a monthly contract with Uninet, but that's only useful if you use for-pay access points very frequently.
- Very few of the access points have any type of security, and some even have open mail relays. I don't think this has caused any problems, maybe because of the type of person who would use the access points (business people, students), but it may become an issue in the future. I'm sure there will be some sort of uproar when someone tries to hack into something while using a public access point. But the risks are also there in a public internet cafe, since they don't check your ID there either.
- Yes it's correct that part of the reason Estonia is "high-tech" because it's easy to implement things like this in a country of only 1.4 million people. But I wouldn't say that's a negative point. In some ways, the country can serve as a testbed before rolling new technologies out in other countries. Is it wrong that the government promotes the internet? I don't think it is.
- I don't buy these doomsday predictions about how it's so bad to have WiFi coverage in so many places. Don't use it if you don't want to. I work at home, and usually at least one day a week I'll go out for lunch (at a WiFi-enabled place of course), then hop around to different WiFi hotspots through the day, as I work. It works great for me.
- The price of setting up a hotspot isn't that bad. You just need the WiFi access point and a DSL line, which can cost as little as 30 EUR per month. A lot of businesses already have DSL anyway, so then it's just the one-time cost of the access point. For instance, I'm pretty sure those petrol stations already had DSL on premises, so it wasn't a big deal to add the access point.
- The crime statistics for Estonia are slightly out of proportion for 2 reasons: 1. The population is somewhat small, so the percentages are greatly affected by a few abnormal events (law of large numbers). 2. There are some areas with very high crime, that throw things out of proportion. These areas tend to be areas where unemployment is high, which usually means the areas where native Russian speakers live (because most jobs require that you speak Estonian -- long story). The areas with the WiFi access points, in Tallinn for example, are not in those areas. I've lived in major cities in the US and in Tallinn, and Tallinn feels much safer. Like most European cities, you don't have to worry about some guy shoving a gun in your face, because guns are difficult to obtain. I do watch out for pickpockets on the public transport (oh, and you can buy tickets or monthly passes for public transport using SMS also).
Is there any research into bridging these wireless routers? I imagine this would be a nightmare for routing algorithms without being able to use subnets for routing... What kind of routing algorithms would be useful for this?
Yea it'd be a ton of hops between wireless routers just to travel across Estonia but still it'd be cool to do it without the need for ISP's at any portion of the trip.
Any wardrivers out there? It would be nice to check out the place. We don't have any wardriving data uploaded from our users at WiFiMaps.com. Wonder how quickly wardrivers can band together, and observe things like this.
Zhrodague.net - I do projects and stuff too.
True, and same goes for most of the rest of Europe; at least in scandinavia checks were last used in early 80s or so. They were made obsolete by ATMs with which you can pay bills (transfer money from your account to specific account by company receiving money, always listed in the bill; additionally specifying a reference id also included) in addition to withdrawing money. And no need for specific contract between you and company, to enable such payments (except if you wanted to do fully automatic payment etc). Move to Internet banking was quite naturally after that.
"Ten years ago, as I read on the BBC, only 15% of homes in the country had a regular phone!" I've heard this before. As the regular phones were very cheap, many familys had their in home. Actual percentage would be like 85 % or more.
Is it a shopping center, a mall, real estate development?
We (Norwegians) own Statoil. Herlig å være norsk... :)
The women are gorgeous, the politics liberal, and the living cheap. Throw in free Wifi and its the best place to live I can think of. I've already applied for residency.
I live in Estonia and I can assure your data from
,Zimbabwe, Ukraine, Kyrgyzstan -according to www.nationmaster.com - where do these jerks get their numbers from ?
the www.natiomaster.com SUCKS bigtime.
I can really see you have no idea aboout life in Estonia if you believe those statistics on that site are true - Estonia WOULD NOT BE a part of the European Union if the crime rate here is higher than in those poor coutries like Yemen
Come over here and see for yourself.