Oakland County to go Wireless

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Oakland County to go Wireless

Posted by Zonk on Saturday February 12, 2005 @09:53AM from the yay-civics-projects dept.

y00nix writes "Oakland County, MI has plans to roll out a wireless Internet access program dubbed "Wireless Oakland" covering all 910 square miles inside the county. County Executive L. Brooks Patterson unveiled the plans at last night's State of the County address. Additional press coverage via the Oakland Press, and the The Detroit News." Similar in concept to Philadelphia's plans covered yesterday.

19 of 119 comments (clear)

big whoop. by Lumpy · 2005-02-12 09:55 · Score: 4, Informative

Grand Haven, MI has had this for months now.

Their service has expanded quite a bit and they are planning on covering a 3 county area within 2 years.

works great, and is not a government run operation as proposed in many other places.

--
Do not look at laser with remaining good eye.
1. Re:big whoop. by Anonymous Coward · 2005-02-12 10:10 · Score: 2, Insightful
  
  last time I had government run Cable TV it sucked and was expensive.
  
  Also the Govt made it illegal for a private company to come in and compete.
  
  So tell me again why this is good?
Breaking News by mg2 · 2005-02-12 09:55 · Score: 5, Funny

Anyone in Oakland right now is encouraged to help beta test the network. All you need is an 802.11 enabled card, and the SSID is 'linksys.'

If you're having any trouble, just go ahead and access http://192.168.1.1. Leave the username box blank and the password is 'admin.'

Thanks.
First one to infect the service wins... by Anonymous Coward · 2005-02-12 09:56 · Score: 3, Funny

...Complete control of a large chain of wi-fi zombie PC's in the waiting.
That's unpossible! by Anonymous Coward · 2005-02-12 09:59 · Score: 2, Insightful

Another place getting WiFi. Now are we going to see this on ./ as news every time some city/municipality or whatever gets WiFi? It's getting old really quick.
Yay Government Waste... by Anonymous Coward · 2005-02-12 10:00 · Score: 4, Insightful

I would be angry if my local government did something like this. Wireless networks are something private companies could provide, instead of using government tax dollars that could be better used for schools, roads, and real public projects that would serve the public.

Wireless Internet is something only a small segment of the population would take advantage of, and most should be able to afford it on their own.

I love how slashdot cheers big government projects that intrude further in our lives, yet hate big government at the same time. You can't have it both ways.
1. Re:Yay Government Waste... by Jeff+DeMaagd · 2005-02-12 10:53 · Score: 2, Informative
  
  The article says it is a plan to attract high-tech professionals. That would potentially increase their tax base.
  
  Also:
  
  "Many residents would want to keep higher-speed connections, said Bertolini, and would pay a fee for that. The county wants to avoid using tax dollars for the project."
2. Re:Yay Government Waste... by drooling-dog · 2005-02-12 11:00 · Score: 4, Interesting
  
  I would be angry if my local government did something like this.
  I'm just thankful that municipal water systems were put in before the advent of the bottled water industry. Otherwise it never could have happened, and we'd all be showering and washing our clothes in Dasani...
Taxes by Space_Soldier · 2005-02-12 10:00 · Score: 4, Insightful

Will the sales tax rise because of this?
1. Re:Taxes by Dragoon412 · 2005-02-12 10:31 · Score: 3, Informative
  
  The article points out that they don't want to use tax money to fund this. It's sort of a tradeoff. The county builds towers and the physical infrastructure to run the program, and, in turn, private companies run the whole show in exchange for access to the towers for other ventures.
  
  I could definitely see someone like Sprint or Verizon getting on board with this.
The questions that people (may) ask: by akeyes · 2005-02-12 10:09 · Score: 3, Interesting

(from a related link on the article)

Q: If I leave Oakland County, will my computer work?

A: Of course. But you might have to revert back to a wired connection, at least until the whole nation goes wireless.
This is great.! by RexRhino · 2005-02-12 10:10 · Score: 5, Insightful

This is great for many reasons:

1. When the government runs the ISPs, it means that law enforcement can monitor what you browse online. No need for search warrants anymore!

2. It is not like wireless technology changes or evolves, so I am sure a wireless purchase now will be good for the next 40 years.

3. Poor people need low-cost wireless access. After all, brand new laptops configured for wireless access are cheap, but that $8 a month fee for internet access is just WAY too expensive.

4. There are way too many choices. Who actually wants to CHOOSE there ISP, when the government can make all the choices for them. After all, Oakland county does such a great job fixing the roads, lowering crime, and protecting the enviornment... how could they NOT do a better job.

5. The government can make sure that dangerous information is not accessible. We can make sure that p2p music file sharing is not possible, and since we already require certain websites not be available in public schools and libraries, obviously the ban will also apply to public wireless.
I'm in Oakland County by Dragoon412 · 2005-02-12 10:19 · Score: 5, Interesting

...and while I really, really like the sound of this, I'm more interested in seeing what sort of impact this'll have on cable and DSL prices in the area. It seems to me that Comcast, SBC and Wide Open West will have a much more difficult time convincing people to pay $60/month for broadband access when they can get adequate service without wires or hardware for free.

I don't think this sort of WiFi would have the speed to keep me happy, but I definitely think my parents and most of my family would be perfectly happy with it, and I certainly wouldn't mind seeing it drive my cable bill down $10 or $20/month.
1. Re:I'm in Oakland County by rjordan · 2005-02-12 10:23 · Score: 2, Interesting
  
  but this is the beginning of the government controlled communications infrastructure and the final elimination of individual value from the internet
  
  --
  "When no-one around you understands start your own revolution and cut out the middle man"
Clarification by XorNand · 2005-02-12 10:31 · Score: 4, Informative

Ok, I need to clarify things: This is NOT being funded by tax dollars. The Detroit Free Press makes this point a bit more clear than the submitter's articles. As I wrote in a reply below:
"The companies involved here will be providing basic access for free and charging those who want faster acccess. The assumption is that the powerusers will be subsidizing the freeloaders. In fact, I believe the county is planning on charging a franchise fee, making this actually a source of income."

--
Entrepreneur : (noun), French for "unemployed"
As a former resident of Oakland County... by chazwurth · 2005-02-12 10:51 · Score: 2, Interesting

my take is: what's the point? Oakland is one of the richest counties in the U.S.A. Oakland County residents can, for the most part, afford their own internet access. I'd much rather see a project like this in neighboring Wayne county, where it could actually prove a benifit to residents (although home computer ownership is probably far lower in Detroit than it is in any of Oakland County cities).

--
The plural of 'anecdote' is not 'data'. --Dan Kaminsky
1. Re:As a former resident of Oakland County... by biobogonics · 2005-02-12 11:59 · Score: 2, Informative
  
  my take is: what's the point? Oakland is one of the richest counties in the U.S.A.
  
  Patterson is a big name politician who loves technology. Does any one remember if "Automation Alley", which Patterson promoted heavily, lived up to its promises? It's really about attracting business, and expanding the tax rolls.
  
  As a former resident of Oakland county, I take Patterson with a _large_ grain of salt.
Re:Where's all of this money coming from?????????? by Dantu · 2005-02-12 16:34 · Score: 2, Insightful

> The goverment should be involved in ONLY ESSENTIAL services.
The government is involved in all infastructure projects. They may not pay your electric, phone, or gas bill, but some level of government has decided which companies to allow to build lines into your home.
The Big Picture: Skype by nikster · 2005-02-12 18:27 · Score: 3, Insightful

Let's say skype runs on my PDA and my smartphone. And wireless is provided for free country-wide.

=> wireless telephony has just become free.

i would be surprised if the cell operators wouldn't put up a massive lobbying effort against this. in the end, the goverment takes over their business and gives it away for free.

not that i or anyone else ever having to deal with cingular customer service would mind.