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The Hiccups of Free Wi-fi for Cities

Posted by ryuzaki0 on from the hard-enough-to-make-our-office-work dept.

smooth wombat writes "Several cities around the country are considering implementing free wi-fi for its residents. Currenly, St. Cloud, Florida is the only one that can make that claim. However, the 28,000 residents are still experiencing hiccups in the system more than a month after implementation including being able to see receivers but not being able to connect or connecting at different times with weak signals or not being able to connect at all. As a result, many residents are still paying for monthly landline connections. HP, which has been contracted to build the project and provide customer support, says it is working to resolve the issues by adding more access points to improve signal strength in isolated parts of the city. Despite these issues, HP says that there were only 842 help-line calls out of more than 50,000 user sessions in the first 45 days of service."

4 of 223 comments (clear)

  1. A large scale project induces hiccups. by Trigun · · Score: 5, Insightful

    I would be suprised if there weren't hiccups in a rollout this large. Give it six months, and then we'll see. Until then, let's all reserve judgement.

  2. Free as in... by paulthomas · · Score: 4, Insightful

    Free as in Beer? More like...

    Free as in at least two million dollars in capital outlay and $400k annually (and they're probably underestimating). Free as in: people using it don't necessarily pay for it, and people paying for it don't necessarily use it.

    That's not a definition of free I can accept.

    1. Re:Free as in... by Opportunist · · Score: 4, Insightful

      That's what "public spending" is about. I have no kids, so get the hell away with child support! I don't own a car, so why bother spending money on more highways? Or I have a car, why the hell does the state still fund those bus lines that only clog the road ahead of me? Public broadcasting, what for, I got cable and their program sucks anyway! To carry it to extremes, I'm no woman, so why the hell should I pay for women's houses?

      Public services are by definition something everyone pays for and not everyone uses. That's not necessarily "unjust" or bad. It's provided to you. You're free to use it. Or not. It's there.

      --
      We used to have a Bill of Rights. Now, with the rights gone, all we have left is the bill.
  3. Let's keep autonomy by Odiumjunkie · · Score: 4, Insightful

    "As a result, many residents are still paying for monthly landline connections."

    Is this surprising, or some kind of a sign of failure? I think that free city-wide Wi-Fi is a nice idea, but I still wouldn't surrender the autonomy, privacy, control and efficiency of my own pipe.
    b