Wi-Fi on every street corner, for a fee, sounds intriguing. Details are key, however. Something to pay attention to, even though I don't see myself using it much (except perhaps if the Apple iPhone uses Wi-Fi well)
Wi-Fi fight in Chicago air | Chicago Tribune
A digital wireless future is shaping up for Chicago, with two major Internet service providers -- AT&T and EarthLink -- vying to build a municipal broadband network that would operate alongside a higher-end service planned by Sprint Nextel.Both the service proposed by AT&T and EarthLink and the one planned by Sprint Nextel would give computer users in the city wireless Internet access, whether at home, in the office or on the street, but the technology and purpose of the two systems are somewhat different.
The Tribune has learned that AT&T Inc. and EarthLink Inc. are in a competition to build a wireless network using Wi-Fi technology, and both have made written and oral proposals to the city and Hardik Bhatt, the city's chief information officer.
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The proposed Wi-Fi network would have access to some 90,000 streetlight poles in Chicago to which it could attach radio antennas and transmission equipment. Sprint's WiMax network will use existing towers that are part of Sprint Nextel's wireless phone networks....
A third company, NextWLAN Corp. of Los Gatos, Calif., has also made written and oral proposals to Chicago. NextWLAN's bid is described by Carlos Rios, the firm's chief, as “admittedly unconventional.”
It would be free to Chicagoans with the lowest 20 percent of income and cost $10 a month for everyone else. Rios said that his firm's proposal is to supplement the outdoor Wi-Fi systems proposed by EarthLink and AT&T by providing an indoor wireless system.
AT&T plans to offer a free, advertisement-supported service running at lower speeds, as well as ad-free faster broadband service for those who pay. In Riverside, rates run at $7 for a day pass and $16 for a week. For a nominal fee, AT&T would also offer its DSL customers the option of using Wi-Fi when they leave home.
Tags: Chicago, /Technology, /Telecom
