can't believe we missed this 2003-09-11
Chicago is finally in the Wi-Fi game ThanX to ePrairie.com
CHICAGO – If your usual lunchtime routine finds you hurrying through Daley Plaza or zipping past City Hall, you might want to take your PDA with Wi-Fi or laptop out of your backpack when you're next in the area. Perhaps you can even snag some extra time in the sun by sending a few e-mails before heading back to the office.
Yep. Chicago is finally in the Wi-Fi game.
Without a lot of fanfare, the city has created a hot zone between Clark and Dearborn streets. It encompasses Daley Plaza and spills over into Block 37. During my informal testing, I was able to wander throughout the coverage area (both during the day and at night) while staying connected to a surprisingly strong and speedy wireless network known as “WIZ” (a temporary name, presumably).
The network was also available in front of the Cook County Building and the Clark Street side of City Hall. Users aren’t encumbered with pesky user names or passwords (not even a welcome screen). The network hasn’t been promoted as of yet and isn’t even listed on the City of Chicago’s Web site.
Kudos should go to Chicago CIO Christopher O’Brien and his team for recognizing the need for public Internet access in the central business district. Hopefully, over the coming weeks and months, we’ll see the city partner with the private sector. The inevitable user communities are then bound to pop up to support and promote the initiative.
I’d personally like to see less hype than other cities have given to initial municipal-backed Wi-Fi projects. I say this not because Wi-Fi and hot spots aren’t to be take seriously (they are) but because it’s much too late in the hype curve to gain any credibility by such an effort. Let’s go beyond simply setting up a network to figuring out how to leverage services on top of it.
As the prospect of omnipresent wireless high-speed Internet access appears more likely by the day, there will be no shortage of products and services to capitalize on the opportunity anywhere broadband lives.
Wi-Fi Cameras
While manufacturers of cell phone cameras are sure to grab the lion share of profits during the initial phase of the wireless camera market, traditional camera makers aren’t far behind. Nikon will soon be offering a wireless attachment to its D2H professional-grade digital camera that enables users to shoot pictures and send them over an 802.11x network. Who needs a computer?
Professional sports photographers can utilize increasingly available on-site wireless networks without ever having to download pictures to a PC. Within 12 months, this type of wireless option is sure to filter down to the mid-range digital market.
For those of you who are camera buffs, by the way, click here for a thorough review of the product by camera expert Rob Galbraith.
Voice Over Wi-Fi
Back in March 2003, Qualcomm’s CEO downplayed the advent of Wi-Fi and brushed off his peers who were smart enough to hedge their bets and give Wi-Fi a tepid reception. Just six months later, Qualcomm is singing a different tune. The company recently announced they would begin including Wi-Fi features in millions of the company’s patented CDMA phones.
Qualcomm joins a growing list of carriers that have made Wi-Fi part of their 2004 strategy. One such company is Nextel.
I think Nextel has the best chance to make Wi-Fi work right from the start. Why? Instead of taking the public hot spot approach like Sprint and T-Mobile, Nextel will capitalize on their loyal push-to-talk users in the health care, building maintenance and construction industries and build a “private Wi-Fi” service.
For example, a hospital could install an in-building WiFi system that acts as an extension to Nextel’s wide-area network. A user could access the Nextel public network via a local Wi-Fi access point.
Follow the Money
While tracking the VC money trail may not be a sure sign of things to come, it definitely gives some clues. This week, a company called Kineto Wireless announced it has received $24 million in venture financing. The company’s first product is targeted at the mobile over wireless LAN (MoWLAN) carrier-class infrastructure market. Basically, the company sees a market in providing mobile voice and data services over WLANs that are located within homes, offices and hot spots. The company believes that carriers can deliver these services at a lower cost than existing 2.5G and 3G mobile network technologies.
They cite research from the Yankee Group and the FCC: “More than 30 percent of mobile use is indoors and subscribers now use their mobile phone for nearly 20 percent of their total home calling.”
Back in Daley Plaza
A year from now, a Picasso-gazing tourist who’s snapping high-resolution pictures and sending them back home via a public WLAN will no doubt leave this city with positive feelings. A city resident who otherwise might not have access to broadband may find a public hot spot critical to getting ahead in work or school.
There are countless examples of how providing wireless public LANs will have a positive impact on the city. It’s important we get this right.
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