http://arstechnica.com/news.ars/post/20061023-8052.html
New Orleans to take city-wide WiFi network offline 10/23/2006 11:22:18 AM, by Eric Bangeman In the wake of Hurricane Katrina, New Orleans came up with a plan to help get its communications infrastructure back up and running: a free, city-wide WiFi network. Built with equipment donated by Intel, Tropos Networks, and Pronto Networks, the Crescent City's municipal WiFi network will soon be going dark. The city-operated network is being replaced by one from EarthLink. EarthLink's network will cover about 20 square miles of the Big Easy to begin with, including the French Quarter, Garden District, Algiers, and the Central Business District, with plans to further expand it if the demand is there. Due to opposition from other ISPs and the telecoms, New Orleans' free WiFi network had its speed capped at 512Kbps, and that was only while the city was still in an official state of emergency. Once that ended, the maximum speed was rolled back to a paltry 128Kbps in order to comply with Louisiana's telecom-friendly broadband laws, which mandate speed caps on publicly-funded broadband networks. According to New Orleans' IT director Mark Kurt, the primary reason for shutting of the city-owned network is the possibility of interference with Earthlink's network. "Once EarthLink has deployed their network, we will remove our equipment, and redeploy elsewhere as the situation warrants," Kurt told the New Orleans Times-Picayune. "The other wireless networks that have been set up by the city for temporary facilities and public safety will continue to be operated by the city as long as they are necessary and funding is available." EarthLink's system will begin going online later this year or in early 2007. Higher-speed access will be available on a daily or monthly basis, with the ISP continuing to provide lower-speed, free service for as long as the city is rebuilding, says EarthLink. When Louisiana native Jon Stokes originally reported on New Orleans' free network for Ars, he made the following prediction: "I do fear that if the project is too popular and successful then the same forces that imposed the state-wide 128Kbps public broadband cap will move to have it shut down. And if the rebuilt New Orleans is anything like the old New Orleans, they may very well succeed." At least EarthLink will offer free, low-speed access while the Big Easy is in rebuilding mode. But with New Orleans faced with a rebuilding project that will last years, if not decades, we'll see how long the free access hangs around. --~--~---------~--~----~------------~-------~--~----~ TELECOM-CITIES Current searchable archives (Feb. 1, 2006 to present) at http://www.mail-archive.com/[email protected]/ Old searchble archives at http://www.mail-archive.com/[email protected]/ -~----------~----~----~----~------~----~------~--~---
