I find Google interesting but your comments on them are even more interesting :)
Muniwireless ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ 16 February 2010 Newsletter Google Fiber and the Future of Municipal Broadband ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Greetings! I was on holiday in Sydney and Melbourne last week when Google announced that it would be deploying experimental fiber networks. The announcement does not say where and when they will commence the deployments but it's great for municipalities and ISPs who want cheaper, faster broadband options in the "middle mile". I was inspired to write a long commentary about what the Google fiber network could mean for free Wi-Fi in part because of my utter frustration in finding free Wi-Fi in Sydney and Melbourne. Most cafes in those cities do not open up their Wi-Fi connections and even when they do, they charge for access. I am told by tech entrepreneurs in Sydney that the local incumbent, Telstra, charges a lot for broadband and places low data caps, thereby discouraging people from sharing their connections or downloading/uploading large files. Although my article focused on Google fiber and Wi-Fi, you can extend it to municipal broadband projects, wired and wireless. Google's huge data capacity and its willingness to act as a broadband wholesaler changes the game for communities and ISPs that have had to rely on only one or two broadband providers who charge a lot of money. Read my commentary: Google Fiber and the Future of Free Wi-Fi -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- WISPA Wants You! Join today! http://signup.wispa.org/ -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- WISPA Wireless List: [email protected] Subscribe/Unsubscribe: http://lists.wispa.org/mailman/listinfo/wireless Archives: http://lists.wispa.org/pipermail/wireless/
