Free wifi for Tulsa?

[RecycleMichael]

This forum has been talking about this for a number of years. Here is a channel 8 story...

http://www.ktul.com/news/stories/0107/392297.html

[USRufnex]

http://www.investor.reuters.wallst.com/stocks/company-profile.asp?rpc=66&ticker=VZ

quote:On April 13, 2005, the Company completed the purchase of all of the stock of NextWave Telecom Inc., whereby it acquired 23 PCS licenses. The licenses cover a population of approximately 73 million and will provide spectrum capacity in markets, such as New York, Los Angeles, Boston, Washington D.C. and Detroit, and Tulsa, Oklahoma.

Verizon Wireless just recently (last few weeks) got their towers up and running in Tulsa; they simultaneously rolled out their wireless broadband.

(disclaimer: I'm a former employee of VZW)

[perspicuity85]

Let's spearhead this effort.  Free wi-fi throughout Tulsa would be an obvious functional asset.  And, promoting the effort could improve the national perception of Tulsa.  Let's be on the cutting edge for once.

[patric]

Expect Cox Cable and AT&T to stop at nothing to bury that idea.
http://www.eweek.com/category2/0,1874,1755892,00.asp

[AMP]

Never had much luck with the wireless type of internet.  Too many other devices that share the same frequency, Micro Wave Ovens, Wireless Phones, Alarm Systems and more.

Have tried to connect in over a dozen hotels and motels that claim to have wireless.  

Best luck I have had is at hotles and motels that have a wired connection.  Those are typically 90%

Candlewood Suites, Holiday Inn and others offer hard wired service that actually works.

[sgrizzle]

I use wifi all the time. Interference is a big issue. It uses a horrible frequency (2.4Ghz for 802.11b&g) to overcome interference.

[Trams]

Speaking of free wi-fi, check out:  http://www.tulsafreewifi.com/

It lists many places in Tulsa with free wi fi.

[Publius]

Okay, . . . I hate to be the cynic here, but there is no such thing as "free wi-fi." What it means is wi-fi where somebody else pays. (Not that there's anything wrong with that.)

Soooo, who's gonna pay?

[sgrizzle]

Likely the City. However, the maintenance costs are very small once the network is setup. A smart system would limit the bandwidth per user so larger businesses would still opt to use paid-for access.

[patric]

Not entirely free, but more free than before []

AT&T Inc. said Wednesday it will make its 10,000 Wi-Fi hotspots free to nearly all of its broadband Internet customers starting early next week.

Only subscribers to AT&T's premium broadband services previously had free access to its hotspots, leaving out the majority of high-speed users, who have the 1.5-Mbps service.

Now, more than 10 million broadband customers, most of AT&T's high-speed Internet subscribers, will be able to use the hotspots free of charge.

Most Wi-Fi hotspots _ in restaurants, airports and other public places _ charge daily or monthly fees for access.

AT&T wireless customers who use Apple Inc.'s iPhone currently must get a Wi-Fi package to use their iPhone at AT&T hotspots, but they now can use their iPhones at hotspots for free if they are AT&T broadband Internet subscribers.

San Antonio-based AT&T also said Wednesday that it will introduce a faster broadband service that can send data at up to 10 Mbps. The service, at $55 per month, will be available only to customers of its Internet Protocol-based television service, U-verse.

[Conan71]

I have a wireless network at home.  Only other time I've tried Wi-Fi was on the Monday after ice hell hit Tulsa.  Much as I loathe them, the Starbucks at 51st & Harvard was one of the few places with internet & power.  

The reception was crappy and I think I was actually on a wireless connection in the Country Club Plaza Building most of the time.

I was not impressed to say the least and don't see how the ice played into that considering there was power.

[Ibanez]

If you have interference issues with WiFi in your home you need to try a couple of things:

First go into the config for your router and change the channel it is broadcasting on. You typically have a choice of Channel 1 thru 11. Play with the channel selection and see how you do.

Secondly try loading the DD-WRT firmware onto your router. It is an opensource linux based firmware that unlocks a lot of your router's "hidden" features. One of those features is the ability to increase the broadcast power of your router.

Finally if those things don't help then go by a new 5ghz wireless router.

One other thing to remember is to mount/place your router at the highest point possible. Most people tend to just have them sitting on their desks, which is really a horrible location. The higher the router the better reception will be thru your house.

[Wilbur]

quote:Originally posted by Publius

Okay, . . . I hate to be the cynic here, but there is no such thing as "free wi-fi." What it means is wi-fi where somebody else pays. (Not that there's anything wrong with that.)

Soooo, who's gonna pay?

Uh Oh!  I'm sensing another tax increase!

[we vs us]

quote:Originally posted by Publius

Okay, . . . I hate to be the cynic here, but there is no such thing as "free wi-fi." What it means is wi-fi where somebody else pays. (Not that there's anything wrong with that.)

Soooo, who's gonna pay?

Advertising?

[nathanm]

quote:Originally posted by we vs us

quote:Originally posted by Publius

Okay, . . . I hate to be the cynic here, but there is no such thing as "free wi-fi." What it means is wi-fi where somebody else pays. (Not that there's anything wrong with that.)

Soooo, who's gonna pay?

Advertising?

People who are willing to pay for higher than whatever baseline speed is provided for free. (I would think 128k to 256k would be sufficient for that)

Maybe some "brought to you by"s paid for by a nearby business when you first connect would also be helpful.

A citywide wifi network doesn't have to cost a ton of money on an ongoing basis. An employee or two, a couple of servers, and some Internet access is all that's required. Perhaps some pole rental would be needed in some areas of town. The hardest part is getting the initial installation done. That's where a relatively small amount of public money would come in handy.