April 28, 2006

Wireless Internet Available Only To Short People

An article in Metro yesterday detailed the one tiny little problem with the city's wireless internet program: It won't go above three stories.

This makes sense, of course. Sometimes I have problems getting wifi in my room, and my laptop is only about 10 feet away from my router. (And I have a good router, a Linksys, not some CompUSA brand.) And so it'd make sense that with the wireless stations located on lightposts, there wouldn't be a way to get wireless if you weren't close enough to a lightpost. Which, in a high rise, you're not. (Earthlink says that's going to be "Phase 2" of the program, which is okay -- and it'd be better to finally get this thing off the ground, if City Council ever actually votes to sign the contract.)

Obviously, the patricians in Center City highrise condos and office buildings aren't hurting for the Internet. (Although the program is designed for all, let's just say that cheap Internet is going to -- in theory -- help the poorer people in the city. Right?) But there are lower-income high-rises as well. But, of course, if you do live above the third floor, you can buy a special wifi card from Earthlink in order to get service.

City Council didn't sign a contract yesterday, which means that, as time passes, the original awesome, amazing idea for the city covered in free wireless Internet has slowly become something that, like the extension of Woodhaven Road, feels like it's just not going to happen. Or, if and when it does, it'll be a lame-o, expensive program that won't work well, won't be available to many people and just will be another "oh well" thing in this city.

Hopefully, I'll be wrong. But, well, it is Philadelphia.

Wi-Fi's glass ceiling [Metro]
Photo by Manamanah

Posted by D-Mac on April 28, 2006 09:00 AM
Posted to City Council , High Rises , Wireless Philadelphia

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