<http://www.theregister.com/2007/02/03/sf_city_network/>
Molasses for free, lightning for a king's ransom
As doubts grow over the approval of San Francisco's proposed deal to
build a citywide wireless network with EarthLink, critics of the
effort are putting forth alternatives. Like the current plan,
negotiated behind closed doors between Mayor Gavin Newsom and the
ISP, none of them are anywhere near perfect.
The current plan, which faces an uncertain fate in the Board of
Supervisors, would allow EarthLink to own the WiFi network and,
though an arrangement with Google, offer a paltry 300 kbps for free
and a moderately more tolerable 1Mbps for $22 per month.
Critics argue that Net access is as fundamental as water and sewers,
and as such should be owned by taxpayers. They also say that the
network's underpinnings, built on 802.11b, are obsolete already and
will only grow more so over the 10 or more years it would likely be
in operation.
"They're going to have a bit of grief in trying to maintain the
network and mitigate interference," says Tim Pozar, principal at
network service provider United Layer and a critic of the mayor's
plan. A former radio engineer, he says WiFi is no match for San
Francisco's hilly terrain, rainy season and the host of radio signals
already carried on the 2.4 GHz spectrum.
Hey, Pozar
Pozar's alternative would push data into homes and businesses at a
significantly faster speed, using more than 220 strands of fiber he
says the city already has rights to operate. It would deliver speeds
of about 10Mbits per second or more to end users and wouldn't be
susceptible to radio transmissions and other types of interference.
[MORE]
--
Best regards, FAQ for Wireless Internet: <http://Wireless.wikia.com>
John Navas FAQ for Wi-Fi: <http://wireless.wikia.com/wiki/Wi-Fi>
Wi-Fi How To: <http://wireless.wikia.com/wiki/Wi-Fi_HowTo>
Fixes to Wi-Fi Problems: <http://wireless.wikia.com/wiki/Wi-Fi_Fixes>
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