Free WiFi for all in Sunnyvale

[David Farber <dave () farber net>]

Begin forwarded message:

From: Dewayne Hendricks <dewayne () warpspeed com>
Date: December 3, 2005 2:25:28 PM EST
To: Dewayne-Net Technology List <dewayne-net () warpspeed com>
Subject: [Dewayne-Net] Free WiFi for all in Sunnyvale
Reply-To: dewayne () warpspeed com

Posted on Sat, Dec. 03, 2005
Free WiFi for all in Sunnyvale

METROFI MAY OFFER NON-PAY SERVICE IN OTHER CITIES

By Jessie Seyfer

Mercury News

<http://www.siliconvalley.com/mld/siliconvalley/13319065.htm>

Mountain View-based MetroFi is expected to announce today that it  
plans to bring free, advertising-supported wireless Internet service  
to all 130,000 residents of Sunnyvale.

The network has already been installed in areas serving about a third  
of households in the 24-square-mile city. Those citizens can get free  
online access using MetroFi's network if their computers can pick up  
wireless Internet, or WiFi, signals. The rest of the city's  
residential and business districts will be able to access the network  
by spring, MetroFi Chief Executive Chuck Haas said.

For free access, customers must accept a half-inch advertising strip  
-- much like ``banner'' ads commonly found on Web pages -- at the top  
of their Web browser at all times. MetroFi plans to run local and  
national ads on the service, but will not track the browsing habits  
of its customers, Haas said. The only thing MetroFi will know is that  
their customers are in Sunnyvale, ``which is valuable to local  
advertisers.''

MetroFi has already installed WiFi networks in Santa Clara and  
Cupertino, but residents there pay $19.95 per month. However, they  
are not required to keep any portion of their screen clear for  
advertising while they browse the Internet. The speed at which  
information travels on those cities' networks -- 1 megabit per second  
for downloads and 256 kilobits per second for uploads, comparable to  
typical DSL speeds -- is the same on the new Sunnyvale network.

Haas said he considers the Sunnyvale project a test, and if it works  
well, MetroFi will offer the free, advertising-supported service to  
Santa Clara and Cupertino, in addition to the fee-based one. The  
company hadn't developed the technology to bring a free network to  
those cities before, he said.

``I think we'll have customers that take both services,'' he said.  
``Rather than limiting our market to just free or just paid, we have  
the best of both worlds.''

[snip]

Weblog at: <http://weblog.warpspeed.com>



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