Should Charlotte go wireless

[Skyybutter]

Check out this article about

Philly going wireless

I first heard about this while living in philly and it seemed like such a long shot. Imagine the attention this will draw for that city. I hope Charlotte thinks about doing the same. It will show the country and world how progressive we can actually be.

[monsoon]

Seems to be a bit of a reach that a city can put up a few wireless aerials and the world will recognize it as being progressive.

[dubone]

i had thought that charlotte should put wifi along the south light rail line... (it is buried somewhere in one of these threads).... but there are reasons why that isn't a good idea.

Pat McC has address the philly wifi and said that no way charlotte would do that.

At this point, however, WiFi is basically just shy of being obsolete. the mobile phone companies are rolling out wireless high speed connections over their networks. by late 2006, i suspect that most people who have cellphones will also have easy access to wireless broadband "anywhere". the price will likely be competitive with in-home broadband.

[Miesian Corners]

I agree, dubone, but free is always better than paying Verizon $59.99 a month.

Speaking of money and wifi, the Charlotte airport (always being last in a trend) just installed WiFi in the terminal building. Guess how much it costs to use for 5 minutes? If you said $10 you'd be right. Ten bucks to surf for five bloody minutes. What a rip.

[monsoon]

Google is rumored to be planning to offer free wifi internet access to the people so it makes this discussion a bit moot anyway.

[dubone]

that wifi at the airport is likely by a private company. google is a private company (although i'm really surprised to hear that they are thinking of doing that). sprint and verizon and cingular are private companies.

I am certain that the private sector will figure out wireless broadband for the masses over the coming few years.

frankly, i'm glad it won't be taxpayer funded, though. that opens up some serious issues in my opinion.

[Sabaidee]

Verizon has already deployed their EVDO network in Charlotte, while Sprint Nextel only has its EVDO service available currently at Charlotte-Douglas. When Verizon first launched their EVDO network, it started off with major airport locations too. Right all CDMA carriers are in the process of upgrading to EVDO, with Verizon and Sprint Nextel being ahead. Sprint Nextel should complete deploying EVDO by the end of this year. GSM carriers like T-Mobile and Cingular are behind, EDGE, the high speed technology they use is far slower than EVDO. EVDO offers speeds up to 2.4 Mbps, while EDGE offers 384 Kps. Cingular is upgrading to UTMS by late 2006 and that has the theorically speed of 2 Mbps. Either way, all those carriers will go into a price war with their wireless broadband. Dell is already planning to use Verizon EVDO cards into their new computers for wireless internet access for consumers.

[Miesian Corners]

that wifi at the airport is likely by a private company. google is a private company (although i'm really surprised to hear that they are thinking of doing that). sprint and verizon and cingular are private companies.

I am certain that the private sector will figure out wireless broadband for the masses over the coming few years.

frankly, i'm glad it won't be taxpayer funded, though. that opens up some serious issues in my opinion.

It's not just about charging, it's about price gouging. Ten dollars for five minutes? It only adds to the distain I feel for Jerry Orr. I mean, every major airport (and airports like Huntsville, Charlottesville, State College) have had wireless service for years now. The idea that a large hub facility didn't offer it until last month speaks volumes about how the facility is run. Now that it's finally available, you pay an outrageous amount to use it.

[dubone]

one man's price gouging is another man's profit point.

[DigitalSky]

Verizon has already deployed their EVDO network in Charlotte, while Sprint Nextel only has its EVDO service available currently at Charlotte-Douglas. When Verizon first launched their EVDO network, it started off with major airport locations too. Right all CDMA carriers are in the process of upgrading to EVDO, with Verizon and Sprint Nextel being ahead. Sprint Nextel should complete deploying EVDO by the end of this year. GSM carriers like T-Mobile and Cingular are behind, EDGE, the high speed technology they use is far slower than EVDO. EVDO offers speeds up to 2.4 Mbps, while EDGE offers 384 Kps. Cingular is upgrading to UTMS by late 2006 and that has the theorically speed of 2 Mbps. Either way, all those carriers will go into a price war with their wireless broadband. Dell is already planning to use Verizon EVDO cards into their new computers for wireless internet access for consumers.

EVDO.. UTMS.. GSM.. CDMA.. you've got my head spinning lol

[kpryde4u]

I mean... it's better than not...

[authenticbeing]

I agree, dubone, but free is always better than paying Verizon $59.99 a month.

Speaking of money and wifi, the Charlotte airport (always being last in a trend) just installed WiFi in the terminal building. Guess how much it costs to use for 5 minutes? If you said $10 you'd be right. Ten bucks to surf for five bloody minutes. What a rip.

Not to mention the fact that certain corporations are already aligning themselves with certain providers and if you don't subscribe to the provider you are out of luck. Like with Starbucks...they went with T-Mobile. I don't subscribe to T-Mobile so you can bet that I won't be using my laptop there. It would be much better if the wi-fi was more ubiquitous so everyone could use it that had a wireless card. Sir Edmond Halley's has free wi-fi on the other hand and I use my laptop there all the time and therefore they get my business. So I think it will end up hurting businesses in the long run if they use the Starbucks model.