Free WiFi

Good for Boston. City officials are looking out for citizens by pushing for nonprofit control of Boston's WiFi network. From the article:

City officials hope that even if some Internet providers don't participate, they would face pressure to cut prices for the existing services.
"We've identified a highly disruptive business model," said Rick Burnes, one of three co-chairs of a task force that spent five months developing the proposal. "By harnessing new technologies and implementing a unique network model, we can eliminate much of the cost of delivering broadband, thus providing an inexpensive platform for entrepreneurs while also bringing cheaper service to underserved[sic] populations."

New York will someday be getting free WiFi in selected parks. The networks are supposed to be maintained by Nokia with infrastructure owned and managed by a small company, WiFi Salon. It sounds pretty good, even if it's not city wide (like in Philadelphia and San Francisco):

He said the company had not experienced resistance from other companies that provide broadband Internet connections in New York, such as Verizon Communications and Time Warner Cable.
"We're providing free Wi-Fi to people in city parks," Mr. Brown said. "That's not their business. They do a great job servicing the public in residences."

But, delays happened and in May 2006 NYC officials set a deadline of July for WiFi Salon. That deadline obviously passed, but I can't find much about the city's current plans. WiFi Salon issued a press release (pdf file) on July 6th, 2006 officially announcing Nokia as the provider for their networks. The release doesn't mention the deadline set by the city. If I have time tomorrow, I'm going to call the Department of Parks and Recreation and ask them about NYC's WiFi status.

In the meantime, Auscillate has a list of free WiFi spots for many US locations, including NYC.

Update: Things in Philly aren't quite there yet. There are hotspots for free access, but citywide access is not implemented. The city has contracted Earthlink to build and run the citywide network. It will be very interesting to see how the project pans out. It's not hope inspiring that a huge service provider has been called in. Still, this attitude is encouraging:

"Philadelphia is a city of many firsts and this is a first as well,'' said Councilwoman Blondell Reynolds Brown. "It's the first time a large municipality is saying we'll take an aggressive role in ensuring that the digital divide is bridged.''