Hot spots in slow places
Joe Killian reports today that wireless Internet access is "becoming a part of everyday life."
In Greensboro and other cities, maybe, but not everywhere. Or is it?
While we were visiting at Christmas in my wife's tiny hometown of Columbus, in Polk County, my son, Kenny, was surprised to discover that his grandparents' home is in a Wi-Fi hot spot.
The Wi-Fi Freespot Directory, www.wififreespot.com, lists Tea Thyme Internet Cafe as offering wireless Internet access. It's just down the street in Columbus, maybe 500 yards on a straight line. Could its coverage extend that far?
I often joke about "Slow Polk County," but that's really one reason why I enjoy spending time there. I certainly never figured Columbus would be a hot spot for anything, but the world is changing fast 'most everywhere.
Comments (7)
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I imagine it'll change faster. I read a couple of things this weekend suggesting that between 80% and 100% of the country's population could be given wireless high-speed access for a total of $5B. I think that's low given the last-mile costs of reaching remote communities, but even if the figure were $20B, we spend that in Iraq in a few weeks.
Posted on January 2, 2007 4:24 PM
Lex, what might be the potential economic returns for, say, a communications company providing such a service within its market area?
Posted on January 2, 2007 4:48 PM
500 yards is far beyond what I am told a WiFi hotspot (with a single router) can reach. More likely, a closer neighbor has a linksys up and didn't know how to put a password protect on it.
Posted on January 3, 2007 10:41 PM
I'd like to point out that it's not changing so quickly everywhere. It's ok though. I'll do ok without wifi, but I wouldn't mind electricity.
Posted on January 4, 2007 9:40 AM
Good question, Doug. At any rate, I wasn't advocating for govt. vs. private enterprise. I was just marvelling that it apparently can be done by any entity, or combination of entities, for so little money, relatively speaking.
Posted on January 4, 2007 10:17 AM
Freddy - the curious thing is no neighbors are really that close. The tea thyme cafe is really the only explanation. From what I've heard, 802.11b routers have a range of 800 feet. FWIW, the signal was rather weak in my grandparents' house.
Posted on January 4, 2007 10:35 AM
Andrew! Glad you managed to get online. I enjoyed your new post at andrewinafrica.blogspot.com
If I ever want to kill a turkey, I'll know whom to call.
Posted on January 4, 2007 10:43 AM