Campaign for free national WiFi

thin_rasping_voice

Hi all,

Last week on 5's Gadget Show, they launched a campaign for free total national WiFi, which means you could log on to MSE from anywhere in the country from your laptop, for nowt.

The city of Norwich has done it - the council has put in free wifi throughout the city centre. The tiny Polynesian island of Niue has done it too - free wifi access for all. And various US cities are rolling it out too.

Obviously it comes at a cost, but there are strong economic benefits, so this is no pie-in-the-sky idea.

To lend your support, go here: http://gadgetshow.five.tv/campaign/wifi/ and give your name and email address. The Gadget Show will submit the campaign to the government. It may come to nothing, but if enough support is mounted then this could become the freebie of all freebies!

Thanks!

thin rasping voice

alchemista

It wouldn't be a freebie. Someone needs to pay for it, and if it's the government it's not going to be bought efficiently. This gets spread out to the taxpayers of course, regardless of if they use WiFi internet. Then, you also are going to be paying more than your value to roll out WiFi in some remote area of Cornwall??? That sounds like an inefficient use of funds.

On the other hand, I could see rolling it out to more populated city regions as maybe being worth the cost of the public good.

I'd rather the government not tax internet access... (yeah, right)

marksward

There are a lot of socail implications to allowing free wifi. The same as someone hijacking your open wifi at home to do illegal things.

Dan_Thunder

Interesting idea but there's no such thing as legal free wi-fi, there's always going to be a cost and that cost will be passed on to the public one way or another. The majority of computer users don't use laptops, myself included, so I'll be b*ggered if I'm going to pay for someone else to use something I can't!

deepseeker

It already happens in USA - I did hear that google was starting doing it and the cost was taken up by advertising revenue. :beer:

I watch the BBC so I can put up with advertising.:beer:

alchemista

deepseeker wrote:

It already happens in USA - I did hear that google was starting doing it and the cost was taken up by advertising revenue. :beer:

I watch the BBC so I can put up with advertising.:beer:

Right, that's a different story. That's a private company pursuing this as a venture, not a government trying to provide it as a public service. The private company will have all the benefits of trying to do it efficiently, making a business case for at least making back their money on it through advertising/premium subscriptions/goodwill/etc, and being skilled to implement it.

littlejaffa

There's a few local community networks set up already, some where a private company with government/charity grants & sponsorship provide wifi free access, in most cases it's in poorer areas and the pc/laptops are also provided (to homes & public spaces), there's lots you can do beside surf, but it's is in infancy.

I do think with the price of wireless so many people that know nothing about it are buying and plugging in, with no security - a check just now gives me access to 4 different wireless connections - free - people around me havn't bothered to secure. (i'm not using them!)

One way or another free wireless for all is coming

Dan_Thunder

Yeah, it beggars belief that people can't even be bothered to put on simple WEP encryption onto their networks. I can pick up the connection from the building next door to us and that's a fr*ggin' bank!

kepal

its easy to get past a WEP key anyway.

its a good idea but every1 would get free internet so its not gonna happen.

last i heard sony were doing a world wide wifi connection for the psp

kronas

i signed up, icould be a vital educational tool, but i could sell the idea to them!

batfink_2

it is a really good idea especially for me it wood be good to go on the net anywhere on my psp!!