Out of the Wi-Fi wilderness
Posted by Chris Sacca, Special
Initiatives
In Wi-Fi terms, I can go just 19 steps from my front door and still
get coverage. The nearest coffee shop seems within reach — but
signal strength-wise, there's not enough power to pick it up.
And the signal definitely isn't strong enough to get to the
restaurant kitty-corner from my place. Frankly, my home Wi-Fi
connection works just enough to let me use it in the middle of
oncoming traffic (especially dangerous considering that I live on a
Muni
line). As soon as I take that 20th step, I either lose signal
altogether, or have to pay some crazy amount of dough to jump onto
the Internet at a paid hotspot.
So when I'm out and about, how am I supposed to stay current on
the filming of
Hammer's latest videos in downtown San Francisco? Of
course, I also need constant connectivity to keep tabs on the
inventory of pirate supplies at
without Wi-Fi, how else can I check in on
connections in real time?
This is why I am especially excited to hear that the City and
County of San Francisco
chose the bid from EarthLink and Google to offer
citywide Wi-Fi access. If all goes well, construction will
commence this year on a network that would provide it for free to
virtually the entire city at speeds up to six times dial-up.
I can't wait for Wi-Fi everywhere. Who knows? Pretty soon I
might even be able to wirelessly place an order with the
Tamale Lady. But first, I need to dodge this streetcar bearing
down on me — yikes!
Update: Revised first 3
sentences for clarity.
Tags: , Chris, Fi, InitiativesIn, Posted, Sacca, Special, Wi