And there was Wi-Fi over London
24th May 2010.
Mayor Boris Johnson has announced that London will have blanket wi-fi coverage in time for the 2012 Olympics. Speaking at the Google Zeitgeist event Boris said "It's thanks to Google that all of us sentient adults spend so much of our lives grazing absently like ruminants on this vast Serengeti of information." He went on to say that "every lamppost, every bus stop" would offer wi-fi.
Whilst we applaud the principle, at a time of government austerity measures it does seem a bit of an extravagence using current technologies. Perhaps investing in 4G or Wi-Max might be a better use of public money than current wi-fi standards.
That said, apparently 22 London boroughs have already signed up for the scheme, although further details are not yet available. Which is a shame as we have quite a few questions: will this be free or paid for wireless access; how will illegal downloaders be handled; what will stop people opening up the lampposts or bus-stops in order to get their hands on the wireless goodies inside; etc.
