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Toronto to become wireless hotspot!

T.O. to become wireless hotspot
Mar. 6, 2006. 08:30 AM
TYLER HAMILTON
TECHNOLOGY REPORTER


Toronto Hydro Corp. will announce Tuesday that it plans to turn Canada's largest city into one giant wireless hotspot, directly challenging the country's major mobile phone carriers for a chunk of the $8 billion a year wireless market.
With the deployment, which sources say could be available in the downtown core as early as this fall, Toronto joins a growing list of North American cities, including Philadelphia, New Orleans and San Francisco, that have announced plans to bring low-cost, broadband wireless access to their citizens and businesses.

"I wouldn't be surprised if you see it in September or October of this year," said a source close to the project.

Mayor David Miller will join Toronto Hydro executives on Tuesday to officially announce the initiative, which will be the largest of its kind ever undertaken in Canada and could undermine commercial product offerings from Rogers Wireless, Telus Mobility and Bell Mobility.

"I've heard that Ted Rogers is not very happy," said the source, referring to the founder of Toronto-based Rogers Communications Inc., parent company of Rogers Wireless, the country's largest mobile phone provider.

So-called municipal Wi-Fi, which blankets entire cities with the same wireless network technology found in many homes and small businesses, makes broadband access virtually ubiquitous and gives municipalities a way of generating revenue while offering affordable high-speed Internet access to low-income persons and neighbourhoods.

It also gives cities a way to attract tourists and business professionals, provides local police with better access to law enforcement databases while on the road, and helps city officials remotely monitor parking meters and other automated services. Toronto Hydro might also choose to sell a wholesale version of the service to other service providers.

In Ontario, where smart meters have been mandated, electrical utilities are looking at various telecommunications technologies for retrieving data from people's homes and businesses for time-of-day billing purposes.

Sources say Toronto Hydro has decided to support its smart meter plan using Wi-Fi technology, which can be accessed by any properly equipped laptop or handheld computing device.

Brian Sharwood, a telecom analyst with the Seaboard Group in Toronto, said it makes sense for a utility to recoup the cost of supporting smart meters by also selling wireless broadband services. "In a way that's the excuse to do all of this," he said. "You're going to run it past a lot of people anyway."

He said Canada's largest municipal electrical utility, which last year purchased Toronto's street light system for $60 million, will likely install the necessary wireless transmitters and receivers atop every fourth or fifth lamp post as a way to blanket the city with coverage -- what the industry describes as "wireless mesh networking."

Several companies offer the technology, including Kanata, Ont.-based BelAir Networks and Brampton-based Nortel Networks. Utilities in Hamilton and Sault Ste. Marie are pursuing similar Wi-Fi strategies for their respective smart meter programs.

Municipal Wi-Fi projects aren't without controversy. In the United States, major wireless carriers say municipalities have no experience selling consumer services and are abusing their monopoly over taxpayers' funds. They also fear that their own Wi-Fi services, increasingly offered in airports, restaurants, coffee shops and hotels, will be undercut when it comes to price.

But municipalities argue that competition is healthy and that blanketing communities with low-cost broadband access helps bridge the digital divide.

The announcement Tuesday by Toronto Hydro will follow VIA Rail Canada's decision to begin offering Wi-Fi service on all its trains between Windsor and Quebec City over the course of the year.

Brilliant!

awesome.

portable gaming just got a lot more fun

no details if this is using the latest wifi protocls.

if they need to put one broadcaster every 4 or 5 lamp posts then it must be 801.11g

Re: Toronto to become wireless hotspot!

quote:

Originally posted by itikia "I've heard that Ted Rogers is not very happy,"

lol

Anything that will bring Rogers to its knees will make me happy.

This will be just perfect! I was actually talking to someone the other day hoping this would happen soon.

indeed brilliant!

Suh-weet!

YAY!

cancer capital of the world!

time for me to get a laptop and time for everyone to boost up their security...

quote:

and helps city officials remotely monitor parking meters and other automated services. Toronto Hydro might also choose to sell a wholesale version of the service to other service providers. In Ontario, where smart meters have been mandated, electrical utilities are looking at various telecommunications technologies for retrieving data from people's homes and businesses for time-of-day billing purposes.

the real reasons they are doing this. Therefor i dont like the idea. They are basically going to use this to be able to easiliy charge us more for using our driers at 4pm instead of 4am. Also will be used to up prices at parking meters when data shows that parking is higher in demand.

Not to mention the health effects of having radiation boxes every few hundred metres.

quote:

Originally posted by malek no details if this is using the latest wifi protocls. if they need to put one broadcaster every 4 or 5 lamp posts then it must be 801.11g

Yeah, that�s what I was thinking. The main problem with this, is the fact that most PDAs and Pocket PCs, is that they are only 801.11b not g. As a PPC user, that is what I am interested in.

quote:

Originally posted by Jayx1 Not to mention the health effects of having radiation boxes every few hundred metres.

Unfortunately, I think it is much too difficult to pin cancer risk on the particular a source of radiation. We are already living in a world of Wifi, but the cell phone kind.

Complaining about the extra radiation from WiFi, is like complaining about the extra air pollution due to cigarettes.

quote:

Originally posted by Jayx1 the real reasons they are doing this. Therefor i dont like the idea. They are basically going to use this to be able to easiliy charge us more for using our driers at 4pm instead of 4am. Also will be used to up prices at parking meters when data shows that parking is higher in demand. Not to mention the health effects of having radiation boxes every few hundred metres.

Sometimes you're way too cynical, to the point of where you lose realism of the situation.

Just IMO

quote:

Originally posted by EvilTree Sometimes you're way too cynical, to the point of where you lose realism of the situation. Just IMO

thats a good point.

btw...HACK THE PLANET!!!!

quote:

Originally posted by Orko Yeah, that�s what I was thinking. The main problem with this, is the fact that most PDAs and Pocket PCs, is that they are only 801.11b not g. As a PPC user, that is what I am interested in.

my PPC has G and its one year old

The problem with B is that it would need a hotspot on every lamp posts which would be too expensive.

I think the G is a good compromise.

quote:

Originally posted by malek my PPC has G and its one year old The problem with B is that it would need a hotspot on every lamp posts which would be too expensive. I think the G is a good compromise.

What do you have? What others do you know of with G?

I was actually thinking of investing in a Compact Flash Wireless G card, and if this actually happens, I will definitely be picking one up.

quote:

Originally posted by Jayx1 the real reasons they are doing this. Therefor i dont like the idea. They are basically going to use this to be able to easiliy charge us more for using our driers at 4pm instead of 4am. Also will be used to up prices at parking meters when data shows that parking is higher in demand. Not to mention the health effects of having radiation boxes every few hundred metres.

come on jay, everythign thats electronic gives out radiation now

if ur concerned about it, then the only way to escape it is to go up north, in the wilderness, and live in a tent

quote:

Originally posted by EvilTree Sometimes you're way too cynical, to the point of where you lose realism of the situation. Just IMO

my main concern is the exploitation by government. And that is a realistic observation. They are about to bring in "smart" meters which is going to be a hinderance to everyone. Unless of course you like doing dishes and laundry at 4am.

quote:

Originally posted by Orko What do you have? What others do you know of with G? I was actually thinking of investing in a Compact Flash Wireless G card, and if this actually happens, I will definitely be picking one up.

fuck, i was smoking crack i guess... mine is B

anyone looking for a DELL X30 high? selling mine.

i agree with Jay
there has to be a catch on why they decided to do it

quote:

Originally posted by geroin i agree with Jay there has to be a catch on why they decided to do it

More cost effective and profitable in the longrun.

quote:

Originally posted by malek fuck, i was smoking crack i guess... mine is B anyone looking for a DELL X30 high? selling mine.

haha, yeah i was sceptical. I have the Dell x51v, its brand new and doesnt have G. If they do offer B in the city, I would think it would only be in limited areas, with G giving better coverage.

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