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Wednesday, November 30, 2005
Free Wifi in New OrleansHurricane-ravaged New Orleans will deploy the nation's first municipally owned wireless Internet system that will be free for all users, part of an effort to jump-start recovery by making living and doing business in the city as attractive as possible.The system, which uses devices mounted on streetlights to beam out fast Internet connections for wireless-enabled computers, is scheduled to be operational today in the central business district and the French Quarter and to be expanded over time.The New Orleans system will feature 512-kilobit-per-second speed, which city officials said is the most the network can handle efficiently at first. Because the city is under a state of emergency, it can skirt existing law.Chris Drake, operations manager for New Orleans, said the system also proves invaluable for law enforcement. Although first responders will still communicate over a radio-band network, background data checks and other police functions can be done on the WiFi network, relieving pressure on the radio system.
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