First announced back in March, Grand Haven, Michigan, has proclaimed itself the nation’s first “Hot City” by having a city-wide, end-to-end Wi-Fi network covering the city and going 15 miles offshore into Lake Michigan to serve boaters. Service is from local WISP Ottawa Wireless and currently has about 300 subscribers, but expects to see many more due to the tourist trade in the city, with prices of $5 per day or $17 for a week. Subscribers pay monthly: $20 for 256Kbps, $45 for 512Kbps, and $80 for 1Mbps. They also have plans that cover unlimited in-city roaming, as well as a voice over IP plan. — July 30, 2004
According to Daily Wireless, in a meeting this week of Portland, Oregon’s Personal Telco Project, it was revealed that the Portland International Airport would be getting free Wi-Fi on October 1st, when 25 access points will be turned on. The airport will give it a year before deciding whether to charge for the service or not. — July 30, 2004
The New York Times (Registration required) says that the city of New York might be licensing out space on lampposts and traffic lights for installation of hotspot and cellular equipment. Nextel and T-Mobile apparently already have plans to lease space, and IDT might do the same to bring their VoIP service to the city (they’re currently trying it out in Newark). This was tried before in 1997 by Metricom, but it died before its Ricochet service could be deployed. — July 30, 2004
ICOA, which recently bought iDockUSA, a WISP for West Coast marinas, has launched service in the Golden Gate Yacht Club of San Francisco. The club, home of America’s Cup Team BMW Oracle Racing, will have full coverage that extends a bit into the Bay and the Marina Green city park. They don’t specify the pricing, but they say rates will be available for daily, monthly, and yearly subscriptions. — July 28, 2004
ZDNet UK is reporting that a giant hotspot is going live in Paris courtesy of mobile operator SFR, using equipment from Alcatel. The network (comprised of 30 separate 802.11b hotspots) will cover the “main business area of Paris” near the La Difense business park, and will provide free access to 150,000 potential customers. — July 28, 2004
Wayport says it’s providing high-speed wireless at the Pheasant Run Resort & Spa in Chicago. Service will be available in common areas, 473 guest rooms, and 45 meeting rooms covering 100,000 square feet. — July 27, 2004
BT Openzone has cut the price of access. Now 25 pounds (GBP) per month gets you 4,000 minutes — down from 40 GBP for only 900 minutes or 85 GBP for unlimited access — and 10p per additional minute. 25 GBP is roughly equivalent to $40 US. A one day/24-hour pass is down 5 GBP to a total of 10 GBP. Hourly rate is 6 GBP. — July 27, 2004
