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| 等 级：资深长老 |
| 经 验 值：3481 |
| 魅 力 值：1868 |
| 龙 币：18074 |
| 积 分：7748.6 |
| 注册日期：2004-04-26 |
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Google Offers Free Wi-Fi in Hometown
Google Offers Free Wi-Fi in Hometown
Google on Wednesday rolled out its free wireless Internet service in its
hometown of Mountain View, Calif., covering 11.5 square miles of the city
with some 380 access points. A 1Mbit per second connection would be provided
to each user, who would be able to use the network by signing up for a free
Google account.
"This network is a way for us to give back to and engage with the community
where our headquarters are," product manager Minnie Ingersoll said. "It has
been has been tremendously rewarding to partner with the local government,
the schools, the library, the neighborhood associations, and all of our
trusted testers to introduce the power of free, wireless Internet
connectivity to the city."
If demand is high enough for more speed, Google said it would explore
increasing bandwidth. The company has tested speeds of up to eight megabits
per second according to press reports.
The project is the first to go live for Google, although it has partnered
with EarthLink to provide a similar service in the city of San Francisco.
However, Google executives have quashed rumors that the company may be ready
to make a push to offer Wi-Fi nationwide.
In an interview with the New York Times, special initiatives head Chris
Sacca told the paper that such rumors were unfounded. The projects in
Mountain View and San Franscisco will be used as test beds for new Google
efforts, as well as showing the value of providing wireless Internet access
on a broad scale.
Other than the San Francisco contract, Google has not made bids to run any
of the other 300 or so city Wi-Fi projects currently underway nationwide.
Ingersoll echoed these beliefs. "We think successful mesh wireless
deployments will promote competition, create cheaper access alternatives,
and foster open, standards-compliant platforms for content and service
providers to showcase their applications without the hassle of the
traditional walled-garden approach," she said.
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2006-08-17 15:58:13
