Rodney O. Lain - 2002.03.11
The popularity of 802.11 has also begun to inspire the
construction of networks that are intended to be shared, either
free or for a fee.
- The New York Times 3/4/2002
Wouldn't it be interesting to walk down the street with your
laptop or PDA and be able to access your home machine? Or the
business that you're walking by? Or even the Internet?
- Seattle Wireless project
IN FRONT OF A MINNESOTA MOVIE THEATER - On a lark, I decide to
go and watch the remake of H. G. Wells' "The Time Machine" last
Saturday. (Translation: The Wife said, "I know you're not going to
lie on that couch all day with that laptop. Either help me clean or
get out of the house.")
So here I am, an hour before the movie starts, just me and my
trusty iBook, surfing some news articles I'd downloaded before
leaving home. One particular news story has my attention this
morning, a New York Times piece,
Good (or Unwitting) Neighbors Make for Good Internet Access
(free registration required), in which the reporter chronicles the
ease with which virtually any bloke can access the Internet via his
neighbor's wireless broadband connection.
After calling home and asking the wife to check to see if my
AirPort access point is password enabled (translation: "You called
me for that? You'd better pick up the dry cleaning on your way
home. And don't call me again about that damned computer."), I
realized that I wouldn't want anyone piggybacking on my Internet
connection. Hypocrite that I am, I do believe that commercial
wireless access, however, is a different-colored horse.
Wireless connectivity is now a fixed entry in the official
lexicon of the digital lifestyle. Cell phones are ubiquitous. Ditto
for PDAs and laptops. Each is capable of Internet connections.
Couple this with the fact that we are on the brink of an explosion
of wireleless-capable services and devices that will enable access
to Internet information regardless of location. This is a prime
time for free wireless connectivity to be offered by retailers
whose store environments also serve a social function - i.e.,
gathering places like coffee shops, libraries, book stores, malls,
and airports.
I don't claim to be making any revolutionary statement here.
There are already wireless offerings like Wayport that offer
wireless connections in select airports and hotels. What will be
happening is the offering of such services nearly anywhere you can
plop down with a laptop. Those days are coming soon.
The problem is that only now has the price of wireless
networking equipment started to fall to price levels acceptable to
us mere mortals (Apple's AirPort is arguably the most expensive on
the market at $299 for the base station and $99 for the card). But
I predict that more public locations will begin to provide wireless
Internet in public places as we consumers begin clamoring for
wireless access points in the near future.
One of my biggest frustrations is having my laptop with me and
not being able to get an Internet connection anywhere other than my
home or the Mall of America (near the Apple Store). Imagine being
able to be at nearly any type of location conducive to us laptop
warriors and being able to download email, fax documents, and
upload to your Web site.
I'm confident that this will begin to happen, but I think that
it will take a little democracy and consumerism in action. By
democracy, I believe that laws will have to be passed to ensure
that businesses like cafés will be able to allow customers
free Internet usage via a store-owned access point (I don't
typically like "gub' mint" intruding upon my life, but this is one
area where I wouldn't mind).
Why do I say legislation needs to be involved with wireless
Internet in public places? Well, there are already broadband
providers blanching at movements like Free Networks that
aim to make wireless access - not necessarily free access -
available to the masses. Already such efforts exist in
Seattle, Houston, and New York City.
Also, we need some consumer activism, as well. People like you
and me need to talk to businesses that we frequent and ask them
about providing wireless Internet access. This is a novel way to
distinguish one company from its competitors. This distinguishing
characteristic will only last for a short while, though, before the
day comes where nearly every public place has some designated area
where 802.11 frequencies reign.
I encourage you to spend some time away from home with your
laptop and imagine being able to access the Internet unfettered by
wires or your home's four walls.
Location-independent Internet is the future. The future isn't
now, but it should be. I encourage you to do what you can to bring
about this future. 
