CRA Looks to Expand Downtown WIFI

Free wifi is a great idea... but usually the limitations involved prevent it from doing much more than being a way to check email or do light websurfing. I had an office in Fullerton for many years before moving to Downtown. Fullerton was one of the first cities in CA to provide a downtown area free wifi mesh network. Anaheim, a much larger city, has been installing a much larger city-wide network in partnership with Earthlink (last I checked). Both networks give local businesses a way for their customers to easily be connected, and they are pretty strong "selling points" for those cities. It seems to me, though, that there is a lot more to these "free networks" than just altruism. Anaheim is using their network as a significant part of their overall security / communications/ emergency services program. I don't know for certain, and City leaders are not to talkative about it, but I suspect there is some heavy Homeland Security money involved. Fullerton's network is set up so that it could easily be part of a similar system. Big Brother implications aside for the moment, LA could conceivably learn something from those two cities (even though LA is a totally different, and far larger place).

I agree that free wifi is not all that great if there isn't really anywhere to comfortably enjoy it. We are engaged in a long, slow, but hopefully successful phase of reclaiming our streets in this city, and as that improves, places like Pershing Square and the other so very few public outdoor places we have should be better for wifi use. So-called "public places of business" like restaurants, etc could conceivably work with a free wi-fi system to add customers as well... especially when T-Mobile HotSpot (usually at Starbucks) is pushing 500 bucks a year now. Yeah... hmmm.

One thing that came up in the Fullerton experience was some resistance from the established IP people - particularly those who sell land-line DSL. The Fullerton Wireless network was set up at such a low level of service and speed that it does not really act as a threat to ATT/SBC and those IP companies. I found the wifi network very helpful at times from inside my office, as the ATT DSL service was frequently offline (hmmm... imagine!!!)... and I got the signal through the window. Forget about file transfer of anything much larger than half a meg though...

Pershing Square is one of the least hospitable places in the city to do ANYTHING. Although the last thing I want is a cop following me around every time I walk through the park, at parks like Pershing Square and MacArthur, these steps are needed.

I wouldn't CARRY a laptop through Pershing Square in broad daylight, let alone open it up and surf the 'net.

The wi-fi stuff is exciting, though, especially in Little Tokyo; lots of great cafes and plazas to sit around in there.

Over the next few years, Wi-Fi become more frequently accessed via handhelds, rather than laptops. Even in Pershing Square's inhospitable environment, I think accessing the 'Net via handheld while crossing Pershing Square would be feasible and useful.

But yes, PSq needs to be completely redone. It is an disaster, aesthetically and functionally.

BTW - walked thru' Pershing Sq. this afternoon - pretty mellow and innocuous. Didn't even smell bad. Kids were out on the ice too - that's probably why it was so laid back. Kids on the ice bring security, and there were probably more people around than usual.