FROM January, the information age will have another free conduit in Singapore, which allows wireless access to the Internet from almost anywhere on the island. All a person would need is a laptop or mobile phone that can detect Wireless Fidelity (WiFi), a technology that transmits data via radio signals.
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Free connectivity will first cover areas with high human traffic, such as Orchard Road and the Central Business District (CBD), before reaching thousands of other designated public areas by September next year.
After two years of universal service they will decide what to do next. Interesting approach.
found by Vic Flaming
Another example of how America is becoming “third world”.
Free as in beer.
Singapore censors all media, including the internet. No thanks.
Right …. but at least the Singapore government do not eavesdrop on its people, like … oh ya, the governments of the United States of A does … hohoho
And hey, if dvorak.com is allowed … I really don’t feel the censor’s presence if you ask me …
If you think Dvorak’s website is a political or social hotbed, then your censors have done their job.
Singapore is a draconian society, but benevolent with it.
I would not want to live permanently under their laws but it is a really nice place to visit, or to work for a couple of years.
Their strict rules about stuff do make normal, “go about your business” life feel very safe.
The wifi is cool and Their government probably listens in on whoever they want.
Let me first say that I spend many hours per day using the internet and pay dearly for my access. Mostly for work but personal time also. I don’t know how I feel about the government, at any level, providing “free” access. First of all, it is not free. You pay for it, like so many other bungled programs, but do not get to choose the level of service. As the technology advances, where is the insentive for the gov’t. to improve their network? No competition, no insentive. How about phone service? That is certainly more of a basic requirement than internet access. Why isn’t that free? How about energy….electricity, natural gas, heating oil?
Take less of my money and let me choose what to spend it on.
UNiverasl Free wireless in America would be a huge boom for innovation like we haven’t seen in a long long time.
If gizmos didn’t need a paying account, suddenly everything would become “smart.”
Just think of all the cool stuff you could connect to a wireless network, from toys, to water meters, to dog collars, to for-sale signs, to vending machines, to MP3 players, to bus stops, to … well… anything!
Of course it would also be a hackers paradise.