SONY : METREON // I’m working on a story about free versus paid wireless and this press release came across the desk. I asked the PR agency about the long-term situation and was told you’ll be able to get free wireless access for good. This bucks the negative push towards paid wireless. The way I see it you should just go to the Metreon (as well as other free hotspots) while in San Francisco, rather than pay the hotel $10-25 for simple access. Good news. There are a slew of restaurants in the Metreon. Any feedback on wireless access difficulties are welcome.
San Francisco Technology and Entertainment Center Uses Netopia Hot Spots to Offer Free Wi-Fi to Patrons and CTIA Attendees
Netopia Inc., a market leader in broadband and Wi-Fi products and services, today announced that Metreon-A Sony Entertainment Center will use the Netopia(R) Hot Spot solution to provide free high-speed wireless Internet access to Metreon patrons. The Wi-Fi offering from Netopia and Metreon begins today and coincides with the kickoff of CTIA Wireless IT & Entertainment 2004 across the street at San Francisco’s Moscone Center West.
“Metreon is a Bay Area landmark–the culmination of the best in entertainment, technology and design, and CTIA is the world’s leading wireless conference,” said Dano Ybarra, senior vice president, sales and marketing of Netopia. “There is no better showcase for the exceptional performance and flexibility of the Netopia Hot Spot solution.”
Netopia has equipped Metreon with its Wi-Fi CERTIFIED(TM) gateways with 3-D Reach(TM) technology, an innovation that improves the effective range and performance of wireless networks. Metreon features vaulted ceilings and other unique dimensions, so Netopia’s 3-D Reach technology allows its hot spot solution to deliver consistent performance in the entertainment center’s spacious public areas. Netopia’s Hot Spot Manager software, part of Netopia’s netOctopus broadband server platform, controls the gateways, allows Metreon to create customized home or “splash” pages, and tracks and reports on usage. The Hot Spot Manager also enables “Family Friendly Surfing,” a feature that allows Metreon to block Internet content that might not be appropriate for visitors of all ages.
“We are extremely impressed with Netopia’s ability to customize a wireless solution for our facility and are proud to enable our visitors and have them join the growing Wi-Fi community,” said Archie Elwell, vice president of brand marketing and business development for Metreon. “Metreon attracts not only early adopters and technology enthusiasts but also those curious to try new technologies and so we felt Netopia was the ideal partner to unwire our building and help bridge the city’s digital divide.”
Metreon will be hosting breakout sessions hosted by companies participating in the CTIA conference. Beginning today, all future visitors to Metreon with Wi-Fi-enabled laptops, including CTIA attendees, will be able to connect to the Internet wirelessly via the Metreon splash page. For additional information about Metreon, please visit www.metreon.com.
hmm, family friendly access, probably would exclude file sharing sites too, Sony wouldn’t want that. On the face of it free wireless interent is a great idea, but look who you are giving up control to. If the government provided free wireless internet, they could block whatever sites they wanted, you technically could buy your own Internet service, but most people would be content to use the governemnt one, which would drive up prices enourmously.
I also like how they are calling a mall an “entertainment center”
Do they really intend to subsidize this long-term? I guess it is a safe bet, since no one will really hold them to it.
As a mac-user, I have read how Apple is doing something similar at their stores.
Bill Palmer (in Florida) had a story on his website, about going to a mall and using the free Apple wifi – after hurricanes had knocked-out power/internet at his house.
Maybe Dell will start offering hotspots at their mall kiosks?