Downtown Raleigh Getting Wifi on October 23rd

David
10/08 01:03 PM

Thank you Raleigh!

smitty
10/08 07:02 PM

This is great!  Now when I’m sitting a CAT bus shelter, I can surf the web!

Oh, wait, nevermind.

matt w
10/08 08:09 PM

I’m still not sure why this is “a great step forward for our downtown core”.  What good is an outdoors-only wifi that works in intermittent locations in an area with little to no outdoor seating?  Is this just for the people that camp out in front of Raleigh Times all day long?  What kind of business professional is going to sit around Moore Square and soak up the free wifi rays?

I mean, I thought this was a silly handout to downtown condo owners/renters/developers when it was first announced, but at least that had a purpose.  I just can’t figure out a regular use for outdoors only wifi, especially one that would justify the reported price tag.

David, you seem to be pretty enthused about this project—how do you see yourself and/or others using this, and how often?

Smitty
10/08 10:40 PM

@matt w
I don’t think the idea is to “camp out” and use it anywhere for hours on end. It’s to use while in the public spaces: having lunch at the half-dozen places that have outdoor seating on Fayetteville/Wilmington/Blount Streets; or in Moore Square park, where there is a market all summer, with open tables and seating for lunch; and the new City Plaza, which has loads of outdoor space. (Hopefully, once you’re on the network, it won’t have to force you to reload a browser page to re-connect every time you wander from node to node, or when your device is turned off, like Panera does.) Otherwise, it sounds great.

This will enable, say, a parent to continue working while letting the kids play in the park, or while waiting for kids at one of the schools bordering Moore Square. It will also provide a reason to actually go and sit under a tree in the park on a nice day, rather than in the sick air conditioned air of your office. You can still be fully connected, just forward your office phone to your mobile, grab your laptop and go. I am positive the folks in my office will use it quite a bit.

I’ve lusted after this since first visiting Bryant Park in NYC in 2003. Grab a sandwich to go, find a bench, and check email between bites. No need to hurry back to the office for fear of missing something.

‘Bout time, Raleigh. Hopefully, this idea will spread to other cities.

Little Timmy
10/09 04:52 AM

Depending on where they place the access point at DT Raleigh Alliance, the wireless signal should be just fine for hanging out in front of Raleigh Times.

tito
10/09 05:25 AM

I think they’re being modest with the coverage area. I believe the idea is to have the ability to have wifi when you’re walking around or sitting outside downtown. Trying to get that signal inside of buildings would be a technical nightmare. The idea is not to make it someone’s dedicated free internet connection 24/7 but to provide connectivity to visitors and citizens who are out and about. For someone from out of town, the ability to hop on and get local information, directions, etc should be invaluable. For someone who wants to base their business out of a park bench at Moore Square, this probably isn’t going to cut it. Once you connect the first time, you should be able to auto-connect after that any time you’re downtown (obviously depending on your device’s wifi setup).

matt w- Where specifically have you read anything about a price tag? I’d be interested to see data as my understanding is this setup is relatively inexpensive as far as these types of things go.

matt w
10/09 05:49 AM

When they started the project they had $180k set aside, and stated it would cost $15-$20k in annual maintenance.  I can’t find any figures on the final cost but I’m sure we’ll hear something in the next few weeks.

I guess we will just have to see how much this gets used.  I think the biggest benefit to the wifi may be the marketing aspect of Raleigh offering “free wifi downtown”*.  I personally would have rather seen the money go towards further revitalization of our public transit system.  Maybe I’m just being a curmudgeon.

arthurb3
10/09 06:53 AM

The money would be better spent in the planning of the Transit Center to move the buses and trains all in one location. Enough resturants and coffee shops have free wifi.

DaveB
10/09 07:07 AM

Agreed with Dave and Arthur. Bigger fish to fry than a solution to a problem that has already been solved by private businesses who want to foster people working outside downtown.

For this to really have a benefit, we’d probably have to give each homeless person one of those One Laptop Per Child things. They’re pretty much the only people who use Moore Square on a weekday. I’ll concede the 1/20 of the park used for the Farmer’s Market during the summer.

Some of you folks need to look at how you are spending your life! Why bring a computer to a park?!

DaveB
10/09 07:08 AM

Excuse me: Matt and Arthur.

arthurb3
10/09 07:15 AM

Dave I agree with you last comment! Why go to a social place to do something that is so unsocial- surf the net. When I am at Cup a Joe’s, The Remedy, ect- I gotta people watch and chat with people.

tito
10/09 07:18 AM

Playing devil’s advocate - A lot of groups and events look for this type of draw when deciding where to go for conferences, conventions, events, etc. They want lots of hotel rooms and lots of city amenities like wi-fi, public transit, etc. Agree or disagree with the wi-fi but there are larger reasons at work which help us bring more people downtown in a variety of ways. My point is that I think some people are being short-sighted when they immediately launch into the 50 reasons change downtown is a waste, stupid, won’t be used, etc. Just my 2 cents.

matt w
10/09 07:25 AM

tito, I don’t think anyone is arguing against change, but they are arguing for the right kind of change (good god I sound like a republican).

Like I stated above, I think that the greatest benefit to all of this is probably marketing, targeted at the very groups you are talking about in your post.  However, let’s be honest about the actual functional use of the project, which if I had to guess will approach zero.

Fraiser Lyon
10/09 08:15 AM

I have an Ipod touch, it has wi-fi capabilities that make it essentially an I-phone without the phone if you have a wireless signal.  That means I can look up stuff on the web easily and at a pretty fast speed while hanging out in the park or having a beer outside at the foundation   These type of mini wifi enabled devices are becoming more popular as are netbooks, I actually think this makes sense.  Another aspect, which might be a stretch but - wouldn’t this be nice for vendors etc during street fairs.

Smitty
10/09 11:24 AM

To the nay-sayers above:
I think you’re not realizing that mobile internet devices - not just mobile phones - are becoming a way of life. Someone doesn’t “take their laptop to a social place like a park,” it’s in their bag where ever they go. If they stop and have a coffee on a bench, and wonder about something that they’d like to look up, or the outdoors distracts them enough to where their subconscious solves a problem they had been wrestling with, they don’t have to wait to “go to the computer” to deal with it. A Netbook, iPod Touch, or similar becomes much more valuable in a wifi zone (as @Fraiser Lyon mentioned), as does a regular laptop.

Re: free wifi in restaurants:
A few places have this - less than those who advertise it - but each place has a different network, different password, etc. With one large network, you sign on once and can wander around from park to restaurant to conference to theatre to where ever and be able to find directions, communicate with friends, and continue whatever you’ve been doing.

There is a whole wave of folks out there who are constantly online, as well as people who don’t care to be constantly connected. Just as childless people pay school taxes, and non-drivers pay road taxes, this is a service that is becoming expected for communities wanting to draw people to an area. Having it consistently provided, rather than spotty and erratic, makes it an asset rather than an occasional benefit. And inside those places that have it, where the municipal signal does not work, people can use the private access points.

CXBJ
10/09 11:38 AM

I think it would make a lot of sense if the city provided the wireless connection inside at least some of the buildings downtown. The obvious places being the convention center, marriott, sheraton, and perhaps the memorial auditorium, shaw and campbell.

tito
10/11 08:48 AM

cxbj - the convention center has wireless inside. it’s free in the lobby and paid in the meeting rooms. the marriott and sheraton both have wireless via their own providers. the city really can’t go into a hotel and provide wireless access that takes away from what they’re providing. it’s essentially the same with shaw and campbell - not really the city’s place to go into a private establishment and setup/maintain wireless internet. you should be able to hit the city’s free wifi from memorial auditorium (at least in the lobby, not sure they want you checking your email inside during a show).

smitty
10/13 05:53 AM

Raleigh didn’t do their homework.  These types of systems are being shut off all over the country.  DT Orlando and Portland are decorated with their now defunct municipal wifi antennas.

arthurb3
10/13 10:45 AM

Waste of money since there are no tables to sit at either!

arthurb3
10/14 01:09 PM

On top of all this- Sprint will be rolling out their 4G network next year. It is supose to be 5 times faster then 3G.

f yas
10/17 03:15 PM

I live in downtown Raleigh and am thrilled to be getting a free ride both on the bus and now with WiFi.  All of you suburbian babies can just bite it!  Hahaha, we win…thanks for paying my cable bill from now on suckers!!!!

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01/04 07:44 PM

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