Rodent Regatta

A tradeshow attendee, David Berlind, describes the gear and applications that he took along to be able to write about the show. He also describes the available wireless technology that was (and wasn’t) at his disposal at the convention center.

He speaks of the ”hot spots,” those wireless/Wi-Fi access points that are connected to high speed bandwidth providing Internet access and email to a Wi-Fi-equipped device. There’s a problem wtih this approach. I want to be able to go anywhere at any time and have access to the Internet without being focused on getting ”within range” of a hot spot. I want a ”cloud” of Wi-Fi to blanket a city much like campuses are blanketed for students.

Why is this so difficult? Where are the providers of the technology to do this? Why can’t we get commercial solutions that create a ”cell or cloud” of Wi-Fi over a 2 to 5-mile radius from an antenna mounted on a building, a water tank or a cell tower? Who knows how to do this and which products to use to make it reality?