Hasselt and Leuven (or Louvain), two cities in Belgium, have turned their city hotzones into a research lab called i-City. A consortium of six companies ((Siemens, Telenet, Concentra, Fujitsu-Siemens Computers, Microsoft and Research Campus Hasselt) are involved in the project. Four thousand users (of varying backgrounds, ages and interests) will test mobile and broadband applications [...]

Without a single Powerpoint slide, Mayor Bill Graham of Scottsburg, Indiana delivered the most compelling presentation at the New America Foundation’s Pervasive Connectivity conference last April 16, 2004. Anyone who still believes that wireless networking is for spoiled urban geeks needs to hear his story.Without a single Powerpoint slide, Mayor Bill Graham of Scottsburg, Indiana [...]

The Southern California Tribal Digital Village has deployed a broadband wireless network covering a large area north of San Diego to link tribal offices, learning centers and libraries of 18 tribal communities. I found out about this project at the Pervasive Connectivity conference organized by the New America Foundation’s Spectrum Policy Program. Matt Rantanen from [...]

I just missed the launch of the free public outdoor wireless hotspot on Capitol Hill when I spoke two weeks ago at the Pervasive Connectivity conference of the New America Foundation. Those of you who did not attend the conference can download the presentations from here. Highly recommended!I just missed the launch of the free [...]

If you are deploying a community wireless network, there is finally a one-stop shop for commodity wireless hardware (antennas, boards and parts) that uses open source software and is based on IEEE 802.11 standards: Metrix Communications, a company set up by Rob Flickenger and Matt Westervelt. Rob is the author of Building Community Wireless Networks [...]

Atlanta has approved plans to build a city-wide wireless network (Atlanta FastPass) within three years, starting with city hall and the airport. Unlike other cities that are deploying wireless networks, Atlanta won’t be giving away service for free. There will be a day pass and monthly subscription service available to users. Ultimately, the city hopes [...]

The US Federal Communications Commission (FCC) may open up more spectrum for unlicensed use, especially in rural areas. The FCC has just issued a Notice of Proposed Rulemaking (NPRM) to allow unlicensed devices to operate in the 3650-3700 MHz band (3650 band) at higher power levels than currently authorized under Part 15 rules. Anyone can [...]

New Orleans police officers have a new tool to combat crime. The city is installing a wireless video surveillance network using mesh network hardware and software from Tropos Networks. Tropos gear is used in the city-wide wireless broadband network of Cerritos (California) as well as the police networks of San Mateo and North Miami Beach. [...]