MuniWireless

MetroFi will be shutting down Portland’s network this month. With only 30 percent of the city covered, MetroFi announced several months ago that it could no longer expand or operate the network. MetroFi wanted $9 million from the city to continue network expansion and operations, but the city does not want to pay. It has no plans to use the network for municipal purposes. Philadelphia managed to find local investors to take over EarthLink’s network, but Portland is taking a…

Last week I complained about T-Mobile’s not-so-unlimited, “flat-rate” data plans for iPhone users in Europe: the nasty roaming charges, the unnecessary extra fees for using T-Mobile’s own networks in other countries.

Today, T-Mobile UK announced that it would be slashing European data roaming charges by 80 percent starting in August 2008, just in time for the summer holiday season (at least for the French, Spanish and Italians; Northern Europeans, like the British, the Germans and the Dutch, tend to go on holiday…

You can set up a citywide Wi-Fi network or nationwide WiMAX network, but if people don’t have portable devices that they love to use, they won’t care how fast or ubiquitous the network is. Today, Om Malik wrote a blog post on what he wants to see in an ultra-portable laptop. He has tried several devices but found them too heavy or too hot to use on a lap. So what does Om want: better battery life, less heat, more…