Hatrack River Forum: Yay for free internets.

This is topic Yay for free internets. in forum Books, Films, Food and Culture at Hatrack River Forum.

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Posted by Orincoro (Member # 8854) on :

So I moved today, not for the last time, to a studio in the more fashionable end of town- I've got a lease on a two bedroom flat downtown that's going to start July 1st, so this is a temporary deal arranged through an associate of one of my employers.

Anyway, I showed up an found that the flat has no internet. Since it's rented as a temporary place for business travelers and the like, it has nothing but a usb wireless internet connector that no-way no-how wants to connect to my 5 year old Mac laptop.

So I surfed the local wifi for some low hanging fruit... and VIOLA! Prague 10 (10 being the district) has a system of free internets! There are apparently 5 routers accessible from my 16th floor studio... which is kind of nuts when you think about it. Anyway. That's just nice. I find the whole experience marvelously pleasant. It makes one wish for teh free internets everywhere one goes. [Smile]

Posted by rivka (Member # 4859) on :

A lot of countries have started adding free internet networks to various sections of their cities. I know one of the people who was working on wiring downtown Jerusalem, a project I think is now complete.

I'm in favor. [Wink]

Posted by Orincoro (Member # 8854) on :

Yeah, there are systems all over Prague, paradoxically not in the center but only in the outlying regions- which are for that matter more populous.

Posted by Sterling (Member # 8096) on :

I wonder if we'll come to a day when accessible Internet is seen as a right.

Posted by Orincoro (Member # 8854) on :

I think they're pretty much there in northern Europe. When you consider the progression of events, it follows rather neatly. Speech is a right, people see the post as a right, books as a right, we treat phones as a right, so why not the internet? Anyway, it behooves the government to promote internet access here- it drives competition in the private sector for business innovation that has been sorely needed. Even if you only counted the actual internet providers as examples of affected businesses, the changes in customer service in this country have been remarkable even just in just the couple of years I've lived here.