Word: fi
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Dates: during 2000-2009
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...April, nearly 10 years after Titanic made its box-office splash, director James Cameron starts filming his next feature, the sci-fi film Avatar. He spoke to TIME's Rebecca Winters Keegan...
Going head to head with the telcos is EarthLink, a big player in dial-up but a company that was falling behind in broadband because of the high prices cable companies charged for access to the network. EarthLink (projected 2006 revenues: $1.3 billion) is banking on muni wi-fi to grow sales, closing deals with seven cities in public-private partnerships. EarthLink owns and operates the network while the city contributes money or light poles to nest radios for connectivity. The company will cut costs by selling access to wholesale providers like DirecTV. Philadelphia created a government-supported nonprofit...
...cheap wi-fi a bargain? It depends on your needs. Wi-fi networks are on unlicensed spectrums, and towns like St. Cloud, Fla., initially suffered from spotty performance. "I don't think many broadband users will switch to muni networks unless they're less expensive and sure to work," says Ina Sebastian, an analyst at Jupiter Research, whose survey of online consumers found that only 12% would pay for a citywide service. Some places are waiting for WiMAX, a technology similar to wi-fi but faster and longer range, with fewer interference issues, but it's not yet certified...
Even free municipal wi-fi has one price that some find too steep: loss of privacy. Users aren't always comfortable knowing a government-run operation can track their searches for advertising or limit their access to websites. Culver City, Calif., and Adel, Ga., use software to prevent people from surfing porn and downloading copyrighted material. "I made a decision we shouldn't be spending taxpayer dollars on this," says John Richo, Culver City's information-technology director. Users must agree to "limited" Internet access and waive First Amendment claims arising from the city's decision to block sites. Civil...
...like other questions that municipal wi-fi raises, it will be money, politics and even dog bites that ultimately will determine the answers...