Word: wi-fi
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George Polk has rattled cell-phone carriers once before. The American, 42, runs a network of wi-fi hot spots called the Cloud that allows laptop and gadget users to surf the Web for around $8.50 an hour or $17 a month at 7,500 cafés, hotels, pubs, airports and other public places in Britain, Germany and Sweden. That's a service that cell-phone companies like Vodafone and Orange are struggling to sell via their 3G mobile-phone networks. Wi-fi, which uses low-cost, wireless Internet connections, has stolen some of the thunder. "I wanted to build...
Moving from a big house to a smaller one isn't the only way to downsize. Luxurious recreational vehicles, stocked with every possible modern convenience from Jacuzzis to wi-fi, are becoming full-time residences for a growing number of Americans. Some are retirees looking for a new adventure, others have jobs that keep them on the road and see RV living as a way to have a home life, and a few just crave the freedom of being on the go now that cell phones and the Internet allow people to work from almost anywhere...
...appointed officials don't think so. Local and sometimes national governments around the world are not leaving matters to unfettered capitalism. Instead, some are investing public money or working to secure the corporate investment needed to build wireless Internet networks that use fledgling WiMAX technologies and, more often, mature wi-fi platforms. Singapore is "unwiring" using tax revenue. Macedonia is doing the same with the help of U.S. aid. Municipalities as diverse as Prague, Paris, Norwich, Dublin and Chicago are either building or attempting to build wireless networks with public funds...
Even if governments are gung-ho, regulators aren't so sure. In late May, the European Commission forced Prague to tone down its proposed $16 million free wi-fi initiative by stripping out full Internet access and providing only public-service websites, lest it distort competition. "Investment in broadband networks is primarily a matter for private companies," E.U. Competition Commissioner Neelie Kroes said after completing a probe that held up the project for months. She added that state subsidies for such networks are acceptable only in limited situations - for example, "if they address a well-defined market failure." The Commission...
...Wigwam's previous owners tried to reel in customers with a cheesy sign urging them to DO IT IN A TEE PEE. The Patels, who left India for the U.S. in 1980, worked hard to restore the motel to its former glory and added some modern amenities, including free wi-fi access. Says the owners' son Manoj, 27: "It feels good to know that the motel has a place in history and that we are able to keep it alive." Which is why it's a shame that the Patels and other innkeepers of South Asian descent have prompted...