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Choice quote: "There's still a large population that don't have access, in any form, to the internet. So we believe that we're providing a service for a group
by rocky1138 11y ago
Choice quote:
"There's still a large population that don't have access, in any form, to the internet. So we believe that we're providing a service for a group of our customers who don't have access and could use it; whether it's students working on projects or individuals looking for work," said Chevreau. "The library is the greatest equalizer in our society."
Choice snippet:
Patrons will be given the benefit of the doubt and limits will not be placed on how the hot spots are used or how much data is consumed.
- voltagex_ 11y agoI wonder what kind of deal the library has with the ISP. In Australia, data overage charges from multiple people using a hotspot could bankrupt a library, and my experience in Canada was that mobile data was even more expensive
- thejosh 11y agoI would guess libraries here in Australia don't have these sorts of limitations that home connections have. Heck, even if they were super stringent they could use something like TPGs unlimited plan.
- superuser2 11y agoPresumably the device is exactly what you could get from a cell carrier itself, just financed and managed by the library. It wouldn't be connecting to the library's infrastructure directly. Though that would be interesting. Build radio towers on libraries, use Ubiquiti gear to to act as a wireless ISP.
- voltagex_ 11y agoYou could tie it into city wide free wifi / mesh wifi.
- userbinator 11y agoI'm also surprised that they're using the cell network, but hopefully this is a relatively short-term thing and they're thinking of deploying APs with real wired connections in the future.
- tempestn 11y agoThe point is that someone can borrow the device and physically take it to wherever they need it, so wired wouldn't really work. Of course blanketing the whole city with public wifi would be even better, but a much larger undertaking.
- maxerickson 11y agoIt isn't that obscene: http://www.rogers.com/web/content/mobile-plans http://www.rogers.com/web/content/mobile-plans (The library specifies Rogers in their description of the service: http://www.kpl.org/sites/default/files/hotspot2015.pdf http://www.kpl.org/sites/default/files/hotspot2015.pdf ) I guess they are paying in the hundreds of dollars per month for each device, which isn't off the charts.