5 ms·

Google to bring free Wi-Fi to New York City

27 points by bretthellman 14y ago

comicjk 14y ago
The title of the article is horribly misleading. The coverage area is thirteen blocks. That's maybe 1/3 of Chelsea.
sebastianmarr 14y ago
I suppose 'free' also means 'unencrpyted'. Let's hope everyone has https enabled on their Facebook account.
- btn 14y ago
  If it's like their Mountain View coverage, there'll be a secure (WPA) option.
ck2 14y ago
Not only is it just 13 blocks around that Google HQ, they somehow got a local group to pay 1/3rd of what looks like a very jacked up pricetag. $45k a year to operate 13 blocks of wifi? Really?
- imaginator 14y ago
  IMHO that pricetag is very good. Consider backhaul costs, upgrades and other maintenance, monitoring, etc. All covered by about the equivalent of a 1/4 NY sysadmin salary.
  - mpeg 14y ago
    Not sure if everyone has ridiculously high salaries in the US, or HN people always exaggerate.
    - whatusername 14y ago
      If it was a fully loaded cost (ie - what the employer pays not what the employee receives) then I can believe it in a place like NYC
      - netcan 14y ago
        $180k?
    - deleted 14y ago
      [deleted]
  - ck2 14y ago
    Once the wifi nodes are installed, they are completely solid state so the management should be completely remote except occasional failure which is just a simple swap replacement? So again, why $45k a year in operation? Four nodes per block X 13 blocks = 52 units? (guessing)
chaz 14y ago
It appears to me that Google is simply sponsoring the deployment, and did not build and will not actively manage the installation. According to the coverage map [1], technical support is provided by Sky Packets, a company that plans, builds, and maintains wifi networks in municipalities. Also, the Chelsea Improvement Company's webpage [2] says: "Google's sponsorship paid for the capital cost of the network." [1] http://www.chelseaimprovement.com/static/pdfs/wifi/CIC_Free_WiFi.pdf http://www.chelseaimprovement.com/static/pdfs/wifi/CIC_Free_... [2] http://www.chelseaimprovement.com/neighborhood/free_wifi.html http://www.chelseaimprovement.com/neighborhood/free_wifi.htm...

27 points by bretthellman 14y ago

comicjk 14y ago

The title of the article is horribly misleading. The coverage area is thirteen blocks. That's maybe 1/3 of Chelsea.

sebastianmarr 14y ago

I suppose 'free' also means 'unencrpyted'. Let's hope everyone has https enabled on their Facebook account.

btn 14y ago
If it's like their Mountain View coverage, there'll be a secure (WPA) option.

ck2 14y ago

Not only is it just 13 blocks around that Google HQ, they somehow got a local group to pay 1/3rd of what looks like a very jacked up pricetag. $45k a year to operate 13 blocks of wifi? Really?

imaginator 14y ago
IMHO that pricetag is very good. Consider backhaul costs, upgrades and other maintenance, monitoring, etc. All covered by about the equivalent of a 1/4 NY sysadmin salary.
- mpeg 14y ago
  Not sure if everyone has ridiculously high salaries in the US, or HN people always exaggerate.
  - whatusername 14y ago
    If it was a fully loaded cost (ie - what the employer pays not what the employee receives) then I can believe it in a place like NYC
    - netcan 14y ago
      $180k?
  - deleted 14y ago
    [deleted]
- ck2 14y ago
  Once the wifi nodes are installed, they are completely solid state so the management should be completely remote except occasional failure which is just a simple swap replacement? So again, why $45k a year in operation? Four nodes per block X 13 blocks = 52 units? (guessing)

chaz 14y ago

It appears to me that Google is simply sponsoring the deployment, and did not build and will not actively manage the installation. According to the coverage map [1], technical support is provided by Sky Packets, a company that plans, builds, and maintains wifi networks in municipalities. Also, the Chelsea Improvement Company's webpage [2] says: "Google's sponsorship paid for the capital cost of the network." [1] http://www.chelseaimprovement.com/static/pdfs/wifi/CIC_Free_WiFi.pdf http://www.chelseaimprovement.com/static/pdfs/wifi/CIC_Free_... [2] http://www.chelseaimprovement.com/neighborhood/free_wifi.html http://www.chelseaimprovement.com/neighborhood/free_wifi.htm...