1. Wi-Fi in NYC
Dana Spiegel
Executive Director, NYCwireless
dana@nycwireless.net
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2. NYCwireless
• Non-profit founded in Summer 2001
• Partnerships with BIDs to provide free,
public Internet access to citizens
• Tompkins Square Park, Bryant Park, Union
Square Park, City Hall Park, South Street
Seaport and others
• Over 100 additional hotspots provided by
local residents
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3. Wireless Options in
NYC
• Wi-Fi in Parks, Coffee Shops
• 5-25 mbps, 300 feet, free or $30
• (Pre-)WiMAX (TowerStream)
• 1-5 mbps, 1 mile range, $350
• Cellular Data (Verizon, etc.)
• 500 kbps, ubiquitous, $80
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4. Cost of Broadband
Mesh Wi-Fi 1 mbps $20 $20/mb
Cable/DSL 3 mbps $50 $17/mb
Cellular 500 kbps $80 $160/mb
WiMAX 1.5 mbps $350 $233/mb
T1 1.5 mbps $500 $333/mb
France 15 mbps $38 $2.50/mb
Japan 26 mbps $22 80¢/mb
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5. Wireless Technologies
• Wi-Fi is the last mile
• Uplink provided by WiMAX or Wi-Fi Mesh,
can plug into City’s fiber optic network
• In-building repeaters for homes, apartments,
and small businesses
• Wi-Fi is already ubiquitous in offices and on
laptops
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6. Urban Wireless
• Free Wi-Fi in public space is an amenity
• Affordable service for low income families
• City and Community Services
• Cultural Events and Support for Small
Businesses
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7. Community Access
• Nonprofit organization
providing transitional
housing
• 3 Buildings — East
Village, Brooklyn, Bronx
• Volunteers installed
network
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8. New York Live
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9. Spectropolis
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10. More Reading
www.muniwireless.com
www.nycwireless.net
www.wirelesscommunity.info
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