Wireless Toronto welcomes news of Toronto Hydro WiFi Plan, hopes for Public Consultation

Gabe Sawney and the rest of the Wireless Toronto Community Wireless Group, have put out a response to Toronto Hydro’s Municipal Wireless plan:

Local community group Wireless Toronto has expressed a positive response to yesterday’s Toronto Hydro announcement.

The group sees Toronto Hydro Telecom’s plan to blanket Toronto’s downtown core with WiFi as an ambitious one with far-reaching consequences. Bearing close resemblance to municipal wireless initiatives in Philadelphia and San Francisco, Toronto Hydro’s plan expands the local internet access market.

Gabe Sawhney, a volunteer from Wireless Toronto says, “In addition to having important economic implications for individual consumers and businesses, the new availability of wireless access enabled by the proposed mesh architecture in areas of the city that currently have little or no access, is of key importance. The blanketing of the downtown core with seamless, and lower-cost network access opens the door to exciting opportunities for innovation and improved access among local residents, community groups, artists, and small businesses.”

Focused on exploring ways free wireless networking technology can be used in interesting and innovative ways, Wireless Toronto is excited to hear further details from Toronto Hydro. In particular, Wireless Toronto looks forward to a process of public consultation that engages a variety of stakeholders affected by this initiative.

A non-profit, all-volunteer community group dedicated to encouraging no-cost public access to WiFi in public spaces, Wireless Toronto has a growing network of community-based hotspots across the GTA.

Once complete, Toronto Hydro’s WiFi zone will be Canada’s largest. Currently, the city’s largest public WiFi hotspot is at St. Lawrence Market, launched in November 2005 by Wireless Toronto and the South Market Tenant’s Association, and it is free to use. A full list of other free WiFi hotspots offered by Wireless Toronto can be found at: http://wirelesstoronto.ca, and an in-depth blog discussion of the proposed Toronto Hydro plan can be found at http://wirelesstoronto.ca/blog/

Wireless Toronto has done an excellent job building free, public hotspots throughout Toronto. They should be pushing for Toronto Hydro Telecom to:

1. Offer or sponsor free hotspots, through Toronto Wireless, in public spaces (like parks, street corners, etc.)
2. Provide grant money for putting on events/projects using their Wi-Fi network

1. Consult with Wireless Toronto as the Community Wireless Group to better understand how to deploy public wireless, and what it can mean for the community

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