No one denies the increasing importance of computers and technology. People who do not have access to computers and the internet are at a significant disadvantage in many ways regardless of what country you are in. For Concord internet the only option is still finding an independent internet service company, but in the future there may be easier and more affordable options. Some cities are dreaming and implementing plans to make wi-fi free and available around the world.
Most citywide networks are set up either by the municipal government or by a community group. Starting at a grassroots level, community wireless network is made up of people who are passionate about having and providing free flowing wi-fi access to everyone.
A lot of times this means talking to and petitioning local government to approve a community wireless project in their area. However, some community networks stay independent. In fact, some community wireless networks make it part of their mission statement to stay owned by the people for the people.
Censorship is perhaps the biggest reason for community networks choosing to stay separate from local government. Internet providers, including city governments, often censor their wireless access so users are not allowed to see some pages. Most community wireless networks disagree with this interruption in the flow of information. This makes it a good idea for them to stay free of the government so they can keep their network free of any censorship.
Wireless has only been available for a few decades and technology in this sector is still advancing quickly. One of the ways people today make wireless networks available for a large amount of space is called a cluster. This means encouraging everyone with internet in a certain area to open some of their bandwidth up to public use. The more people who get involved the better the network becomes.
A city that considered going wireless recently is San Francisco. The mayor proposed a wireless plan and Google and Earthlink won the bid for the job. In the end, however, the plan was canceled because of doubts regarding Earthlink's financial stability. Many proponents of the wireless plan claim there were not financial worries but instead political reasons for shutting down the plan.
Even though San Francisco wasn't able to make citywide wireless happen, dozens of other cities and towns in the US already have successful wireless networks in place. Large cities on nearly every continent on the globe also have found citywide wireless to be beneficial.
More and more possibilities open up as wireless technology develops further. Some people are even dreaming of ways to provide free, fast and safe wireless internet around the whole world! Even though today your Concord internet comes from a traditional internet service provider, expect exciting changes in the next few years!