Four people. One car. A Wi-Fi connection. Seven days. Or longer. : I thought this was an April Fool's prank, but it's not. Read about this contest in which four people spend at least a week in a VW bug to win it. The Internet connectivity for the dealership is provided through Wi-Fi. Yakima, Washington, the town in which this contest is taking place, is an ideal location for wireless ISPs, such as NWInfo.Net, the one running this connection. It's small, but has a fair variety of businesses, and is far enough off the beaten track to not have the kind of infrastructure to support cheap high-speed wired access. Likewise, a complex terrain allows strategic points for antennas.
News for 4/2/2002
Business Week interviews` the legendary spectrum guru David Farber on Wi-Fi: Farber is bullish on Wi-Fi, but warns against pressures that result from impinging success. Business Week has three other excellent articles on 802.11b linked from a box on that page.
Rafe Needleman's Catch of the Day on No Free Ride for new hotspot firms: Rafe analyzes the downside of creating a business model partially predicated on violating your service agreement.
802.11 Planet Posts Full Agenda for June: the 802.11 Planet conference in Philadelphia this June has posted their ambitious pre-conference and two-day conference agenda. The two-day agenda is split into four tracks showing the diversity of interest in Wi-Fi related topics for business. I suggested a few of the sessions, but am unable to attend. The Santa Clara event last November was a don't-miss opportunity for networking and learning, and I expect Philadelphia will be the square of Santa Clara with more attendees, exhibitors, and the more diverse conference agenda.