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The combination of commercialization, economic recession, and security fears has wiped out much of that dream. But in recent weeks, a movement has emerged to take advantage of publicly-available wireless local area network (WLAN) capacity that so far has escaped the grasp of commercial interests and governments. And it shows once more the ability of the Web to spread ideas in a way that would make the early Web visionaries proud.
A spreading technology
WLANs use a high-speed radio protocol known as 802.11b (the IEEE standard designation) or Wi-Fi, short for wireless fidelity. With a network based on Wi-Fi, a company can link devices in a geographically limited area, like an office, without stringing cable, offering obvious savings in time and money. And there are other plans to use Wi-Fi: the Starbucks chain is installing Wi-Fi networks running Internet protocols (e.g. TCP/IP) in some of its stores, to attract customers with laptops and keep them inside drinking coffee. Also, several airports have announced plans to establish Wi-Fi areas as a benefit to business travelers, many of whom hate to go unconnected for any length of time.
What makes Wi-Fi even more interesting is that the WLAN's footprint - called a hotspot - does not stop at the office's reception area, but in many cases can be accessed outside the walls and in public areas. Anyone with a laptop and a Wi-Fi card can access the WLAN signal and use the Internet protocols, like it was sitting inside the office. In effect, if you can find a Wi-Fi hotspot, you can get free Internet access, and at broadband speeds no less.
The thought of a leaking WLAN signal that enables strangers to tap into the company network will send CIOs into apoplexy, but Wi-Fi enthusiasts say with the right engineering and controls, outsiders can be kept outside the company firewall. This availability of broadband Internet access, literally on the street, has generated a grass-roots movement to identify and share these hotspots, creating a Web community of enthusiasts.
Chalk one up for Wi-Fi
The Wi-Fi movement has even generated its own artwork. One of the contradictions with Wi-Fi is the need to use the Web to find a hotspot to access the Web. To get around this anomaly, Wi-Fi enthusiasts have started marking with chalk on sidewalks and walls the locations of hotspots, using common symbols to indicate, for example, an open network node and the bandwidth.
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