Wi-Fi all over Adelaide

The city of Adelaide (Australia) is about to become one giant hotspot. m.Net Corporation, a public-private consortium, announced at the end of 2002 that it would provide wireless coverage throughout the city. The project which is called StreetWise involves the placement of more than 70 Wi-Fi access ponts attached to traffic lights and other infrastructure to create a cloud of

The city of Adelaide (Australia) is about to become one giant hotspot. m.Net Corporation, a public-private consortium, announced at the end of 2002 that it would provide wireless coverage throughout the city. The project which is called StreetWise involves the placement of more than 70 Wi-Fi access ponts attached to traffic lights and other infrastructure to create a cloud of wireless connectivity.

The city council of Adelaide, a member of the consortium, is supporting the project while AirNet and Agile will build the network and provide ISP services.

According to an article in 802.11 Planet, the federal and state governments are contributing approximately $6 million to the project and a few companies such as Cisco have contributed hardware.

With ubiquitous Wi-Fi access all over Adelaide, the city hopes to attract more high tech enterprises, provide cheaper broadband access to its residents and businesses, and create a test bed in which wireless applications developers and service providers can test new products and services.