Not Philly yet ...

[pam123]

Step by step : 36 NYC Subway Stations Get Wi-Fi - Government - Mobile & Wireless -

First it was parks : Wi Fi Wireless Internet Service in Parks : NYC Parks

But it's growing !

Not there yet but the day will come when you'll have to ask ; do I need this phone plan?

[SARGE]

I still keep a land line, just in case. They shut off all wireless stuff in Boston area, and everyone panicked not being able to text or call. I trust nothing to a satellite or tower that can be hit by asteroids or governments flipping a switch.

[glc]

She wasn't talking about a voice/text plan, she was talking about a mobile data plan.

[SARGE]

I gotta study up on the differences in all. I thought wireless was wireless, etc.

[pam123]

Originally Posted by SARGE I gotta study up on the differences in all. I thought wireless was wireless, etc.

Nope.

NYC has been experimenting with public WiFi (as well as cell phone in subways) , and the day is coming when connection in every public local, no more standing outside Starbucks, will be a reality.
My only "beef" is that it's not on my side of the city, yet.

[David M]

There were plans years ago of cities doing wifi for the entire city. The idea fell by the wayside. It looks like the idea is being revamped now. I would imagine the cell phone service providers and the wired ISP providers hate the competition. If my computer can connect to the internet wirelessly at a decent bandwidth then why pay for ATT or Comcrap?

[Force Flow]

Originally Posted by SARGE I still keep a land line, just in case. They shut off all wireless stuff in Boston area, and everyone panicked not being able to text or call. I trust nothing to a satellite or tower that can be hit by asteroids or governments flipping a switch.

I don't have a land line. Just a cell phone.

As for Boston, they never "shut off" cell and wifi networks. Cell service simply got jammed up because *everyone* was attempting to use their phones simultaneously--simply a case of heavy usage.

[bob]

Originally Posted by Force Flow I don't have a land line. Just a cell phone. As for Boston, they never "shut off" cell and wifi networks. Cell service simply got jammed up because *everyone* was attempting to use their phones simultaneously--simply a case of heavy usage.

That even happened to landlines here in California after large earthquakes.
The trick is to keep it off the hook until you hear dialtone.

[glc]

Cell service here after the tornado was almost impossible. Calls would NOT go through, incoming or outgoing, and the text message delay was running 1 to 2 hours, assuming you even had service - towers were down all over the city. Landlines weren't much better. However, I still had DSL, I had to communicate via e-mail for a while. Good thing I didn't have cable, it was down for over a week.

[MaxRat]

I dont even have a land line either... havent in a few years and even when i had DSL I didnt even hook up a phone. My younger kids have never seen nor used a landline...

Just not something I/we need. I do like the idea of city wide WiFi. Not like we'll ever get it here. Fios is ran but they wont release it to the residential and there is no plans to in the foreseeable future either

[David M]

We gave up our traditional land line for Vonage. With all the junk fees that AT&T tacked on the bill was getting up to $70/month...even if we didn't make one damn phone call. Now my wife calls Romania for 13 cents per minute.

[SARGE]

An issue I'd have is you'll have one entity (gov't to boot) controlling access and content, even filtering if they choose. Some countries do that and the folks can only access approved websites.

[Force Flow]

Originally Posted by SARGE An issue I'd have is you'll have one entity (gov't to boot) controlling access and content, even filtering if they choose. Some countries do that and the folks can only access approved websites.

The US government doesn't censor the Internet. There are no laws on the books (yet) to do this carte blanche (though there are a few exceptions when it comes to minors and hostile countries).

Individual institutions can censor at their discretion, like schools, libraries, businesses, or anyone else who provides internet access. However, your home internet connection gives pretty much unfiltered access to the internet at large, unless your ISP decides to filter something. All ISPs are privately owned. So are cell phone service providers.