Citywide WiFi news.

Normally, I wouldn’t post this sort of general news, but considering that the Lower Decatur neighborhood is “New Orleans’ WiFi Hotspot“, it just made sense to mention the competition.

President of EarthLink Municipal Networks, Don Berryman, spoke last night at the Louisiana Technology Council’s EarthLink Wi-Fi Tech Tuesday event. They discussed the planed service areas, bandwidth, and pricing. Apparently 300kbs will be free for all, but 1Mbps service will be available for a fee. It looks like $21.95 for a month, while smaller units of time are also available. Some of the details are mentioned at Earthlink’s corporate blog.

Particularly interesting:

… are the special radios (4210’s) that can be mounted in police, fire, and rescue vehicles and draw power from the vehicle. This makes an individual vehicle into a mobile hotspot, allowing rescue personnel to download things like blueprints and building plans at the scene, and a group of these vehicles can provide a temporarily internet access zone wherever it’s needed.

Interested residents can call 866-936-WIFI for information and network support, and there is this Earthlink site where you can get information about the rollout, and sign up to be notified when service is available in your area.

Also worth noting is BellSouth’s WiMax service. While not quite as portable it’s a great solution that’s available today.

Got WiFi? Lower Decatur Street does.

While putting the together the interactive map for the site it came to my attention that there are a whole bunch of intentionally open wireless access points. I’d be willing to bet that there are more here in these few blocks than any other part of the city. So, somebody has to say it.

“Lower Decatur Street is New Orleans’ WiFi Hotspot!”

Here’s the current list:

  • Cafe Envie – 1241 Decatur Street
  • Coop’s Place – 1109 Decatur Street
  • J.C. Grocery Deli – 65 French Market Place
  • Mojo Lounge & Cafe – 1140 Decatur Street
  • Turtle Bay – 1119 Decatur Street
  • Whirling Dervish – 1135 Decatur Street

Most of the access points listed are usable in neighboring establishments.

Happy Surfing.

UPDATE: Added the Whirling Dervish to the list. Thanks, Cian

UPDATE: Removed Sarafina’s  (This should get moved to a page, instead of being in a post, so it’s always on the sidebar)