Dubai: The World’s First City to Have Free WiFi?
Having now become accustomed to free, reliable wifi in the Bay Area, it makes it very difficult while traveling abroad to not have such access. In the Middle East, in particular, finding wifi access is nearly impossible; and you can just about forget trying to get it for free.
While internet access is free in most hotels these days, this isn’t the case in Dubai. Not only is it not free, it’s fairly expensive.
For a city that prides itself as being the most modern and cosmopolitan in the region, it’d do well to invest in free wifi. In a city known for grand projects (world’s tallest building, world’s only 7-star hotel, floating cities), the world’s first city with free wifi would certainly draw positive attention. Perhaps, that’s just wishful thinking on my part. But for all the red tape that’s embroiled similar projects in the U.S. there’s none of that in Dubai.
In other news:
Akhtaboot.com get’s some coverage here. We covered them here.
I don’t understand completely; if a city as a whole has free WiFi, then it’s called WiMAX. Is that what you mean? Or do you mean that ISPs will provide citizens with free WiFi access in certain hotels; office buildings and as such?
But Google’s campus (in Mountain View) has WiMAX, and I’ve heard quite a while ago that there are plans to immerse San Fransisco in WiMAX as well, so I doubt that Dubai is the first city in the world to have WiMAX.
Dear Made…,
WiMAX is a particular standard of WiFi that allows for wide areas to have wireless internet connectivity.
While Google’s campus may have it, the city in which Google is in does not. Mountain View, CA boasts a few areas where Google offers free WiFi.
But to date, there is no city that I know of to offer free WiFi to all of its inhabitants. Dubai likes making big statements, this is one I’d support.