Mexico City to Get Muni Wi-Fi from ZTE
April 03, 2007
InformationWeek's W. David Gardner reports today that Mexico City's 8 million residents will be getting free Wi-Fi citywide by 2008 — along with about 4,000 closed-circuit security cameras — thanks to an agreement between the city and China's ZTE Corp.
As InformationWeek's Stephen Wellman points out, "What started out as way for a few cities like Philadelphia to bridge the digital divide has turned into a global movement. As Wi-Fi technologies have evolved — offering faster data speeds and enhanced range — some insiders claim that muni Wi-Fi has the potential to compete with other wireless technologies, including 3G and WiMax."
More here from the AFP … more here from the AP … more here from El Universal … and more here from Spero News.
Jan vdR said:
Apr 04, 07 at 1:48 pmWhile it is certainly a big step in the right direction, to break the defacto monopoly of Telmex here in Mexico, i would love to get my hands on the actual agreement to see what ZTE got in Exchange for this deal or what they are supposed to get….
M. Waldo said:
Apr 24, 07 at 3:47 pmEbrard’s best play (Mexico Regent), Mexico must advance faster in the internet field, i can’t belive that countries like Greece or turkey provide to their citizens more wide band access than Mexico. Mexico 1 mb. access cost the same that in the United States, but the little difference is that they have 6 mb. access. I Agree about slim monopoly, but when will this end?