Universal Wi-Fi/Internet Access - New York Times FON Profile

This weekend I read the New York Times story by John Markoff, “Global Dreams for a

Wireless Web,” which is a very large profile on the company FON. While the story focuses on FON, it basically is about the CEO's vision to get people Internet access. I personally am a huge believer in ubiquitous Wi-Fi access and I am consistently surprised that my city, San Francisco, still does not have universal Wi-Fi.

With the thousands of Comcast cable boxes and Linksys routers…if we were to just open it up and allow people access…this city (as well as other major metropolitan cities) would be Wi-Fi enabled. Yes, I know there are security risks…but with the many amazing brains in Silicon Valley (let a lone the world) I am sure we could figure something out.

So, here is my crazy concept:

What if people just didn’t security enable their Linksys or any other type of Wi-Fi router in their home?

What if neighborhoods bonded together to create Wi-Fi towers—much like how there are cell towers around the city (world) due to operators, we could just open up hot spots in our neighborhoods? We could bypass the bureaucracy of the big boys and the city superintendents and do it ourselves. Now, that would be great. I live in Cole Valley, the dwellings of Craig from Craigsligt. Maybe we could get him to help sponsor a grassroots neighborhood initiative for Wi-Fi, Wi-Fi access, 27/7 immediate Internet. That would be great. I am already doing a bit of my part by not locking my router. Maybe, I need to take it one step farther.

On another note, there are so many interesting start-ups that have a similar vision to FON. I remember going to DEMO in 2007 with my client Devicescape and FON announced their company and vision along with Whisher. All these companies have something very similar within their visions:

Getting people on the Internet (Access)
Free, ubiquitous Internet (Availability Everywhere)
Internet, Internet, Internet to the masses

While FON and Meraki (another super cool company with a Free The Net concept) are about getting people Internet, Devicescape is all about access from any device. Beyond handsets or lap tops, their vision is Wi-Fi access from any device, anywhere, anytime. Imagine, a digital camera with built in Wi-Fi so when you take those photos…you can send them immediately versus tethering up to your PC as a conduit. Imagine bypassing expensive cell lines and offloading to Wi-Fi. Now, imagine more Wi-Fi so we can really live this dream.

I would like to see FON, Meraki, Boingo and Devicescape all work together in lock-step to help consumers like me get more access to the Internet so I can enjoy the services from the Internet.
Ok..my two cents as am a Wi-Fi junkie in full support of these companies. And, a independent thinker/worker who needs more Internet cafes, parks and the like.