[Scan-DC] The Open Park Project

[Alan Henney]

----- Original Message ----- 
From: <themail at dcwatch.com>
Sent: Sunday, May 09, 2004 7:28 PM
Subject: Access in themail, May 9, 2004
Access in themail, May 9, 2004

Dear Accessers:

I missed the original announcement about the Open Park Project, even
though the Washington Times
(http://www.washingtontimes.com/business/20040428-092510-9998r.htmc)
and The Hill (http://www.thehill.com/news/050604/internet.aspx)
carried stories about it. Here's what Kevin Werbach wrote about the
project on his blog site, Werblog (http://www.werblog.com): "The Open
Park Project is a nonprofit working to establish free public WiFi
["wireless fidelity," a high frequency local area network and can
provide access to the Internet] connectivity on the National Mall in
Washington, DC. I'm one of the cofounders, along with Washington
telecom lawyer Greg Staple and two others. On Wednesday [April 28],
Open Park launched its Website [http://www.openpark.net] and its first
location, on Capitol Hill. Hard to believe, but this is the first
public outdoor WiFi hotspot in Washington, DC. The area around [the]
Supreme Court, the Capitol Visitor Center, and the Library of Congress
is now 'lit.' Next stop: a wireless mesh from the Capitol to the
Lincoln Memorial. Not just for free connectivity, but ultimately
serving as a testbed for new wireless technologies and applications.
We've received a generous hardware donation from Tropos Networks and
plan to announce support from other companies and foundations soon.
I'm excited about this project both for the important symbolism and
for the real practical benefits of a WiFi zone in the heart of the
Nation's Capitol."

I first heard Kevin Werbach speak at the Broadband Summit 2004 last
month at the Reagan International Trade Center. Werbach is best known
as the leading proponent of "open bandwidth." Werbach believes that
the shortage of airwaves -- the bandwidth spectrum used for broadcasts
and narrowcasts of television, radio, CB radio, WiFi, etc. -- is an
illusion. There is no shortage, he says, since receivers of all sorts
have become so much more sensitive and discriminating. Instead of
regulation's being necessary to allocate scarce bandwidth -- which was
the argument initially used to license broadcast stations and create
the Federal Communications Commission -- the scarcity today is being
artificially created by regulation.

Whether or not you buy that idea, grab your Wi-Fi enabled notebook,
run down to the Mall, and access DCWatch and DCPSWatch from there.

Gary Imhoff
themail at dcwatch.com