Farmers Branch will deploy and operate a city-wide Wi-Fi service.

The planned wireless network, which will cover all 12 square miles of the city, will enable a range of free and fee-based services and provide secure high-speed access to data, voice and video throughout the coverage area. Subscription services will be offered on an annual, monthly, daily and hourly basis and will allow access to multiple Internet service providers. Full Story...

ISP-Planet.com has listed the top 24 ISPs rated by number of subscribers. See List...

Several years and billions of dollars after they first announced plans to build out high-speed, third-generation wireless networks, Verizon Wireless and Sprint now have them in place.

For as little as $25 a month, consumers now have access to speeds comparable to those at a Wi-Fi hotspot wherever they travel, without having to stay tethered to a local coffee shop.

PC makers are scrambling to adopt the technology, too. Wi-Fi rapidly went from optional add-on to standard equipment in laptops, and 3G is following the same pattern. This year, Dell, Hewlett-Packard, and Lenovo all announced plans to include chips in their latest laptops that will use Verizon's 3G network, and Panasonic is embedding Sprint chips in some of its line. You'll see many of these laptops for the first time in January at CES.

The widespread adoption of 3G networks and services could have a big impact on Wi-Fi. 3G is vastly easier to use: You sign up for one account and pay one bill, while relying on Wi-Fi hotspots could easily find you signing up for half a dozen hotspot providers and having to track as many usernames and passwords. Full Story....

Panera Bread, Schlotzsky’s Deli, Krystal restaurants and other independent cafes, libraries, parks and a growing number of cities, offers free wireless Internet access. No strings attached.

The trend marks a major change from well-publicized efforts by companies such as Starbucks, Barnes & Noble and FedEx Kinko’s as well as many hotel chains. They offer Internet hot spots at many locations for a fee ranging from $4 to $10 a day.

JiWire, a company that tracks Wi-Fi use, says Wi-Fi service is available at 32,000 U.S. locations; 90 percent of them charge a fee but as the number of Wi-Fi hot spots grows, consumers will become less willing to pay for it, predicts JiWire Chief Executive Officer Kevin McKenzie. “We’ll see more free Wi-Fi popping up, becoming a public utility like electricity and water.” Full Story...

Tempe, the Phoenix suburb that is home to Arizona State University, is due to have wireless Internet available for all of its 160,000 residents in February, becoming the first city of its size in the United States to have Wi-Fi throughout.

Two hours of free access each day also will be available for users on the Arizona State campus or the nearby Mill Avenue retail district, where the network began a year ago as a pilot project and has proved popular.

Wi-Fi service for outdoor users will cost $3.95 per hour or $29.95 per month. Full Story...

There's 801.22a, 802.11b, 802.11g, pre-N, 802.11i, MIMO, and more. How can you sort out the mess of Wi-Fi standards? Here's the rundown on what the major standards are, and what you need to know about them, from Brian Hernacki, architect, Symantec Research Labs, Cupertino, Calif. Full Story...

New Orleans gets a city-owned, open-to-the-public Wi-Fi system that's nominally aimed at attracting tourists, conventions and new businesses.

The city uses a mesh network of antennas mounted on existing utility poles. The signals piggyback on a fibre backbone designed to connect security video cameras installed before hurricane Katrina hit. The Wi-Fi service started last week in the central business district and will expand into tourist haunts such as the French Quarter in the weeks to come. Full Story...
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EarthLink High Speed was recognized for providing high-quality DSL and cable service, marking the first time the publication has awarded a PC Magazine Readers' Choice to a DSL provider. When it came to dial-up service, readers voted EarthLink as the best choice. Full Story...

As the trend of providing free citywide wireless internet access surges, MetroFi, a Mountain View-based company, announced that it will be bringing free Wi-Fi ( wireless fidelity ) service to the city of Sunnyvale. The company has already begun work on its network which currently covers a third of the city's households. Other residential and business districts can expect the network to be up and running by springtime.

In order to take advantage of the free service, users will be required to allow advertisements to be shown across a half-inch strip at the top of their web browsers. As MetroFi's CEO Chuck Haas notes, it is a great way for local and national businesses to reach local customers in an economical way. Travelers will also be able to get information about local attractions through this advertising bar. Full Story...
How to Buy an RV, Before you Buy it

Visitors, attorneys and members of the public now have access to free wireless service to the Internet throughout the Erie County Courthouse and at Old County Hall.

The system is an open network, with no registration or fees required for use. If it turns out to be successful and receives a good response, plans call for expanding the Wi-Fi system to other courthouses in the district.

The courthouse and county hall join 10 other Wi-Fi hot spots launched since 2003 throughout the City of Buffalo. The others are provided through buffalowifi.org, a public/private collaborations between the Erie County Industrial Development Agency, InfoTech Niagara, Cisco Systems, Computer SOS, Verizon, Thinwires LLC and others. Full Story...

Visitors can now surf the Internet while enjoying the outdoors at Charlotte, NC, Freedom Park.

The Mecklenburg County Parks and Recreation Department launched its Wi-Fi service Wednesday. The wireless computer connection allows people with laptops and wireless cards to get online. Full Story...