By Malcolm Curtis, Victoria Times Colonist, 5 February 2006
Wireless internet use has become commonplace in Victoria's cafes, homes and offices. Ben was ahead of the pack, advocating for an affordable city-owned network in his 2002 and 2005 platforms
Technology blends with high-end design at the Dolce Vita Coffee Art cafe in Victoria’s bustling Harris Green neighbourhood.
Wall-mounted plasma screens display the menu and shifting graphics behind the counter where baristas prepare lattes and etch ornate patterns on the frothy surface of cappuccinos.
A discreet sign on a steel coffee brewing machine reads, “free WiFi,” denoting a growing trend.
The Dolce Vita, in a strip mall across from London Drugs, is one of a small group of city businesses offering customers with wireless computers free access to the Internet. WiFi refers to “wireless fidelity,” a term that harkens back to “high fidelity” gramophone records in an earlier technological age.
“It’s kind of the new way in a cafe,” said Anthony Kwon, owner of the coffee shop.
Patrons bring their laptop computers to surf the Internet for free while sipping lattes and munching on biscotti.
“When you go to a coffee shop there’s always a free newspaper — this is just the same thing only with the Internet,” Kwon said.
He pays Shaw Cable about $80 a month for high-speed access to the Internet. He plugs the cable into a low-powered radio transmitter called a “router” that enables wireless computers located within a couple of hundred feet to connect to the Web.
The area of connectivity is known as a wireless “hot spot.”
Businesses ranging from hotels to restaurants offer similar kinds of access, though most require some form of payment and an array of passwords and log-on procedures.
Now, the City ofVictoriais considering a deal with a private company that promises to expand the number of free wireless hot spots in the city. MCK Advance Technologies hopes to install antennas on 24 utility poles in various neighbourhoods.
Company owner Michael Chan said he isn’t planning to make a huge profit from the service, which will be free for people with WiFi- equipped computers. But he hopes he can draw away customers from Telus and Shaw to a cheaper pay internet service he said he will offer in areas of the city where the WiFi connection becomes weak.
MCK, operating as CitiWide, has approval from B.C. Hydro to attach the antennae — about 4 1/2 metres tall — to power poles across the city.
The city controls the rights for putting up the antennae. A proposed agreement would see MCK pay the city an administrative fee of $1,500, plus $250 for each antenna installation. A further licence fee would amount to two per cent of the estimated value of the equipment, estimated at about $150,000.
Council has asked staff for more information about the project.
Ben Isitt, a mayoral candidate in the last two elections, said the city should be installing its own wireless network.
Isitt made establishing a municipal network downtown one of his campaign planks.
“The service could be provided so cheaply, we’re talking about half a million dollars,” he said.
Isitt noted that other communities, such as Spokane, Wash., have provided low-cost municipal wireless services. Victoria should be able to do the same, providing Internet access at a fraction of the cost charged by companies like Telus and Shaw, he said.
Free access downtown would benefit businesses, particularly the number of tourists now travelling with laptops, Isitt said.
Mayor Alan Lowe said he didn’t know enough about the issue to say whether such a system would be feasible.
Meanwhile, back at the Dolce Vita, owner Kwon thinks a free municipal system downtown is a good idea. “It would be nice,” he said. “But I question if it will be really free.”
