I was doing my cyber-rounds today at lunch and dropped by CNN’s Tech section and saw the headline “City Unveils Huge Wireless Network“.  However, my initial excitement was quickly tempered when I read the article, which followed the implementation of a huge, multi-point wireless infrastructure which, unfortunately, was limited in use to public safety and other city staff.  Such a shame.

It would seem to me that we need to be approaching the point where wifi connectivity should be as basic as roads, sidewalks, learning and recreation facilities.  I am fortunate that my hometown of Fredericton, New Brunswick – a smallish city with a population of somewhere between 50 and 60 thousand on the east coast of Canada  – has taken up that charge.  Several years ago city council not only had the vision to utilize technology for municipal business, but also took the bold step to piggyback a FREE public wi-fi network, dubbed Fred-ezone, that covers most of the downtown core, the uptown shopping district, the airport and many other municipal facilities.

This means that I (or any resident/visitor to our town) can sit down at their favourite coffee shop, and connect away.  In this age of user produced content, community management and web-based apps, bandwidth remains the last obstacle to a democratic web, where all users are created equal.

I realize that Oklahoma City is significantly larger than Fredericton, but it would seem to me that with the infrastructure already in place, combined with higher density and economies of scale, it would benefit the city planners to open their web to public use.

The implementation of the free public wi-fi has resulted in tremendous exposure for Fredericton as a smart city – “Freddy” was recently recognized as among the top seven smartest cities in the world – and a tremendous economic advantage.

Having said all that, here’s the rub.  Our kids can go downtown and be connected via their cell phones and iPod Touch and whatever other wi-fi device they have, but most of these tools remain outside the learning processes within our schools.  Are we ready for open access learning?  Can we unlock the world for our kids?

tags: technology, education, whipple
, fredezone, fredericton