I loved hearing that several cities such as Philadelphia are taking on the ambitious and philanthropist goal of providing city-wide wi-fi in order to bridge the "gap on internet inequality". Imagine wanting to surf the internets on your laptop and not be constrained to your home or coffeeshops. I really enjoyed how Austin was virtually wi-fi everywhere and am a bit surprised at the lack of access in New York.
Now, true to its namesake, Google ups the ante exponentially by announcing Glo-fi which would provide free internet access all over the globe. Details are sketchy and scarce so I’m not sure how extensive or reliable their network would be. A lot of people are questioning how they plan to do this, but Google has pulled off some amazing feats before.
Aside from the logistical hurdles, I wonder how Google will pull this off politically. Opening the gates to free information is very utopian, but I see major resistance to come from established internet providers and countries like China, well known for its censorship of what its citizens can access.
Google is starting to look like a commercial juggernaut (hello, Microsoft?) but its programs have always been pretty top notch and its goals beneficial. I’ll cheer Glo-fi on for now, but I’ve got my eye on you, Google.
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