Free, Local WiFi in the Community

With the seasons of warm weather approaching, and a kid who grew up in Calgary, AB (aka the dry prairies) now living in beautiful Victoria, BC, one can imagine it will be hard for said 'kid' to stay inside and study, instead of enjoying the ocean and outdoors. However, studying is not an option at Royal Roads University, it is mandatory. Esspecially being a B.Sc. student. Needless to say, keeping an environmental student jailed up in a building to study about the environment rather than going outside during beautiful weather to experience it first hand is essentially going to be impossible.

I am proposing that the City of Victoria, and surrounding municipalities such as the City of Langford, has introduced free, district-wide WiFi primarily because of students such as myself and my fellow B.Sc. collegues. The City of Victoria and surrounding municipalities feels our pain of being trapped by homework and assignments having to be done indoors where WiFi is available! So they created a free WiFi city-wide just so we could leave the confines of buildings and do homework outside!

Okay, so maybe that's not why city-wide WiFi was created, but none-the-less, I will be using the WiFi signal throughout the City of Victoria and City of Langford to escape being inside and still be able to get my homework done via the use of the internet. How strong the signal is in certain areas will still have to be discovered, but I am willing to search for a hotspot in a park with an ocean view near a lemonade stand when the weather improves. But, how does this affect the community?

Well, let me tell you.

Instead of me sitting in my house, as I am now while writing this post, I will be soon posting my blogs from public settings. My location now is remote compared to where all the hustle and bustle occurs in my community. This is because I have just recently discovered that city wide WiFi even exists. Now that I know about it, I can pretty much guarentee that 70% of my internet research and internet based homework/assignments will not be done on campus, nor from my own home, but rather from the community/city centre.

I will leave my hermit lifestyle to become integrated into the community. While I am out with my laptop, I may as well take a stroll through the local community. If I have time (which I will always be able to create for shopping), I will most likely find myself strolling through a few boutiques. And, if I am in a particulary good mood, I will most likely purchase something. This increases my value to the community, as I am becoming an engaging member on the local/business scale. I will help local shop owners by purchasing (relatively inexpensive) items from their stores.

Also - could you imagine if no one ever left their house except for the necessities? If people were only seen in the community to go to work, purchase groceries, and possibly make a quick stop at the bank? The streets and local shops would be so empty! With the introduction of WiFi, not only students, but other members of a community will be enabled to be more mobile as to where they can connect to the internet. Ofcourse, the idea of city-wide WiFi is also based on the idea that people who would like to use the WiFi will have a laptop equipped with the mechanisms needed to pick up the signal. This could, unfortunately, could limit those without a laptop equipped from using the service.

Overall, I think the idea of city-wide WiFi will encourage people to get out and join the community. And by being surrounded by other fellow community members, people have a greater sense of community. This will increase community engagement by making people more aware and connected with their community and those around them, and will instill a sense of place and in tune with their community. I am excited to be able to use this service, and it will be a great tool for me to enjoy the outdoors and continue my education in a very productive manner. Not to mention - I will be more connected to my community, which I think is a very important and critical part of having members active in the community. Also, by increasing the amount of time I spend outdoors, I think my sense of place will also increase. I enjoy being an active member of my community, and I am looking foward to using this outlet to increase my involvement in the community.

For more information on how city-wide WiFi came about in Victoria, BC, please visit:http://blog.sitepronews.com/index.php?/archives/5-Citywide-WiFi-offers-city-wide-Internet-access-in-Victoria-BC.html

For more information on the City of Langford's WiFi service, please visit: http://www.cityoflangford.ca/newsarticle.asp?TopicID=528