Toronto Hydro Launches Free Wi-Fi Network

k. writes to let us know about the launch Wednesday of Toronto Hydro's city-wide Wi-Fi network, at 6 square kilometers said to be the largest in North America by the time rollout is complete in December. The service will be free for 6 months and then will cost $29 (Canadian) per month, $10 for a day, or $5 for an hour. Toronto Hydro gets around fears of the Four Horsemen of the Infocalypse by requiring use of one's cell-phone number as the user ID.

Disposable cell phones...

[denis-The-menace]

If I wanted to use this network for bad things I would just have to get a Disposable cell phone and go from there.

Quick note about cell number ussage

[Thansal]

from TFA # Enter your mobile phone number in the space provided. # You will instantly receive a text message containing your username and password. # Enter your username and password. # Start surfing. # Your username and password will remain valid for free service until March 2007 Your cell number is not your ID, they are just ussing a cell number much like you would use an E-Mail for registering for a forum or some such, Kinda like how GMail is giving out accounts (or was, I don't remember if it is still up). This is not designed as a counter to the 4 horsemen scare, infact it would be horribly easy for any one to obtain as many anon logins as they wanted via use of prepaid phones and changing the hpone numbers (something even prepaid accounts let you do).

Re:Disposable cell phones...useless to reply to AC

[non]

no, the (grand)parent is correct. i'm curioius, what do you know about 'anywhere in the world'? in fact disposable handhelds have been available for at least ten years in countries that are generally referred to as 3rd world. take chile for example, or mexico.

perhaps you followed the vodaphone scandal in greece this spring, whereby telephone network software was hacked in order to route communication to one of a number of 'disposable' phones? you can buy them at tag sales; do you really think that they're going to ask for your ID at a tag sale?

Yes there are!

[Anonymous Coward]

Where I live... in a socialistic country in the nothern part of Europe, you can get a GSM-phone and/or a SIM-card (with a phone number) without showing any ID-card whatsoever, completely legally. Just walk into the government-owned shops and get it over the desk. The prepaid card may not work in USA/Canada though.

"largest" in north america?

[kbaud]

Maybe the reporter hasn't done much research on wifi. There are several municipal networks in north america that are much larger than 6 square km. Maybe they meant the program was larger in some other aspect?

Google brought up a Business Week article with the top 10 city networks. Some are over 100 sq miles in size:

http://images.businessweek.com/ss/06/08/muni_wifi/ index_01.htm [businessweek.com]

Re:NOT city wide coverage!

[Anonymous Coward]

The server is 6 sq. km now. It will grow to include everything between the 427 and the DVP on the east and west and between the 401 and the lake by December. We had Toronto Hydro in to talk to us about their services two months ago and they showed us their coverage map.

Re:Marketing Buttwipes

[canadiangoose]

They've definately got the downtown core covered. Besides, it's my understanding that this is just the first phase of the network, and that the coverage will expand to include the entire Greater Toronto Area, suburbs and all. The Ontario provincial governement has legislated that all homes be equiped with "smart metres" that bill the consumer for elictricity at different rates based on the time of day. Smart metres require two-way communication with the power company, and the wifi network is being put up to facilitate that communication. Being able to sell internet access to people is just an added bonus. Heck, I was hoping that because the network was being put up to satisfy a legal requirement on the part of the hydro company, and it is technically paid for already through my electricity bill, that it would be free. Oh well. It ain't free, but it's advertised to be much faster than I had though and I'm keen to try it. Here's a link that talks about the legislation. It's from Hamilton, not Toronto, but whatever. The legislation regarding the smart metres is the same. http://www.bbwexchange.com/publications/page1263-2 065753.asp [bbwexchange.com]