Miami Beach turns of free wifi

Miami Beach Turns on Free Wi-Fi

Posted by Sam Churchill on November 2nd, 2009

Like a blast from the past, the City of Miami Beach is offering free WiFi throughout the city (maps). Last week, the city began a soft launch by neighborhood, with a 90-day reliability testing period. The official “wire-cutting” was on Friday, October 30 in front of Miami Beach City Hall.

The City of Miami Beach contracted with IBM to install the citywide wireless network. The Wi-Fi launch was supposed to happen around 2007, but the project was delayed as IBM struggled to provide the coverage it agreed to in its contract. It covers 7.1 miles and cost some $5.1 million, under a six-year contract with IBM. IBM is working Alvarion for infrastructure.

General users will have two networks to choose from, including a content-filtered network for children. A third network is for government use.

For public safety and government use, such as laptops in police cars, it also makes the entire city a hot zone for public internet access. The contract provides that at least 95% of the City will have outdoor WiFi coverage and at least 70% of the City will have indoor coverage up through the second floor of a building.

Once you have registered and successfully connected to the City’s WiFi network, you will be redirected to the City of Miami Beach WiFi Landing page. At that point you can create a username and log in to the free WiFi network. This is a free network for all residents, visitors and businesses in the City of Miami Beach.

source: dailywireless.org