San Jose Launches Fast Public Wi-Fi

One of the nation’s fastest free public Wi-Fi networks was unveiled in downtown San Jose (CA) on March 14.

Partnering with hardware provider Ruckus Wireless and an engineering team at SmartWAVE Technologies, the city upgraded both its infrastructure and its equipment to revitalize its existing Wi-Fi network and create new opportunities for the city and its residents. The new network, which cost the city about $94,000 up front, and $22,000 annually, will complement a changing atmosphere in downtown San Jose, CIO Vijay Sammeta said. The City Council recently approved curbside dining, an activity that will be greatly enhanced by the public’s ability to access high-speed Internet. San Jose, dubbed the Capital of Silicon Valley, also is using the new network to provide Internet access to city facilities, such as parking meters that handle time-sensitive transactions. City services using the new downtown Wi-Fi network will help offset some of its costs by using the public network instead of buying Internet service independently. The new network uses the wireless-N standard and can provide download speeds of 3 to 4 Mbps on a mobile device, according to Ruckus Wireless.