Comment

Comment by Ken Maher on October 2, 2011 at 11:48am

Thanks, DeWain.

Comment by DeWain Feller on October 1, 2011 at 1:47pm

It is good that the SWCC  is working on the WiFi issue.  I want to make it clear that in no way is the 19th WCA trying to prevent or discourage anyone from working on this issue.  I know from my telecom experience that this will be an uphill battle, but uphill battles can be won if the resources are out there and right people connect with the right resources.

Comment by Joan Roby-Davison on September 29, 2011 at 10:19am

The communication committee of the South West Common Council IS working on the questions around WiFi in the South West Quadrant (not just 19th Ward).  Members agreed to take on some tasks (I'm looking at possible grant funding sources, for example), and we will meet again before the next SWCC meeting.   If you have strong interest in seeing this move forward, please come to the meeting on October 20 at SWAN, on Dr. Samuel McCree Way! 

Comment by Georgia NeSmith on September 29, 2011 at 9:14am

You're welcome, Mark. Though I have to admit I checked in mostly to post the link to my new "From Fibro to Fabulous" blog on my homepage! 

 

I would suggest that those who are interested in pushing free wifi that they do so on the city level, and particularly with the rationale of improving the info have/have not ratio, in part to enhance school success as well as employment. 

 

But also there's another rationale that can be more persuasive for the beancounters, and that is the way it can improve business success. It's a cost for restaurants etc. to offer wifi access, but it brings in more customers. 

 

See The Five Best Cities for Free Wifi

and google <cities free wifi> 

 

Meanwhile, an alternative for the time being would be to

1) encourage residents who already have wifi but who lock it out for security reasons to create "guest" networks. 

 

After a good, long (six -12 months?) campaign on that

 

2) find someone(s) willing to create a map of existing wifi hotspots (including residential with guest access).

 

3) identify other organizations in the neighborhood who would be interested in promoting knowledge of free and low cost used computers to residents. Churches, for instance. 

 

I know, that's work. Just some thoughts. 

 

 

 

Comment by Ken Maher on September 29, 2011 at 8:27am

You're absolutely right, Mark. DeWain has made it perfectly clear that the 19WCA cannot be involved in a wifi project. On the other hand, several of us have said over and over again, in this forum and elsewhere, that we are not asking the 19WCA to anything about wifi. That effort died months ago in the 19WCA, but it is not dead outside the organizational structure. I agree that Louise's response was a little abrasive, but it puzzles me, if there is no time for the 19WCA to work on this matter, why so much effort is coming from the 19WCA to prevent it from being addressed in some other venue. I am glad, though, that DeWain's message included the link about Comcast, which was a very helpful and encouraging contribution to the discussion.

Comment by Mark Sweetland on September 29, 2011 at 1:31am

Also, a thank you to Georgia for further education ... I learned something new.  Hope you are enjoying your new home.  We miss you but are glad you still check in!

Comment by Mark Sweetland on September 29, 2011 at 1:06am

DeWain, thank you for this clarification and I agree 100%.  I think your approach is reasonable, and could be pursued if someone wanted to but it is not an issue for the 19th WCA to address at this time.  We have already identified property conditions as a priority, so lets concentrate on one thing at a time.   WiFi might be a nice thing to have, but we have more important issues at this time.  If someone wants to pursue WiFi it is worth investigating, but let's look at where we need to place our first efforts now.  WiFi will not help if the neighborhood housing is deteriorating, and it will not encourage someone to buy here if the housing values are going down.  There are also serious quality-of life issues that need to be addressed first, such as street noise, violence, drugs, etc.  I believe you are on-track with your response.

Comment by DeWain Feller on September 29, 2011 at 12:23am

Please let me make a few points of clarification.  One of the best chances for making Internet access more affordable would be to ask if Frontier and/or Time Warner could adopt a program similar to Comcast's.  The issue of funding restraints comes into play if there is an effort to get the City of Rochester or NYS to pay for a free WiFi program.  Since there currently is no budget item for municipal WiFi service in NYS, a municipal WiFi program would be a new budget item that would compete with scarce public dollars with other needs for our city.

Another point of clarification is that the 19thWCA has received a lot of input that poor property condition is a very serious problem affecting our neighborhood.  We need to address issues that directly impact property conditions (i.e. code enforcement, renovation and improvement programs, maintanance of City-owned properties).  Historic preservation is one part of the larger property condition issue, but the most important issue is that we need to find ways to get deteriorated houses repaired or rehabilated.

Comment by Margy Meath on September 28, 2011 at 12:06pm

Geez - I think that DeWain was trying to be helpful to the group that is pursuing this. The attachment that he included described a program that might be worth exploring in terms of seeing whether our local phone/cable carriers might replicate what Comcast is doing. 

Comment by Louise Wu on September 28, 2011 at 11:19am

@ Dewain: The tech people we (SWCC communications) spoke to from U of R suggested something like this. I'm just not getting your "we don't have the funding available" comments that you keep making.  The programs you have a personal interest in, like historical restoration, have little cross-over with tech infrastructure, like WIFI.  As such, people, organizations, businesses, and the like, who would fund one would probably not fund the other.  So, you and anyone who wants to pursue historic preservation, can go seek funding for it.  It won't take any resources from seeking funds for WIFI in this geographic area.  Does this make sense to you Dewain?  Is their someone who could explain it another way that would work better for you?

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