August 23, 2006
Wi-Fi, Better Cell Reception for Smithsonian Museums
The Smithsonian Insititution announced Monday that it will install a Common Wireless Access System in phases over the next two years, a step which means both free wireless Internet and improved mobile phone reception in and around their museums.
The announcement comes 2 years after non-profit Open Park began a push to provide Wi-Fi across the National Mall, which resulted in three hotspots in the area — a good start, but without the Smithsonian's cooperation to gain access to their rooftops, Open Park lacked the ability to install the kind of hardware that would create a hotspot big enough to cover most of the Mall's green space.
The Smithsonian issued a formal Request for Proposals in December for potential solutions to adding Wi-Fi and improved cell phone service in around their museums. According to the Smithsonian's press release, the contract to design the new system has been awarded to Gulf Coast Real Estate Consultants LLC, a New Orleans-based company. The new wireless access system will be created and installed at no cost to the Smithsonian, which a spokesperson from the institution said means that it will be paid for by multiple local cell phone carriers. The Smithsonian declined to disclose which carriers are involved in the deal, but assured us that more than one would be involved, meaning the improved reception theoretically won't only benefit Verizon customers, as has been the case on Metro.
The news that free Wi-Fi access will be improved in more areas on the Mall over the next two years, is indeed good. From our perspective, when it comes to access to the Internet, more is always better. As for Open Park, Co-Founder Greg Staple expressed some disappointment in an email asking for a response to the Smithsonian's announcement, saying that at a time when city-wide Wi-Fi services are being constructed from Philadelphia to San Francisco, "the nation's capitol deserves something more."
"It's time for the Smithsonian to take the next step and grant Open Park the roof top access it originally requested in 2004 so that a mile long 'hotspot' can be created across the central green space of the Mall by 2007, and not merely at a handful of museum gardens," Staple said.
Smithsonian representatives didn't respond to requests for comment on Open Park's statement.
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Remind me, why are we better off for having more cell phone reception in a museum? I think we ought to be doing more to create cell phone dead-zones, not create more places for people to reach out and let their friends know how totally wasted they got at the Front Page last night.
I agree that there should be more dead-cell technology developed (i.e. for theatres), however, thousands of people actually work on the Mall/in museums and need to be able to contact each other or access information when nowhere near a traditional phone/computer. Many employees have been asking for this for a long long time. So, despite the visitor being the impetus (more time spent here, more $$ spent), access is not just for visitors.