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Free wireless during the RNC? Maybe.

Posted at 6:18 PM on August 21, 2008 by Bob Collins (1 Comments)
Filed under: Tech, The political conventions

While St. Paulites were scurrying about trying to make sure the national media got the name of the city right when they mentioned the Republican National Convention, Minneapolis was doing its own thing, and you have to show a little love to that other city across the river.

On Friday, city officials will announce a plan to provide free wireless Internet for residents and visitors during the convention. But it might not be quite as fabulous as it sounds, freebie lovers.

Mayor R.T. Rybak, Lee Brenner, MySpace's executive producer of political programming and director of IMPACT, and Joe Caldwell from USI Wireless announce plans to offer the City of Minneapolis free use of the citywide wireless network to connect visitors and residents to the Internet during the Republican National Convention, according to a news release.

The release says there'll be MySpace kiosks in downtown Minneapolis. And a (as in "one") free access day.

Comments (1)

Every time I'm in downtown Minneapolis and waiting for a bus, I see if I can do a little quick browsing on my smartphone. Each time I discover the city's wifi overpowers the smaller weaker, but free services nearby. Since I live in St. Paul, I won't pay the monthly fee for these limited periods, but it makes this "service" more of a dis-service.

If they offered a little more free service, or if they lowered their rate (almost $30/month), I'd feel a little better about it. Maybe I'd even pay for it.

Posted by Bruce | August 22, 2008 9:45 AM