Pattaya City Suspends Municipal Wifi Project

[fxm88]

Pattaya City Suspends Municipal WiFi Project

Pattaya City has cancelled a pilot program that offered free wireless Internet access to visitors, saying that the service wasn't popular enough to justify the cost. The cancellation may give fuel to opponents of municipal wireless deployments.

The project was launched in May 2004 and provided free Internet access to computer users in beach areas including Tops Plaza and parts of Walking Street. It was designed to support as many as 200 users at once, but only about 2 people a day were using it. City officials kept the system running for 17 months--long past the initially planned six-month trial period--but eventually concluded that low user rates didn't justify the 72000 baht per month it took to keep the system running.

Beach vendor Khun Sirivet Sarumpatchnatree was quoted as saying "My customer [enjoys using this service to read] email and surf [the Internet]. [Without this] service why [would] my customer come to [the] beach?"

A spokesman for the city says they're going to explore other options about how to fund the network, including corporate sponsorships, and that it might bring the free network back at some point in the future.

Networks like these have come under attack from citizens who don't want tax dollars funding the projects, as well as from telecommunications providers who say the cities are competing with private enterprise.

The Manfarang -- Thailand's Finest Newsource

Monday 31st October 2005

[bangkapiboy]

I never even knew about it. If I knew about it, then maybe I would've used it!

[monty]

How the heck it could get popular???

As far as I know this wasn't publicized at all!

I try to keep track of free hotspots, but they are very sparse in Pattaya.

I do use them, every so often I take breakfast in Shennanigans where they have free wifi, but haven't heard anything at all from city hall's project

And how it could cost 72000 Baht/month beats me.

What did they have, 1 gigabit of international bandwidth or something?

[Connor McCloud]

You will have to excuse me for being a techno-phobe and probably getting this completly arse about face but does this mean the powers that be were expecting people to walk around with lap tops in high risk mugging areas?

I must be wrong

[Noel]

Classic!

This is the very first I have heard of the project.

I have never seen anything in the Press nor heard anyone talk about it.

Was anyone else aware?

[wilko]

I had absolutely no idea of its existance....that would have been quite useful to me>>>>>where was it publicised? as it finished already????

Edited October 31, 2005 by wilko

[Bruprince]

I never even knew about it.  If I knew about it, then maybe I would've used it!

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

Likewise if I had known about it I would have used it.

[johng]

if anyone had known about it they might have used it

Never heard anything about this project before today.

[Sunny Valentine]

That's probably the reason nobody used it: Nobody ever heard of it.

TIPA (this is Pattaya Admistration)

Sunny

[gharknes]

nevr new it existed, also it is slightly ahead of it's time, wifi is just emerging in mobile devices like smart phones which will become widespread, currently only laptops and some PDA's have wifi

give it 2 years and they will have to expand the network and increase capacity, hope they don't shelve it.

[galt67]

The Pattaya government should be looking at WI-FI Max which extends wireless Internet for SEVERAL miles.

In addition, they should have layed fiber optic cable along beach rd with construction going on.

[johng]

In addition, they should have layed fiber optic cable along beach rd with construction going on

Yes they could have and should have...but have they ?? I'd say no !!!! they haven't

but never mind it's not too late, because they still haven't finished beach Rd construction ( The electricity / telephone cables are still on poles just as ugly as ever )

Edited October 31, 2005 by johng

[Noel]

In addition, they should have layed fiber optic cable along beach rd with construction going on

Yes they could have and should have...but have they ?? I'd say no !!!! they haven't

but never mind it's not too late, because they still haven't finished beach Rd construction ( The electricity / telephone cables are still on poles just as ugly as ever )

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

Oh so true.

Looking on the bright side though, even if they do miss this window they can do it next time they excavate.

What's an extra week, eh?

[astral]

What was that comment in another thread?

"All the business acumen of a gassed badger............."

That sure applies here.