Have been in Paris for a couple of days. Visiting Place des Vosges (close to La Bastille), one can see these type of panels planted in the frozen grass nearby a tree; (pics where taken with my cell phone, sorry about low resolution…)

wifi paris

“Wi-Fi in public spaces is not a gated community, but rather a public resource that can be shared and appreciated by all just like the shade of a large tree.” (Corina et al., 2006, p. 220)

Whether useful or not (no one was apparently enjoying outdoor free wifi access in minus 1 Celsius degrees…) it fits quite well with this quote form people signing the Free Wireless Networks in the Developing World (nevertheless, all worlds are developing worlds though…).

Now, why  Can I benefit in a public place from a muni-wifi initiative (Paris-Wi-Fi) in Paris? And Why I can not benefit from a muni-wifi initiative in Barcelona (Barcelonasensefils)? What is at stake with the comparison?.

The book ref.; Corina et al. (2006) Wireless networking in the developing world. A practical guide to planning and building low-cost telecommunications infrastructures

You can download it in many languages here; http://www.wndw.net/.

[1]: though I will have to check

A larger perspective;

wifi paris large. Place Des Vosges. Paris. 01/2009.

PS:  From paris-wifi website we can read: “Le service Paris Wi-Fi est accessible à tous de 7h à 23h et dans la limite des horaires d’ouverture au public. Les jardins équipés Wi-Fi sont reconnaissables à la signalétique présente dès les points d’entrée.
Pour se connecter, il suffit de se rendre dans une zone de connexion, à proximité d’un point d’accès. Afin de matérialiser cette zone, une signalisation figure sur les bancs publics des jardins équipés.”

RAX!