Austin

Location(s)

The Austin Wireless City Project (AWCP) is a non-profit group that aims to “improve the availability and quality of public free WiFi in Austin.” The group is run by volunteers, which help local businesses set up wireless hotspots. The businesses pay for an internet connection from an ISP, but connecting the wireless node is free for users. There are also a number of AWCP hotspots at Austin public libraries. The article listed below by Fuentes-Bautista and Inagaki gives a detailed introduction not only to AWCP, but also to the other players in Austin’s wireless environment. It discusses some of the benefits and drawbacks to community hotspot models, especially in terms of their ability to help bridge the digital divide.

Learn More:

Austin Wireless
http://www.austinwirelesscity.org/

MacKinnon, Rich (2004). Austin Goes Wi-Fi Too. Government Technology. March 2, 2004. http://www.govtech.com/gt/articles/89576

Fuentes-Bautista, M., & Inagaki, N. (2006). Reconfiguring Public Internet Access in Austin, TX: Wi-Fi's Promise and Broadband Divides. Government Information Quarterly, 23(3-4), 404-434. www.utexas.edu/research/tipi/research/fuentes_inagaki_wifiaustin.pdf

Evaluating Community Technology Centers (CTCs) Project (2002).

An Ideal CTC: Strategies for Community Development from Austin Community Technology Centers. LBJ School of Public Affairs, University of Texas at Austin. http://www.utexas.edu/lbj/rhodesprp/01_02/

Fuentes-Bautista, Martha and Nobuya Inagaki (2005). Wi-Fi’s Promise and Broadband Divides: Reconfiguring Public Internet Access in Austin, Texas. The Telecommunications Policy and Research Conference. Arlington, Virginia, September 2005. web.si.umich.edu/tprc/papers/2005/445/Fuentes_Inagaki.pdf