Online Commerce: April 2007 Archives

Due to the lack of online information about the Carlow Wifi project, I did a quick drive around Carlow with a laptop and USB GPS dongle. Using Kismet I was able to pick up six networks with the essid of "Carlow Town low cost WiFi Access". I was lacking an external antenna for the laptop wireless so I could have missed more than a few, however I did manage to pick up eighty three wireless networks in a ten minute drive around town! I have created a quick Google Map with the locations of the six Carlow Town access points which can be accessed here. When I manage to find my wireless card with external antenna, I'll do a proper drive around the town and put up the results.

As Damien has already mentioned, E|Net announced a new Wifi network in Carlow today. According to the article Brisknet, Aptus and Bitbuzz are going to be the initial providers of Wifi access in the town. I have been fairly unimpressed with the details available online about the wireless network though. There is absolutely no information on the E|Net site that I can see, not even a mention in the News sidebar. Brisket's coverage maps only cover Roscommon, Mayo and Galway. There is no mention of Carlow on their site at all. Bitbuzz is a bit better. They mention the Fairgreen shopping centre in their list of hotspots, but that's it. Aptus (What a site!!) have nothing on their site about coverage in Carlow, or about anything for that matter! The whole project to get Wifi in the town is a great idea, and I look forward to when it is actually useful. However the announcement that it has gone live seems to be very premature, one hot-spot in a shopping center is not a municipal WiFi network.