I was walking down the street with a friend weeks ago when he suddenly stopped outside a cafe. It wasn't a cup of coffee he wanted. Instead, he pulled his Palm Pilot out of a book bag and started futzing with it.
"I want to check my e-mail," he said.
He'd visited this same cafe weeks earlier when he learned they offered a Wi-Fi WLAN, or wireless, Internet connection and paid for the time he'd used along with a cappuccino and slice of chocolate cake. While the cake and cappuccino were long gone, the set-up information they provided still allowed him to access the Web; something he had done most every day since. Such are the Wild West days of the wireless frontier.
Of course, not everyone's getting wired and they may not be as fortunate as my friend in finding a free ride. But with Taipei's ambitious plans for Internet and wireless access development, there are sure to be plenty of options just round the corner.
In a lengthy speech given last year, Taipei Mayor Ma Ying-yeou (
"Given Taipei's limited physical space," Ma said, "If we want to build this city into a competitive international metropolis, forging ahead into the 21st century, it is imperative for us to break away from the traditional mindset of building the city on its physical space. Instead, we should seek to build Taipei as a cyber city based on a vision of cyberspace rather than physical space."
Actually, government efforts at wiring the city were recognized in 2002 when it was presented with the Public Sector Excellence Award by the World Congress on Information and Technology, but more continues to be done.
Taipei city hall has been outfitted with a wireless network, making it easier for municipal staff to exchange information, conduct meetings, give presentations and search for information. The general public, too, can enjoy wireless access in the cafes and restaurants inside the building. "In the future," according to Ma's plans, "wireless services will be extended to major business districts."
The most ambitious of these plans is a proposal brought forth last October to rent space on all the traffic lights, streetlights and bus stops in the Xinyi district to wireless service providers like Chunghwa Telecom and Yam. They'd then be able to set up access points (APs), the transmitter/receivers wired to land lines that allow for wireless access.
If the plan is recognized, it would not only mean that visitors to the area would be able to check their e-mail while walking between Warner Village and the Taipei 101building, the city estimates that it would receive some NT$10 million from renting the required sites to service providers.
More recently, the city government has said that all MRT stations will be equipped with Wi-Fi networks by the end of December, with service to be provided by Chunghwa Telecom. More on both these projects as they near completion.
In addition to allowing citizens to go wireless, Ma wants them to be able to go device-less as well and is pushing for a number of "kiosks" to be set up. These kiosks will provide essential information and community services, as well as serving as free terminals for people who simply want to go online. So there's no need to start saving your Sun Yat-sens for a pricey PDA, should you happen to work in the Xinyi District.
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