Having free public Wi-Fi is a great way to stay connected while on the go but at what cost.
Almost every person has some kind of smart device and even businesses are jumping on the bandwagon and offering free Wi-Fi to their customers. The thing about cities getting free Wi-Fi is that they have to pick a provider to go with and since this is a new process, the provider might not have to right equipment to give the city high speed Internet. A good internet speed is around ten Mbps but most cities that have implemented free city Wi-Fi are only getting around one Mbps, which is close to dial up.
Free Wi-Fi is actually not free to the taxpayers. This can increase their taxes because it can cost millions if not billions of dollars to get this set up. Some places when this has been implemented, like Philadelphia the Internet company is fronting the bill and then getting their money back with subscriptions and ad revenue. This is a good way to get their money back but other places have to raise taxes so they can pay for this technological upgrade. Free Wi-Fi is a great thing because then workers stuck at desk all day can now work on the go and neighborhoods that can't afford Wi-Fi can now get it for free.
This can help children that don't have the access to Internet get their homework done and they don't have to rely on going to the library or school to get their work done. And the utility companies will have to get involved as well because there are antennas that go on electrical poles that give off the Wi-Fi. Another concern is the lack of security this kind of Wi-Fi can have, the provider of the Wi-Fi has access to everything you click and every page you view, which is an evasion of your privacy. And you also have to work about people hacking your devices over the network. Since most people use their smartphones for everything, hackers can get access to their bank account, social security number, and other personal information.
Although there are some downfalls to getting free city Wi-Fi, the pros outweigh the cons on this subject. Free Wi-Fi gives Internet access to people that can't afford it and helps give others the freedom to work from anywhere in the city.