Mixed reviews for Tempe citywide WiFi net
The new municipal wireless network in Tempe, Ariz., is apparently having trouble connecting users inside buildings.
A report on Arizona State University's ASU Web Devil site Friday said extra equipment would be needed for most students and Tempe residents who want access in their homes and offices.
NeoReach, the company that installed the WAZTempe network in the college town, said Customer Premise Equipment would be required for most users seeking to "bring the outdoor signal indoors."
Dead spots have been a major question in the deployment of increasingly popular municipal mesh broadband networks that could provide scores of people with low-cost Internet service, but only outdoors.
In Tempe, the Web Devil did find students who said they experienced few problems connecting, even inside; however, Tempe officials said NeoReach should have made more effort to explain the likely need for CPE devices.
Copyright 2006 by United Press International