RSS
Home
San Francisco coffee house hotspots, unite!
Print
Email
RSS
Subscribe
source: google maps
Meraki Inc., the Google-funded startup that's out to hone and hawk its wireless mesh networking products by bringing free wireless Internet to San Francisco, has launched a new initiative to expand its coverage.
For the past several months, Meraki has offered to send free wireless mesh routers to anyone who's within range of the mesh and willing to slap one of the devices in their window or on their roof.
Meraki pays for the connection to the Internet, and you pay for the paltry 3 watts of power that the router consumes. A small price to pay to help turn SF into a place where you can stroll around and freely access the Internet wherever you are, right?
Meraki's latest bid to expand the size of their mesh is a promotion aimed at the city's coffee houses, many of which now pay for Internet access to keep their latte drinkers online and, presumably, poised to order refills.
In exchange for putting a Meraki router into their premises, SF cafes get to dump their Internet access bill, quit worrying about maintaining their networks, and benefit from some free advertising in the little gray bar that appears atop Web pages served through the Meraki network.
Ever since I first heard of Meraki, I've been heading over to sf.meraki.com every week or so to check the growth of the network. So far, sadly, the mesh hasn't reached my home or office. Based on Meraki's service map, the best-served areas right now are the MIssion and Western Addition. This coffee shop scheme could be just the ticket for online-enabling my lunchtimes.
Five of the ten coffee spots closest to my office are Starbucks (for now, at least), and their deals with AT&T probably preclude participation in the Meraki network. I think I may hit up those other five locations with a printout of Meraki's Free the Net Cafe page in hand--starting with the Peet's Coffee in my building.
Related Articles:
Add a Comment
