VoIP and the Rise of the “WiFi city”
There’s something alive in the dirt of Kansas, and it’s going to change the way Americans connect to the rest of the world. Google Inc., is digging into the heartland and laying down the foundation of the future of the Internet using fiber optics.
Fiber optics are flexible transparent fibers made of glass or plastic which send data packets, like Internet data, at incredibly fast speeds. Internet service with fiber optics is 100x faster than today’s Internet service. The spread of fiber optics is great news for technology lovers, including VoIP users everywhere.
VoIP is the technology that relies on the Internet to transmit voice data, which is also known as making an Internet phone call. Internet calling is far cheaper than traditional phone service and offers more features, which makes news of advancements in America’s new “Wifi cities” quite exciting for VoIP users.
Fiber Optic Cities
This week, Google announced that Olathe, Kansas will be the latest tester city in their fiber optic campaign. Google launched their first fiber optic city in Kansas City, Kansas earlier this year. Google will completely retrofit Olathe so that all citizens have access to fiber optic speed if they choose to buy the fiber service over traditional Internet service.
Fiber optics provide the fastest Internet speed in the US. Olathe, Kansas is only the third fiber optic city in America, but the success of fiber optics is already quickly spreading throughout the country.
More Local WiFi Cities
This month, Georgia defeated a bill in their state legislation that would have banned local municipalities from building their own broadband infrastructure and offering it to local citizens. The bill was backed by the major broadband companies that did not want to compete with government-run WiFi.
This victory allows Georgia municipales to build their own Internet networks and create their own prices. This ruling is also important because there are still several areas in rural America that do not have Internet access. If local governments take charge over their Internet infrastructure, there will be better accessibility to the Internet and to technology like VoIP. Major telecoms often charge high prices for phone service in rural areas. With more local WiFi, all homes will have the option of paying for cheap residential VoIP instead.
Street Lamp WiFi
San Francisco started a pilot project this month to test the first street lamps in the country with WiFi capabilities. WiFi-enabled street lamps mean more WiFi connection in areas that don’t already have access to the Internet, such as city streets, freeways, and rural cities. WiFi street lamps might be the answer to truly spread Internet service to every corner of the US.
From a legislative to commercial level, the rise of the “WiFi city” is a very good thing for both business VoIP and residential VoIP users. Whether its an entire city that is build with fiber optics, or local rural cities creating their own Internet infrastructure, or WiFi street lamps available in all cities, VoIP users will soon have more access to better Internet quality anywhere in the country.
Rachel Greenberg is site editor of VoIP Review.