Have your say and share your ideas. Join us on the road to simplicity. Latest discussions | Popular discussions | Conclusions (see all ) This section is where you'll find completed discussions. You can still browse the whole discussion and read the conclusions, however these are now closed. Public WiFi for everyone "The internet is slowly becoming a commodity. Most everyone has it or uses it on a daily basis. It has become as important to communication as the telephone or television. " The internet is slowly becoming a commodity. Most everyone has it or uses it on a daily basis. It has become as important to communication as the telephone or television. Should the government provide this service in the form of wireless internet blanketing a city? Should we look to service providers to give us choices to fulfill our personal needs? The question becomes, who will ultimately pay for the service if the government controls it and what about those who are left to pay for this service via taxes who have no need for internet access? One suggestion is to offer service with advertising, in turn eliminating the cost to the public. Another option is to charge for various services such as voice over internet services or other tools that provide valuable services. Regardless of the final method of paying for wireless internet service, it is a popular idea and most would agree that it would simplify their lives quite a bit. 16 comment(s) so far englishdanny thinks: If your'e proposing "Wifi coverage for everyone" then surely the service would have to be free as "everyone" wouldn't have been consulted as to whether or not they wanted it. You couldn't fairly build it into the TV license as TV users who don't wish to use the internet would be unfairly penalised. The idea is workable though as the amount of usage with Wifi (Heavy or light) doesn't significantly change the cost of providing it. Another problem would be rural areas. High density dwelling areas would be a lot more viable than sparsely populated regions in terms of service to the public. (75% of 16 votes AGREE) jk thinks: Make it a free public service for data devices. Funding can come from mobile phone users placing phone calls via its voice services at a discounted tariff. (83% of 12 votes AGREE) More conclusions from this category Cell Phones in Cars Measures Too much to read Are email & text communication encouraging people to talk less? Wordless Instructions Product Simplicity or Complexity No more keyboards & mouse needed Has the combination of cameras, phones and organisers worked? Open Source Instruction Manuals Start new discussion You know something that puzzled you by being surprisingly simple or overwhelmingly complex? Share it, and get more opinions on it now! Conclusions & insights Business Communication General Internet & technology Lifestyle & social Wellness Search in discussions e.g. search for technology, christmas, future, bioscan This blog About this blog Login Register Help Terms of use