Here is Rend Shakir being interviewed by Nick Lawrence in The Sauce bar on the inaugural day of Cambridge Matrix’s first public wireless mesh node. Could this be the start of free WiFi here in Cambridge UK?.
The interview was for the BBC1 InsideOut programme. Rend was, explaining what a wireless hotspot is and the advantages of using a wireless mesh network rather than localised hotspots.
The business model is to sell the base station to the local cafe. Users can then access local advertised links, on the homepage, for free (the base station owner getting a cut of the advertising revenue) or use it as a regular hotspot with roaming accounts available from just £5.00 per Day.
The programme is scheduled for BBC1 on 6th Feb 2006 at 7.30pm. Hopefully, by then there will be many more public nodes in Cambridge.
