{"id":898,"date":"2011-06-07T10:27:51","date_gmt":"2011-06-07T15:27:51","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.ict-pulse.com\/?p=898"},"modified":"2011-06-07T10:27:51","modified_gmt":"2011-06-07T15:27:51","slug":"from-bus-stop-to-rum-shop-how-barbados-plans-to-achieve-100-wi-fi-coverage","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/ict-pulse.com\/2011\/06\/from-bus-stop-to-rum-shop-how-barbados-plans-to-achieve-100-wi-fi-coverage\/","title":{"rendered":"From bus stop to rum shop: how Barbados plans to achieve 100% Wi-Fi coverage"},"content":{"rendered":"

About 4 months ago, announcements were made that Barbados planned to be the first country in the world to provide free Wi-Fi island-wide, <\/em>with a target date of 11 November 2011. This post examines how Barbados intends to achieve 100% Wi-Fi coverage, and some of the anticipated benefits of such a project. Your thoughts\/comments would be welcomed.<\/em><\/p>\n

The promise to realise 100% island wide Wi-Fi coverage was first announced by the Barbados Entrepreneurship Foundation<\/a> (BEF) at its inaugural S<\/span>ummit in November 2010. The BEF is a voluntary, non-profit organisation, established in 2010, which aims to facilitate business development, especially entrepreneurship, in Barbados.<\/p>\n

The organisation\u2019s vision is for Barbados to be the #1 entrepreneurial hub in the world by 2020. The free island-wide Wi-Fi initiative, where it is hoped that coverage will be available \u201cfrom bus stop to rum shop\u201d<\/em>, a phrase coined by Barbados\u2019 late Prime Minister, Hon. David Thompson, has been dubbed \u201c11.11.11 ON \u2013 Wi-Fi Barbados\u201d<\/em>, and is seen as a major step towards achieving that vision.<\/p>\n

Network deployment and sustainability<\/h3>\n

To build out the free Wi-Fi network, the BEF is relying on the local business community in Barbados to configure their internal networks to include guest networks that allow free wireless Internet access. The modifications required to existing networks could range from a few hundred Barbados dollars, e.g. to procure and install a wireless router, to a few thousand dollars, should a more elaborate or powerful system be desired.<\/p>\n

In addition to equipment procurement, there are a broad range of issues, especially those related to network security and bandwidth sharing between the internal and guest networks, that must be considered. The PowerPoint Presentation below has been prepared by the BEF and gives more details on Wi-Fi project and its requirements.<\/p>\n