HONOLULU—Free Wi-Fi is coming to Honolulu’s Chinatown neighborhood, said the city’s mayor, Mufi Hannemann. The Mayor said the city is establishing a public-private partnership with EarthLink Inc. to test free Wi-Fi access throughout Chinatown as part of the city’s effort to revitalize the area.
“Our no-cost solution gives residents and visitors an easy way to access the Internet, while at work or at play, in one of the most interesting cultural areas on the island,” said Donald Berryman, executive vice president of EarthLink and president of the ISP’s municipal networks unit.
The city’s press release didn’t elaborate on how the “no-cost solution” would be funded, nor did they announce who would own the network. Though EarthLink could not be reached for comment, it’s likely that the Chinatown Wi-Fi network will be supported either by advertising or that EarthLink itself will carry the cost of deploying the network in the hope that Honolulu will ultimately expand it to cover the entire city, eventually allowing for some sort of EarthLink income, whether it be through advertising or user fees.
Berryman added that EarthLink plans to work with the Hawaiian Electric Company to help test the viability of using a Wi-Fi network to carry out next-generation utility services such as advanced electric metering and energy conservation initiatives.
City officials said the Chinatown Wi-Fi project will begin later this summer and continue for approximately one year.
EarthLink has won contracts to provide Wi-Fi networks in several cities, including Philadelphia, San Francisco and New Orleans.
