Accept no substitutes

Wirelessness redundant!

On page 7A of today’s News and Observer, Nextel has a full page advert for their wireless service. The irony is that the area pictured in the advert is the lawn of Weaver Street Market in Carrboro. Memsy Price, a Nortel marketer, who is pictured in the advert doesn’t need Nextel to get internet access while at Weaver Street.
At least two wireless quilts cover the Weaver Street lawn. The first is completely free and open to all. It’s provided by Weaver Street as part of the Town of Carrboro’s wireless blanket.
The second comes from the UNC offices in the same building as Weaver Street Market (just upstairs). That network is restricted to UNC faculty, students and staff. But that group is a pretty significant part of the Weaver Street community.
To be fair to Nextel, they have very wide coverage in this area if their maps are an accurate guide, but the advert selling Carrboro as the reason to have their wireless plan is funny to me and a bit wrong.

4 Comments

  1. Ruby Sinreich

    That’s pretty funny. Good catch, Paul.

    Marketers are their own worst enemy.

  2. Mark Turner

    Whats also interesting is that the photograph has been mirrored. The arrow keys on Memsey’s laptop are on the wrong side.

    /helpless geek

  3. Brian R.

    Maybe the marketers know about the other free networks and their client Nortel doesn’t like them. Many big network providers are mad as hell about public wi-fi. Just read about Philly’s bad compromise. http://orangepolitics.org/2004/11/the-future-of-public-wireless/
    Eventually Carrboro and UNC will have to negotiate with powerful corporations who will scream, “Unfair competition!”

  4. Simon Spero

    They’re going the wrong way. My new cellphone has 802.11 built in.

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