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New Orleans debuts Free WiFi

It's not quite rebuilt neighborhoods and racial equality, but it's a start. New Orleans Mayor C. Ray Nagin has announced that the city will become the first to provide free wireless internet, basically, everywhere.

The connections, which started yesterday in the central business district and French Quarter, will be beamed out via devices on streetlights and are available for any computer that's wireless-enabled. The wifi will run at 512 kilobits per second, flouting Louisiana law, which prohibits any of its cities from offering free connections of more than 144 kilobits per second. This is sure to spark a debate about whether it's fair to phone and cable companies to provide free internet...and also whether or not that newfangled internet is here to stay.

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