Free Wireless Hotspots: A love/hate relationship

I saw this article on Slate just before I left for France, and today I'm glad I noticed nothing had been done with it, because it represents a perfect example of the unadulterated rant I am about to undertake.

The article discusses why free wireless internet has not spread to the world, basically because it still costs some money; as we learned in high school economics, there's no such thing as a free lunch. The other problem, as I have experienced this morning on our wonderfully free open network on UGA's north campus, that a massive, free hotspot easily gets jammed up and makes it difficult for everyone.

Take, for example, I had the two posts that I just blogged ready made to go at 11am today, but due to the fact that I had to spend an hour toying with my computer and trying just to get myself to stay online, what took me 10 minutes to write took an hour and 15 minutes to post. Being the busy person that I am, I've wasted a considerable amount of my time.

This, of course, is not to say the free internet is not a positive thing, for without it I would not be able to communicate with you as I am now. However, if these problems are occurring in a microcosm like Athens, what happens if downtown New York City was wired for free use to everyone? The answer? Nothing.