Wi in Wi-fi means Widely available
Montreal well served with networks all over
As far as Wi-Fi is concerned, Montreal may very well be the most wellconnected place on Earth.
While corporations and universities have jumped on the Wi-Fi bandwagon, they constitute only a part of the growing number of locations picking up free Internet, especially as an independent, communitybased empire continues to quietly expand all over the island.
Montreal’s world-renowned Wi-Fi culture is largely thanks to the innovative work of Île sans fil (ISF), a non-profit, volunteer initiative that has been providing Montrealers with free wireless Internet access since 2003.
With more than 260 locations boasting their network system, there are 200,000 local users who connect under the ISF banner, making Montreal a world leader in access.
“It’s still not well understood just how successful we’ve been in Montreal ... it’s kind of funny that people think it’s normal that there’s all this free Wi-Fi,” said ISF co-founder Michael Lenczner, who added that “when you go to another city, you can feel the difference.”
Civic organizers have also finally caught on to the wireless wave and are “beginning to really understand the importance of free Internet,” said Lenczner, who was pleased to report that after years of talks, ISF had struck a deal with the city that will see Wi-Fi installed in more than 50 new locations.
Under the deal, dubbed “Wi-Fi Montreal,” the Conference régionale des élus, Tourisme Montréal and Tourisme Québec mandated ISF to set up their access points to the world wide wireless web in Montreal parks, arenas, movie theatres, museums and libraries over the next few months.
Lenczner said that besides making their network bigger and more publicly available, the partnership with the city will also allow ISF to pursue their other goals of not only connecting users, but allowing them to engage in the community. Lenczner hopes the partnership might allow for further development of ISF’s additional technical projects that include photo sharing and web-based art.
“We’ve completely changed the Wi-Fi culture in Montreal,” stressed Lenczner, when talking about the future possibilities. “It’s unparalleled in the world in terms of a community organization, a non-profit running a system that’s volunteer driven.”
Acknowledging that “the Montreal factor” — a mix of our universitytown mentality, creative entrepreneurial fertility and a foodie/café culture — all helped their Wi-Fi network take off, Lenczner is convinced Wi-Fi Montreal isn’t just another (techie) tourist trap — it’s for everyone.
“The Internet is a growing part of our lives. It just no longer makes sense to only use it at home. So we’re happy, as technologists, to offer this to our fellow citizens,” he said. “It’s how we communicate with each other; this is our newspaper; our indispensable tool for being social and part of society.”
But it is still a draw for tourists, he said, to use free Internet — not only to get directions, but to share photos, tweet epiphanies and Facebook updates to their friends and family about their visit to Montreal. Wi-Fi, he said, “is a great way to make it easier for people to talk about this beautiful city we’re all so proud of.”