FOX on Tech: CA City Offers Residents Free WiFi

File photo
File photo

What started out as a plan to make a utility company’s job easier has turned into what one California city claims is the first city-wide free WiFi offering for residents.

FOX News Radio’s Jessica Rosenthal has details:

FOX on Tech.

Silicon Valley Power is providing free wireless service to residents of Santa Clara.  This started out as a project for the power company to transmit electricity and water usage wirelessly, and phase out the need for door-to-door meter reading.  The city bought a bankrupt tech company’s old transmitters and added new ones, as well, but found that a separate channel could provide free wifi to the city.  

Officials caution the service will be slower than the ones resident likely have at home and you wouldn’t want to do a lot of things with this free wifi, like personal banking, for privacy reasons.

Jessica Rosenthal, FOX News Radio.