Category Archives: Miami: Wireless

Miami Wireless Plan Hits (Predictable) Snags

Posted on August 16, 2007 by Michael Froomkin

Dade wireless plan gets tangled by glitches — all of which were predictable.

But this explains why I haven't heard anything from the Mayor's office about wifi for a while.

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Slides From My ‘Security & Privacy’ Talk to Miami Wireless Focus Group

Posted on October 24, 2006 by Michael Froomkin

Here are my slides from last week’s talk on Security & Privacy that I gave to the focus group which was part of the Miami-Dade Wireless initiative.

There’s going to be a full meeting of the Steering Committee this Friday at 1pm in the County Commission chambers. It’s open to the public. Unfortunately, I’m going to miss it because I have a very long-standing commitment to be in Washington DC that day for the unveiling of the official portrait of Judge Stephen F. Williams for whom I clerked.

A student of mine has very kindly offered to go and take notes for me, so at least I’ll know what I missed without having to wait for the official minutes.

Posted in Miami: Wireless | 1 Comment

Privacy ‘Focus Group’ Regarding Miami-Dade Wifi Initiative

Posted on October 20, 2006 by Michael Froomkin

I’m a member of the Steering Committee advising Miami-Dade County Mayor Carlos Alvarez on his Wireless Miami-Dade initiative.

The Mayor’s office has been holding a series of (not that well publicized) focus group meetings on various topics.

Today’s three-hour meeting, set for 1:30pm, is on “Privacy and Security” issues, and I’ll be one of the lead-off speakers. If you’d like to attend, it’s taking place at the Stephen P. Clark Center, located at 111 N.W. 1st Street, Suite 2910, Conference Room 29-A.

The Stephen P. Clark Center, by the way, is very accessible by MetroRail: it’s the building in which the “Government Center” stop is located. To get to the 29th Floor, take the escalator down to the ground level, pass through security, then take the elevator bank on the right to the top floor. The meeting is open to the public, and covered by Florida’s rigorous Sunshine law, so you don’t even have to sign in in order to attend, despite what they’ll tell you at the front desk on the 29th floor.

Incidentally, the latest news from the staff is that they are now leaning towards a WiMax/Wifi hybrid system, sort of on the Portland model (but probably not free, rats), which given the size of the territory we’re talking about seems much more reasonable than wifi alone.

Posted in Miami: Wireless, Talks & Conferences | 2 Comments

Wireless Miami-Dade “Executive Steering Committee”

Posted on May 8, 2006 by Michael Froomkin

I’ve been asked to serve on the so-called “Executive Steering Committee” being organized by Miami-Dade County Mayor Carlos Alvarez to advise the county on its Wireless Miami-Dade initiative.

I had some serious talks with the Mayor’s office before they announced this, and tried hard to sell privacy and some other good things. Ordinarily, advisory bodies like this are mostly for show, but the Mayor’s advisors sure sound as if they really want to do the right thing — or at least know what it is.

The best online description of the committee that I could find is at W2i.org and says,

Who will serve on the Steering Committee?

Ira Feuer: We sent out invitations to high-level individuals in economic development, the clerk of courts, the government digital–divide area, department directors, higher education (University of Miami, Florida International University), the public education district representative, an Internet advocate from the University of Miami, OneEconomy, a community advocate (a bishop), an individual supporting regionalization among Miami-Dade, West Palm Beach, and Broward Counties, the head of tourism, and representatives from four municipalities and the Dade County League of Cities.

What is the Committee’s charge?

The steering committee will promote countywide connectivity, discuss wireless networking, and form recommendations for applications in various policy areas. They’ll meet four times and will submit a report to the Mayor around August or September. After that will come the drafting of the RFP. In between, there could be some focus-group effort or one workshop.

Posted in Miami: Wireless | 2 Comments