Beijing Wicity Project

As an alternative to the unrealized pledge for providing 3G service during the Olympics, Wicity Project was recently launched by Beijing municipal government and China Communication Co. to offer free wifi access in some of the city’s key areas during the Games.

According to Sina.com, the wireless service applies WiFi+WiMax(802.16D) technology and covers an area about 100 square kilometer, including second and third ring roads, financial district, CBD, Zhongguancun (known as China’s Silicon Village) and Wangjing Economic and Technological Development Area(see the orange shaded areas in the map).

Laptop and PDA users can find a “CECT-CHINACOMM” network if they turn on their wireless connection in the above-mentioned places. However, some testers report logging problem indoors although they find the outdoor signals are pretty strong.

The blueprint of Wicity Project is to cover the area within the fifth ring road of the capital by the end of 2009 and the whole city by the end of 2010. By 2009, 9000 wireless access points and 150 WiMAX stations will be set up, turning 90 percent of the streets in the capital accessible to Wifi.

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