CBS Lights Up the "Death Star"

After years of waiting for New York to get its municipal Wi-Fi act together, one major media company is adding an old-fashioned private sector push to the effort.

CBS Corporation today announced plans to offer free wireless internet access in a 20 block section of midtown Manhattan known in the media world as "The Death Star," because it is home to the biggest media companies in the world:

The effort is part of a six-month pilot program with the Metropolitan Transportation Authority and New York City Transit to test the potential communications capabilities of Wi-Fi technology, according to the company. Citi and Salesgenie.com are co-sponsors. Smaller tech companies Tropos, BIG, Fon, Ning, Goowy, Veoh, Yelp, 1020, Aptilo, and Can-Do Entertainment are also involved.

"We are pleased to deliver what may be the most advanced wireless and pre-WiMax, outdoor offering of its kind in the U.S," said Cyriac Roeding, Executive Vice President, CBS Mobile. "Whether it's surfing the web on your laptop from a park bench, receiving breaking news, sports scores, locating the closest recommended pizza shop or calling your friend for free via your Wi-Fi-enabled phone, we believe we're offering something helpful to all New Yorkers."

New York tech denizens are quite pleased.

"Its great to see that free, public Wi-Fi is becoming more available in New York City," said Dana Spiegel, Executive Director of NYC Wireless, which builds free community Wi-Fi networks. "CBS's program is an innovative way to get more free internet to the people, and will hopefully be seen as a valuable asset to the area."

Allen Stern, of New York tech blog Center Networks, called the development "awesome."

"It's definitely an interesting project, and one that could benefit commuters and businesspeople in a dense part of the city where people are likely to have handheld Wi-Fi devices," wrote Wi-Fi expert Glenn Fleishman.

Kristen Nicole, of tech blog Mashable, wrote that "CBS is acting like the Google of Manhattan."

And that's a good thing, Nicole?

by Sam Gustin