Thursday, February 12, 2009

Wired and Sleepless in Seattle?

If you are probably working or living around the Makati Central Business district (MCBD), chances are “you are wired.” The growth of Wi-Fi locations and café continues to increase. Some are free, but you would really need to go and ask the “barista.”

Plus, if you have We Roam and Globe Visibility, you can easily get on-line. It is as simple as plug and play, unless, your server is currently experiencing an “outage.” And routers costs have become reasonable too. Most private universities and colleges around Metro Manila are wired. Again, you need to have your laptops “registered.”

Wondering which cities in the US are most wired? Probably, those closest Silicon Valley? Or even New York?

Nope, it is Seattle. Yup, where Dr. Frazier Crane (the radio psychologist played by Kelsey Grammer in the TV series, “Cheers”) used to have his radio program. Or we know Seattle as the birthplace of Starbucks (1971) and Seattle’s Best Coffee (1968). Sorry, am scribbling this blog from Coffee Bean and Tea Leaf, along Ayala Avenue, just across GT Tower.

It is interesting to note that a number of tech companies like Amazon hold residence in Seattle, which now claims the title as “America’s most wired city.” Photo shows the city landscape and the famous Space Needle, from the 1962 Century 21 Exposition. This is Seattle's most recognizable landmark and has been featured in the logo of the TV show, “Frasier.”

According to the latest Forbes’ annual list of 30 most broadband connected cities, Seattle’s increased use of broadband pushed the city’s ranking to the top, along with its increased number of Wi-Fi hot spots. Note that according survey data by the United States Census Bureau, Seattle is the most educated city in the U.S., with 52.4 percent of residents aged 25 and older having a bachelor's degree. And Seattle has the highest percentage of college and university graduates of any major U.S. city!

If you are wired in Seattle, you will definitely, won’t be “sleepless in Seattle?”

Atlanta, which held the Forbes’ top wired city spot in 2007 and 2008, went down to number 2. The US center of politics, Washington, D.C., moved up from No. 11 last year to No. 3. And with President Obama’s keeping is Blackberry and his support for universal broadband, Washington could remain in the top three for the next few years.

Ranked 4th and 5th are Orlando and Boston. Orlando with its millions visiting Disney World would need all the Wi-Fi hot spots it can get. Boston? Usage is high because of its over 100 colleges and universities that includes IVY league like Harvard and MIT (Massachusetts Institute of Technology). Just like the U-belt around Espana and Recto?

Wouldn't it be great if Makati or Manila were all “wired?”

But these ranking could change as data is also changing as the number of Wi-Fi hot spots in restaurants, cafés and even gas stations increase in these cities increase. Even President Obama’s tech policies could affect these rankings. His policies give support better data availability and improvement of broadband service in the States. Here, we are still waiting for CICT to become a full-pledged department. What is taking it so long? Am sure, a DICT would contribute to a more "wired" community!