Kordia expands Auckland wi-fi network

Aucklanders get more public wi-fi from today as Kordia expands its network around the city’s CBD – but unlike San Francisco, there's no free ride.

Kordia’s existing wi-fi networks in Parnell and along Karangahape Rd are now complemented by new public hotspots centered around Aotea Square, Ponsonby, Remuera and Westhaven Marina and Viaduct Harbour, making it the largest public wireless network in the country, and what Kordia calls the largest marina hotspot in the southern hemisphere.

Kordia chief executive Geoff Hunt tells NBR Auckland City Council supported the initiative by providing locations for the $1 million worth of wi-fi gear the state-owned company has deployed for the new network. Otherwise, locations would have had to be rented.

Metro wi-fi networks are increasingly common overseas. In the pioneering municipality, San Franscisco, public wi-fi runs on two tiers: a free, open wireless network, operated by Google and supported by advertising, and a faster network, operated by Earthlink, that citizens have to pay to use.

In Auckland, there will be no free option, at least at launch. Tomizone is the first wi-fi operator to set up shop on Kordia’s wholesale network, and will charge $3 an hour, $6.50 a day $30 a week for access (payable by credit card online).

Kordia chief executive Geoff Hunt is aiming to draw other operators to the network. It will be up to each operator whether they charge, or follow an ad-supported or other model, says Mr Hunt.

So far, only one other operator is confirmed: Kordia-owned ISP Orcon, which will start retailing access to the Auckland wi-fi network “within months” says Mr Hunt.

The lack of ISPs queuing at Kordia’s door is no surprise. Overseas, public wi-fi network operators have found it notoriously difficult to turn a profit. Paid wi-fi must compete with those offering freebie wi-fi – such as the Esquires coffee chain and others in Auckland; the relative ease with which many can freeload on unsecured private wi-fi networks; landline internet cafe’s typically charging $1 an hour; and the increasingly popular (if more expensive) alternative of 3G cellular data cards.

Kordia is in discussions with other city councils about similar public wi-fi projects, Mr Hunt says.