This morning’s Honolulu Star-Bulletin reported that Tri-Net Solutions has been installing a mesh WiFi network in Honolulu’s Chinatown. Mayor Mufi Hannemann will make a formal announcement of the new free wireless system at tomorrow’s First Friday event, but the network is already available. It’s not as fast as other services in the downtown area, but the city’s service is free and encrypted.
This project was first announced over a year ago. My first article on this topic was posted on 26 May, along with a preliminary map of the coverage area. Gordon Bruce, the city & county’s CIO, says that coverage may expand across downtown. The Star-Bulletin’s map shows several access locations near HPU, including Fisher Hawaii on Hotel and Fort Streets, and the Marks Garage. Tri-Net has installed at least 25 inexpensive mesh routers. Local business and property owners volunteer to host the routers and antennae.
There have been some changes. Hawaiian Electric and EarthLink have dropped out of the project. I discussed EarthLink’s recent problems on 27 August and 28 August, and discussed HECO’s plan on 11 June.
The city also revealed that first responders, including police, fire and other emergency services, have been outfitted with WiFi-equipped devices so that they can use the city’s service in their jobs.

