Shaw Plans Vast Wireless Network in Western Cities

People living in the west's three largest cities will soon be able to access the Internet nearly anywhere they go – provided they already subscribe to Shaw.

Shaw and Cisco Systems have given us yet another reason to head west, as they intend to blanket streets and parks in Edmonton, Calgary, and Vancouver with wireless Internet. While the WiFi won't be free, it will be accessible to anybody who already has a subscription to Shaw. The project will cost between $200-$300 million, and is set to go live next spring. The wireless endeavour will focus on urban areas that don't have WiFi access, meaning rapid transit lines, major roads, parks, and public facilities like stadiums. Many cities in the U.S., such as Chicago, San Francisco, and Denver, have already built free WiFi networks in their downtown cores, but Canada remains solidly behind the times in this regard.