Boston WiFi demonstration today

Boston Mayor Thomas M. Menino is scheduled to meet with Dorchester students this afternoon as they help test the city's WiFi network, his office said today.

Boston has an ambitious plan to create an "open access" wireless Internet environment citywide, but a June story in the Globe noted that the plan has hit some "speed bumps, including the absence of major donors."

In any event, Menino plans to join students from the Lila G. Frederick Pilot Middle School to see a demonstration of a school research project that makes use of the city's pilot WiFi network.

A formal launch date for the network has not yet been announced, Menino's office noted today.

But the hope is that the WiFi network will eventually enable laptops, cellphones, handheld computers, music players, and other devices to connect to the Internet, allowing people to transmit and receive information on the go.
(By Chris Reidy, Globe staff)