<p>WiFi blanketing entire communities was a turn-of-the-century dream that failed to materialize, with a few exceptions, but it's now being resurrected. "Simply put, carriers need WiFi," said Steve Hratko, Ruckus' director of carrier marketing. LTE alone won't be able to handle the insatiable appetite for more capacity, as the proliferation of mobile devices worldwide, like smartphones and tablets, continues to grow at a rapid pace."</p><p>Looking for an Internet connection when out and about may soon become a lot easier.There's been an uptick in public WiFi availability.</p><p>Recent public WiFi launches include Google's free WiFi project in New York City,starting with parts of Chelsea. London's tube network went hot in 2012 with 92 underground stations WiFi enabled; Virgin Media is connecting a further 28 stations by the end of March, 2013. Also, Thailand is expanding Bangkok's current 200,000 public WiFi hot spots to the rest of the country over the next year.</p><p>It was understandable to see investment in municipal and outdoor wireless Internetprojects during the days of slow mobile Internet in the naughties, but with modernmobile networks coming online -- like LTE and other fast-ish technologies -- why are weseeing this continued interest in public WiFi?</p><p><a href="http://www.technewsworld.com/story/77568.html">Keep reading...</a></p>