It was a sunny summer day few years ago in Helsinki. I was sitting on a park bench, checking mail on my laptop. Over comes a large man in his fifties - an American tourist who wants to know how to get connected.
Me: Connect to the Helsinki wireless.
Him: How do you know which wireless network it is? (there are LOADS in the city centre Helsinki)
Me: Just choose any of those with the word "Helsinki", those are Helsinki City networks. Public.
Him: Where do we need to pay..?
Me: No need to pay, its the city network, its free.
I could see that this information surprised him. In reflection, that reminds of my experience in Dublin, Ireland. All those crappy WLANs in cafes, bars and restaurants that only make you angry. Get a scratch card with a code that works for 20 minutes. And you have to register. Argh. And those that are free are unreliable and slow. Horrible. That is what he was probably used to, and not knowing of anything better, was accustomed to pay for something substandard.
It seems that just like the American tourist the Irish city fathers do not understand what networks really are. What if the roads and railways were in a similar condition? Well, in Ireland they actually are (despite of decades of EU funded infrastructure improvement). But in case of roads the Irish authorities recognise the problem. Its not good for business, or generating wealth.
Shortsighted thinking leads to a crappy end. A scratchcard. Not to the high tech society.
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