Douglas Coupland Proposes Wi-Fi Utility Pole for Vancouver

Douglas Coupland, author of  Generation X and J-Pod unveiled a new concept for urban wireless services at New Cities Summit in Paris last week. The V-Pole (As in Vancouver Pole) could provide cell phone service, city-wide wi-fi, and even electrical vehicle recharging using one modular design.  Coupland says the design will streamline the ever-increasing  number of wireless services in urban areas:

“In three years there will be 30 times more wireless data traffic than there is now,” said Coupland. “Unless we act quickly, our streets could be as cluttered as a kitchen junk drawer. No one wants that… This is an inevitable technology and a massive entrepreneurial opportunity,”

Vancouver Mayor Greg Roberts has expressed interest in the project. The fact that this technology even exists is cool enough. Having it in Vancouver would be even better! I just hope we don’t have to deal with the same kind of NIMBY people like we did with the BC hydro smart meters.

Source: Vancouver Courier