- Original Poster
- #1
Here's an excerpt from a news article I read earlier this evening:
A group in Santa Fe says the city is discriminating against them because they say that they're allergic to the wireless Internet signal. And now they want Wi-Fi banned from public buildings. Arthur Firstenberg says he is highly sensitive to certain types of electric fields, including wireless Internet and cell phones. "I get chest pain and it doesn't go away right away," he said.
Firstenberg and dozens of other electro-sensitive people in Santa Fe claim that putting up Wi-Fi in public places is a violation of the Americans with Disabilities Act. The city attorney is now checking to see if putting up Wi-Fi could be considered discrimination.
If this group is successful in banning Wi-Fi, it would affect plans in many major US cities to offer ubiquitous wireless service. What would be next - banning cellphones?
On the one hand, this group appears to be making a mountain out of a molehill, trying to stop the implementation of a successful and far-reaching technology. On the other hand, what if these people really are in pain whenever Wi-Fi is around? What can be done to help them?
Is there any chance that someone in Britain will file a similar lawsuit against companies that deploy Wi-Fi services?
A group in Santa Fe says the city is discriminating against them because they say that they're allergic to the wireless Internet signal. And now they want Wi-Fi banned from public buildings. Arthur Firstenberg says he is highly sensitive to certain types of electric fields, including wireless Internet and cell phones. "I get chest pain and it doesn't go away right away," he said.
Firstenberg and dozens of other electro-sensitive people in Santa Fe claim that putting up Wi-Fi in public places is a violation of the Americans with Disabilities Act. The city attorney is now checking to see if putting up Wi-Fi could be considered discrimination.
If this group is successful in banning Wi-Fi, it would affect plans in many major US cities to offer ubiquitous wireless service. What would be next - banning cellphones?
On the one hand, this group appears to be making a mountain out of a molehill, trying to stop the implementation of a successful and far-reaching technology. On the other hand, what if these people really are in pain whenever Wi-Fi is around? What can be done to help them?
Is there any chance that someone in Britain will file a similar lawsuit against companies that deploy Wi-Fi services?
