Wireless@Penang: where are you?

I wonder what has become of the Wireless@Penang project that was announced by the Penang government way back in September last year.

It's been four months down the road and we've even gone through a spate of protests by some well-meaning but obviously misinformed and overly concerned Penangites in October and a forum session in November to address the issue and allay the unfounded fears. (Funny that I don't hear of other protests by other people in other parts of the country such as in the Klang Valley. Does that mean that they are ignorant about the "dangers" that WiFi can pose to their health? Oooh...fry me with your electro-magnetic waves, or whatever!)

All that I know so far was a limp press conference held at Parliament House in Kuala Lumpur last month where Penang Chief Minister was still touting that "two companies had offered its packages to make Penang the first WiFi state in the country." (The Star, 12 Dec 2008)

"PENANGITES would be able to enjoy free WiFi access in public areas around Komtar starting next week," the report said. Oh, big deal. About a fortnight earlier, The Star reported that computer users in Johor would be the first outside the Klang Valley to be able to surf the Internet wirelessly on the WiMAX platform.

So what is holding back the Wireless@Penang project? A bunch of Penang-based NGOs or is civil service bureaucracy still the cause of the wheels of progress turning ever so slowly? How I wish that its implementation can be sped up. Let Penang still lead, okay?