this post was submitted on 26 May 2026
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Oh its a utility?
... so it should be publically owned and operated?
He didn't even say 'like' or 'akin to' a utility.
He said 'is a utility'.
... So then democracratize it.
And yeah, if WiFi is like that too, then yeah, lets have the public manage that as well.
... I wonder if ChatGPT can draw Altman looking at a broken clock being right twice a day.
WiFi is not a utility. Perhaps cellular service and fiber to the home should be, though.
WiFi is just the radio that gets you from your device to your router. It’s not the internet. Yes it’s an important distinction. Words have meanings. No, YOU’RE not being pedantic enough! 😤
Fucking thank you. Smh, can't believe people don't know the difference between WiFi and internet on a fucking tech forum.
Well, there are municipal WiFi deployments for some smaller towns and cities that I'd call a utility, but I am not convinced that is what the previous comment is referring to.
Wtf is a municipal WiFi department? What do they provide, internet access? Or routers?
Internet access to all of the residents in the town. It's one of those beach towns that is long and skinny (follows the coast) so they were able to set up wide range APs that let residents use the internet with their credentials.
Interesting. My city has public WiFi in certain places, but I've never used it before so I have no idea how it works.
The "public WiFi" used by a lot of cities is just standard commercial/enterprise APs, so it may not be the same thing anyway. Arguably, that makes a lot more sense to use in most cities than the more exotic wide area deployments. It is still cool that it exists.
Weellll, unless you live out in the sticks on an island and all there is is long throw 2.4GHz wifi as your internet connection, at least when the weather cooperates and the rinkydink ISP has staff actually on the job. Then wifi is also a utility level service.
Like satellite internet for some. Hmm I know another equally misanthropic smug techbro who wants to privatize an entire utility sector… Had to set up a SStarlink system for someone recently. Had to make very sure the homeowners understand why we bridged the SStarlink router.
Or maybe the infrastructure in your building in or fairly near a city just sucks, and you use a 5G base station for internet.
This kind of thing is... extremely common in areas that broadly have unsubstantial net infrastructure, or just poorer areas of developed cities.
I... I know the technical difference.
Apologies for using shorthand that you immediately interpreted correctly.
Shorthand that... you know, was used in the article.
Paraphrasing Sam Altman.
Because most readers of tech news can contextually figure out what is meant by that.