San Francisco ballpark becomes Wi-Fi hub

The old ballgame is getting some new technology.

Baseball fans bored by the slow pace of a game or wanting more statistics and information will be able to connect computer devices via wireless computer networking, or Wi-Fi, at San Francisco Giants home games this year, the team announced on Tuesday. The Giants' stadium is, after all, called SBC Park, for telecommunications giant SBC Communications Inc.

"We've created, if not the largest, one of the largest hot spots in the world," said Larry Baer, the team's chief operating officer. "We're the first professional sports facility to provide people universal WiFi connectivity."

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San Francisco's wired stadium is the latest in a growing world of wireless connectivity. Earlier this month the city of San Jose, the capital of Silicon Valley, began offering free Wi-Fi service in its downtown areas.

A growing number of retail establishments such as McDonald's and Starbucks are also offering Wi-Fi, a wireless technology that allows a computer with a special modem to connect to the Internet.

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Even more remote corners of the world are beginning to offer Wi-Fi services.

Srinagar, home to alluring houseboats and gondolas at the foothills of the Himalayan Mountains, recently started offering Wi-Fi service to lure tourists deterred in recent years by turmoil in India's Kashmir region.

The Wi-Fi service, provided by SBC and Nortel Networks Corp., is free for fans attending games, but tickets to games cost as much as $75 for the best seats.