The JPost reports (bypass registration) that Jerusalem will soon become the first city in Israel to offer free wireless internet in public places (certainly better than the current Starbucks T-Mobile rate of 10 cents per minute – and yes, I’m bitter).

Within three to four months, people visiting the Ben Yehuda pedestrian mall, Emek Refaim, the Rivlin – Nahalat Shiva zone, the Malha Shopping Mall, Safra Square and Shlomzion HaMalka Street, will be able to surf for free on their wireless-enabled laptop computers.

[…] [Amir Elstein, general manager of Intel’s Jerusalem facility] declined to comment on the scope of Intel’s investment in the project, saying only that the company has “deep pockets.” However, the cost is believed to be hundreds of thousands of shekels.

The system will require the placement of a series of wireless routers around selected areas, each of which can transmit information to a distance of 300-500 meters at high-speed transmission rates of up to 54 megabit per second. The technology is the same as that sold for home wireless use for as little as $150.

Also set to go wireless within a year are government offices, museums, malls, parks, and local schools.

Now the yeshiva bochrim that surf for pr0n in the Ben Yehuda internet cafes can do so in the privacy and comfort of a public square. Aww yeah…