Municipal WiFi

Municipal WiFi — Under a Cloud?

Posted by samc on August 15th, 2007

Why Wi-Fi Networks Are Floundering by Business Week’s Olga Kharif, says the static around municipal wireless networks is getting worse.

Perhaps the clearest hint of trouble ahead is that some of the companies partnering with cities on these projects, including EarthLink and AT&T, are having second thoughts about remaining in the municipal Wi-Fi business.

In San Francisco, recent developments have left many observers scratching their heads over whether that city’s Wi-Fi project, announced more than a year ago, will ever get off the ground. In July, the president of the city’s Board of Supervisors revealed that he was seeking to change the terms of the preliminary contracts awarded to EarthLink and Google.

While it’s unclear whether he was referring to San Francisco in particular, EarthLink’s new chief executive officer, Rolla Huff, promised in his company’s July 26 earnings call to “delay any further build-outs and scale back operating expenses” on existing muni Wi-Fi projects. Though EarthLink doesn’t disclose specific operating results for that business, there’s little hope it will turn profitable soon.

“The Wi-Fi business as currently constructed will not provide a return,” Huff said during the conference call.

One major flaw in these arrangements has been that initial forecasts for Wi-Fi subscriptions used to justify the investment in these networks have proven to be overly optimistic by a wide margin. In many cases, 15% to 30% of an area’s population was expected to sign up for muni Wi-Fi. But only 1% to 2% have signed up so far figures Glenn Fleishman, editor of an industry blog called Wifinetnews.com.

That may be the case for $20 a month service. But Portland’s MetroFi network also offers “free” service (with advertising). MetroFi said its citywide Wi-Fi network had 11,200 users by May 2007.

According to MetroFi, May’s utilization represents an estimated 11.5% of the population within the current coverage area, as well as 56% of the 19,900 individuals who have registered for the network since its December 2006 inception.

But MetroFi’s connectivity is unreliable. It’s probably going require better connectivity to support advertising services — and subscriptions. But it also supplies point-to-point business services and may get business from the City of Portland.

While consumers and the city aren’t really out any money, everyone wants this thing to work.

Let’s give credit to both Portland’s PersonalTelco (the all-volunteer organization pioneering free WiFi from the ground up), and to MetroFi’s Chuck Haas (for pioneering a new economic model for city-wide free WiFi).

What if MetroFi doesn’t cut the mustard? I still like my “Write Spot” idea which would add Meraki repeaters to fill in the dead zones.

Imagine solar-powered Meraki minis inside giant yellow pencils. Mount them on streetlights. On coffeeshops. Everywhere. The stand-alone, self-contained “WriteSpot” repeaters might cost under $200 and provide a simple, reliable solution for areas with poor signal reception. Local content on flash memory.

The message is iconic and positive — your ideas have value.

Communicate.

Michael Burmeister-Brown, a co-founder of Central Point Software and a key developer of Yahoo Messenger software, has worked closely with MIT’s RoofNet group and their commercial spin-off, Meraki.

Net Equality installs wifi repeaters inside of the apartments or in the halls. Signals need only to penetrate interior apartment walls, not external concrete walls or weatherproof glass, improving propagation.

NetEquality likes to bring in broadband to a low-income apartment complex via wired DSL. Then they use a $50 Meraki box to repeat the signal. One $40/month DSL line can be shared by a dozen or more aparments by relaying the broadband signal through 3-4 Meraki access points that mesh together using the RoofNet protocol.

With hundreds of apartments in the Portland metro area now being served by NetEquality’s Meraki solution, they appear to be successfully accomplishing their goal.

Now comes word that Meraki Will Expand its WiFi Network Throughout San Francisco. Meraki’s San Francisco network, dubbed Free the Net is already live in a few places in the city, using shared broadband connections.

They’re giving away Meraki Mini repeaters to SF residents who can see the Free the Net signal. Users place a repeater in their windows or on balconies. You donate a portion of your unused bandwidth (using participating ISPs) to help Free the Net.

It’s a grass roots solution. Why not a public/private partnership?

source : dailywireless.org