Citywide Access to Wi-Fi in Works Plan Might Get OK in 90 Days
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By JUDY O'ROURKE  SANTA CLARITA -- The days of patronizing certain food or coffee joints to tap a wireless Internet feed may soon be past, with citywide access on the horizon.
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A year ago, it seemed like just about every major U.S. city was drawing up ambitious plans to build wireless Internet networks so more people, both rich and poor, could have online access wherever they wanted. Now, economics is blurring the Utopian vision as city leaders and the companies proposing to build the Wi-Fi networks haggle over whether the projects make financial sense.
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Technology behind super-fast wireless networks is close to getting official approval.
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Municipal Wi-Fi, full of promise and hype over the past two years, has hit the wall of reality in the U.S. because of economics, politics and even the technology.
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By Jenni Laidman, The Blade, Toledo, Ohio  May 31--Toledo taxpayers could pay up to $2.16 million over five years if City Council approves a license agreement with a California Wi-Fi company.   Legislation approving the contract is expected to be submitted to City Council by June 12.
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Philadelphia officials have laid the  groundwork to provide wireless, high-speed Internet access  anywhere in the city, but their plan is threatened under a  state bill that could be signed into law on Tuesday.
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A proposed Pennsylvania law on its way to the governor's desk could pose a hurdle for Philadelphia's ambitious plan to provide broadband Wi-Fi service throughout the city by mid-2006.
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The city of Philadelphia has reached an agreement with Verizon Communications that will let the municipal government deploy a citywide Wi-Fi network, but a carrier-backed bill that would let incumbent carriers block such projects has been signed into law by Pennsylvania's governor.
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(InfoWorld) - Google and EarthLink's Wi-Fi contract with San Francisco would have a renewable four-year term and would require a proof-of-concept deployment before the full network is rolled out, if progress so far in negotiations holds firm, according to the city. TheÂ companies were chosenÂ earlier this year to build and operate a citywide Wi-Fi network with both free and faster paid services. San Francisco officials are now negotiating with them on the exact terms of the relationship, in which the vendors will bear the cost of the network while the city will provide the use of light poles and other city assets for deploying it. The city has said it expects the network to go live in 2007. The parties have made progress in the talks, which began in May, said Brian Roberts, a senior policy analyst for the city's Department of Telecommunications and Information Services. On Friday afternoon, he defended that progress to the Local Agency Formation Commission (LAFCO) when asked about an article last week in the San Francisco Chronicle in which a Google executive said little had been decided. LAFCO is a county agency that provides oversight of cable TV franchises and other issues. Nothing is definite until the entire contract is agreed upon, Roberts said, but he highlighted some areas where he said there is accord so far. As negotiations stand now, Google and EarthLink would have a contract to provide the wireless broadband service for four years. At the end of that term, the city could shut down the arrangement without having to show a specific cause, he said. It could also demand the technology be upgraded as a condition for renewing the deal. The term could then be renewed as many as three times, for a total period of 16 years. The vendors first would have to roll out a test network, which would cover about two square miles, for as long as six months to show whether their technology would really work, Roberts said. The talks also have addressed some of theÂ thorny privacy issuesÂ that have generated criticism he said. Google and EarthLink would be able to collect information about a user's whereabouts while using the network, but that user would be able to opt out of giving that information, Roberts said. If they collect the information, the vendors could only keep the data for 60 days. During that time, they couldn't share information about specific users except in certain cases in which it's sought by law enforcement or courts. In exchange for the use of its rights of way, San Francisco is seeking 5 percent of gross revenue from the network, Roberts said. It also will seek a fee for use of city-owned light poles. That money would help to support city initiatives to narrow the digital divide between rich and poor residents. Negotiators haven't reached agreement on those financial terms, he said. Members of LAFCO were skeptical about some aspects of the talks so far, including the city's revenue demands. San Francisco Supervisor Jake McGoldrick said he feared the city was undervaluing the city's assets by seeking just 5 percent of revenue. Roberts said that percentage would be very competitive with what other U.S. cities have gotten.ADVERTISEMENTMAKE SOA REAL WITH IBM WEBSPHERE PODCASTStreamline processes and maximize efficiency within a proven service oriented architecture. Take back control of your business processes with IBM WebSphere.
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After Earthlink and Google scrapped plans to offer wireless in the city, many weren't so sure. But a start-up is promising to finish the job.
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City-wide wi-fi networks are growing but how do councils and citizens get the most out of them?
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IT officials from three California cities detailed their experiences Monday with trying to set up municipal wireless networks, efforts that have yielded varying degrees of success.Speaking during the MuniWireless conference in Santa Clara, Calif., IT executives from Anaheim, San Francisco, and Los Angeles noted development plans for these networks, both for public services and to bridge the digital divide between those with Internet access and those without."Really, it?s been the applications that have been the driving force," said Robb McIntosh, information services manager for Anaheim.The city is in the process of building wireless links for public safety, public works, and other services. EDS runs the city's IT, McIntosh said. Meanwhile, Anaheim's citizen Wi-Fi network, intended for resident access to wireless capabilities, is 70 percent developed, McIntosh said.San Francisco's now-stalled efforts to build citywide wireless links were inspired by the digital divide, said Chris Vein, San Francisco CIO."[Bridging this divide] remains the driving force for us today," Vein said.Plans had called for a mesh network to cover all 49 square miles of the city. EarthLink was supposed to provide the system but that plan did not come to fruition. "Now, we're kind of stepping back, taking a big breath and looking at what we have to do next," Vein said.Anaheim's choice for paying for its citizen wireless network involves selling subscriptions. In San Francisco, payment options such as subscriptions or simply using taxpayer funds are still on the table."We're taking a look at everything," said Vein. "We haven't ruled anything out."Los Angeles also cited digital inclusion as its reason for seeking a wireless network, said Mark Wolf, assistant general manager for the city's Information Technology Agency.Wolf stressed the hurdles in having to provide wireless coverage to a city spanning 464 square miles and extending from the ocean to the mountains. Los Angeles has been doing Wi-Fi on a small basis and has been learning from cities such as Philadelphia and San Francisco. The plan is at a crossroads, Wolf said."It?s a good thing that it's at a crossroads and not cross hairs, in the sites of a gun," said Wolf.?Aside from the altruistic goal of digital inclusion, Los Angeles also is equipping its police force with sophisticated wireless equipment from Motorola. Video capabilities allow police to see a scene before arriving; other features include license plate-scanning, mobile digital cameras, and facial recognition systems.In other talks during Monday's general session at the conference, Padmarsee Warrior, CTO of Motorola, stressed that multiple wireless standards such as Wi-Fi and the newly approved WiMax standard will continue to coexist. While Wi-Fi is limited to covering hot spots, WiMax is good for covering large areas."The right kind of debate for the industry to have is what combination of these technologies provides true value to public safety, to governments, to municipalities, to consumers, to enterprise, to corporations, etc., as the world becomes mobile. And the world is becoming mobile," Warrior said.Speaker Esme Vos, co-founder of MuniWireless.com, emphasized applications for wireless. These included making wireless capabilities available on public transit so people can get their work done while commuting, traffic management, and energy management. Cities such as Riverside, Calif., Tuscon, Ariz., and Milpitas, Calif., are utilizing wireless to provide city services, she said.With cities doubling in size every five years but without the ability to double the number of municipal employees, cities are looking to leverage wireless, Vos said.
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Prepares to enter broadband era with Wi-Fi adaptor
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Columnist Craig Mathias says eventually all cities will deploy municipal Wi-Fi, but the system remains in its early stages because many business and political hurdles need to be overcome.
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Officials in the city of Philadelphia said Thursday that tests for its citywide Wi-Fi project were successful, which means the city will move forward with deploying the network through the rest of the city.
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Philadelphia has finished testing its wireless Internet project, setting the stage for America's biggest citywide Wi-Fi network that will also offer access to low-income households, officials said on Thursday.
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A plan to blanket San Francisco with Wi-Fi fell apart last year, but now a startup named Meraki says it plans to deliver free, ad-supported Wi-Fi access in in the city.