The citywide Wi-Fi reality check

[David Farber <dave () farber net>]

Begin forwarded message:

From: Dewayne Hendricks <dewayne () warpspeed com>
Date: May 29, 2005 1:32:56 AM EDT
To: Dewayne-Net Technology List <dewayne-net () warpspeed com>
Subject: [Dewayne-Net] The citywide Wi-Fi reality check
Reply-To: dewayne () warpspeed com


The citywide Wi-Fi reality check

By Marguerite Reardon
<http://news.com.com/The+citywide+Wi-Fi+reality+check/ 
2100-7351_3-5722150.html>

Story last modified Fri May 27 04:00:00 PDT 2005

Philadelphia is venturing into the Wi-Fi frontier and liking what it  
sees. The big question is, will it feel the same way two years from now?

The city's experiment to blanket its 135 square miles with wireless  
high-speed Internet access has been hailed by supporters as one of  
the most innovative projects in the country. But some experts caution  
that significant technical and business issues must be hammered out  
before citywide wireless networks can become a reality.

Large cities such as Philadelphia and San Francisco see wireless  
broadband technology as a low-cost solution to providing broadband  
access to low-income residents.

They also believe that these Wi-Fi networks can help them save  
millions of dollars in operational costs by providing broadband  
connectivity for public-safety and other agencies within city  
government. Many believe the networks will help boost economic  
development by drawing more people to the city.

Philadelphia, which plans to have its citywide Wi-Fi network up and  
running by summer 2006, is the poster child of the municipal wireless  
movement.

While several smaller cities, such as Chaska, Minn., have deployed  
citywide Wi-Fi, the technology has not yet been tested in large  
metropolitan areas. Philadelphia will be the first major city to  
complete its network. Other large cities, including New York and San  
Francisco, are also looking to build their own Wi-Fi networks.

While supporters applaud Philadelphia for its vision, some experts  
warn that deploying Wi-Fi in dense urban areas may not be as easy as  
it sounds.

"Setting up a citywide network is definitely not as easy as putting  
up access points all over the place," said Doug Schremp, chief  
technology officer of BTS Partners, a consulting firm that designs  
and deploys networks. "There are some technical issues that need to  
be addressed, and cities really need to look at the operational and  
business issues that come with building and owning their own network."

[snip]

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