GoogleNET

Om has a quick breakdown of the recent moves by Google and Earthlink to roll out muni wireless.

From the post:

"Despite repeated and strong denials by the search giant, anecdotal evident suggests that Google has national ambitions for its WiFi network, aka GoogleNET. I had written about this for Business 2.0 last year, and have been tracking this story. What started off as a sponsorship of a hotspot in Union Square in San Francisco, was extended to Bryant Park in New York City, followed by citywide access in Mountain View, California, and then came mother of all wins: San Francisco.

Google and its ISP partner, Earthlink, are now looking to expand to other locales. Earthlink is betting the farm on its WiFi efforts, and has won bids to build such networks in Anaheim, California, Milpitas, and Philadelphia."

Google and Earthlink Lead the Pack

Looks like San Fransisco is leaning towards the Google+Earthlink muni wirelss solution.

From Daily Wireless:

"The City of San Francisco's citywide wireless municipal network has identified Google and EarthLink as the best candidate for the ambitious city-wide WiFi project, reports the Associated Press.

The recommendation, completing a six-week review, allows the city to begin negotiations with Google and EarthLink, which decided to team together earlier this year after initially bidding against each other. The companies will pay to build the entire network, which is expected to cost at least $15 million."

From TechDirt:

"The real question will be just how willing the winners of these systems will be to open their networks up to others. In this deal, Earthlink is effectively opening up the network they would build to Google to offer a free, ad-supported WiFi that would in some ways compete with Earthlink's own cheap, but still fee-based, WiFi. This is also the same model Earthlink is using in Philadelphia, where it has won that city's "muni-WiFi" bid."

Earthlink Rescues NOLA

In the ongoing saga of wireless access in New Orleans, TechDirt provides this update.

From the post:

"Last week, we mentioned that BellSouth was making the brain-dead PR move of lobbying the Louisiana state legislature to shut down an emergency WiFi network used by thousands of residents. Now, Earthlink has stepped in and said that they will happily take over operation of the mesh WiFi network. Earthlink, of course, is actively pursuing multiple opportunities in Muni-mesh WiFi, and in the case of New Orleans, the legislation in question only applies to gov't-run networks but not commercial networks. Thus, by ceding the network to Earthlink, New Orleans can keep it operational."

More from a Wired article:

"New Orleans technology chief Greg Meffert said many devastated areas of the city likely will not have private internet service for years. He said the city is prepared for a showdown — new law or not. The system will stay up, regardless, though Meffert said he expects court challenges.

"If you can get to the net, you can do business," Meffert said.

"In the end, it takes a federal judge to issue a restraining order," he said. "Until that point, if that point ever comes, we'll keep running it. It's a lifeline to these people."

See also:
BellSouth vs. NOLA
Net Neutrality and Bill Smith's Parents
Jeff Pulvier's RBOC SMackdown
The Internets
BellSouth Punishes New Orleans

Big Easy WiFi

From TechDirt:

"I wrote about how Tropos was powering a WiFi mesh network in the devastated city of New Orleans, and commented that despite reservations about the applicability of WiFi to Wide Area deployments, the nature of the emergency was such that a mesh network was the best choice possible to get the city re-connected ASAP.

We also commented on how the mesh network was providing service up to 512Kbps, which went against a state law limiting municipal services to 128Kbps or less.

The telco lobbyists are seeking enforcement of the legislation they probably wrote in the first place, and seeking to shut down the muni WiFi in the Big Easy. The New Orleans mayor and CIO say they will not comply with an order to shut off the network - preferring jail to disconnecting their citizens."

PPF and Open Spectrum

Having found the PPF site I started reading through the "Report from the Working Group on New Spectrum policy." (PDF) It is pretty wonkish.

From the summary page:

"The group proposes five possible options for moving towards a market-based allocation of spectrum, each granting a different level of rights or compensation to incumbents:

• Auction spectrum with rights to clear incumbents immediately without compensation
• Auction spectrum with rights to clear incumbents, but with compensation for relocation or ceasing of operations
• Auction spectrum without rights to clear incumbents, leaving the private sector to negotiate transactions to clear incumbents from the auctioned spectrum
• “Big Bang” auction of unassigned and encumbered spectrum permitting incumbents to repurchase existing rights at no net cost or receive vouchers.
• Give incumbent licensees full property rights to the spectrum they use"

Luckily smarter eyes are also reading that report. From TechDirt:

"The idea was that rather than (as the FCC does) setting exactly what the spectrum must be used for and who can use it, the market is allowed to decide. That is, anyone can purchase the exclusive rights to the spectrum, but then, they can do with it as they want -- whether that's selling it to others, or making use of the spectrum. That, combined with a decent amount of open spectrum, seems like a fairly reasonable plan (amazingly enough).

Not everyone agrees. The folks at the Progress & Freedom Foundation (with whom we've clashed before) have put out a report claiming that pretty much all spectrum should be licensed and auctioned off, and that the concept of open spectrum discourages investment, is inefficient, and slows innovation in the space.

The real issue is how competition is defined. For the report's authors, competition is seen as being between different owners of spectrum. However, what WiFi has shown, is that competition works within the same bit of open spectrum -- because of the openness. Can it lead to interference? Absolutely.

But, depending on the application, some amount of interference can be fine -- as it is with most basic WiFi implementations. Of course, it's also worth noting that PFF is a well known opponent to muni-broadband efforts -- and getting rid of more open spectrum (which is used for most muni-broadband offerings) would support that cause as well."

Muni Wifi ROI

From MuniWireless:

"Martyn Levy of RoamAD, a vendor of wireless mesh networking software, says that one of their customers, a licensed Australian carrier called aCure Technology, achieved a 100% return on its investment in a RoamAD citywide Wi-Fi network after just 9 months of operation. aCure runs Perth, Australia’s metromesh Wi-Fi network. This is amazing news and simply shows why people in homes, businesses and cities like Wi-Fi."

Muni Wirelss and AMR

John Kelly of the Kelly Group writes about the potential for automated meter reading with Muni WiFi.

From the article:

"Automated meter reading (AMR) is often cited as one application for municipal wireless networks, since it represents a potential opportunity for cities to improve the operational efficiency and customer service of city-owned utilities by automating the manual process of sending a meter reader to every house in town every month or two.

AMR systems generally consist of three components: (1) meters to measure how much each customer uses, along with a Meter Interface Unit (MIU) to connect it to the AMR system, (2) telecommunications to transfer the data from the meter to the utility, and (3) computers and software at the utility to analyze the data and use it to bill customers.

In the future, Wi-Fi enabled MIUs could use a municipal Wi-Fi network to allow each meter to communicate directly to the utility’s central data processing center, avoiding the entire cost of establishing a telecommunications system dedicated only to AMR."

Earthlink in the News

With the new partnership for Muni Wireless and the Helio deal there is a lot of chatter about Earthlink's future. The joint Earthlink Google SF bid is online too.

From Om:

"Like America Online, Earthlink has been in a desperate fight to make itself over, using any and every broadband technology. Broadband over powerlines, Fixed Wireless, MuniWireless, Broadband MVNO, and Voice over IP - anything to get off its dependency on incumbent - DSL or cable - access pipes.

Earthlink is currently planning WiFi networks in five cities, and the total cost of building networks in these cities will be in the $50 million range, according to informed industry insiders. Municipal Wireless is the easiest way for Earthlink to get out from under the yoke of large incumbents, and it has no option but to aggressively chase these opportunities. And to turn it into a viable business, many think the company needs to play in at least 20 cities, including some NFL towns.

It certainly has past history of spinning out businesses. Helio, their MVNO was spun-out and has received backing from SK Telecom of South Korea. So why not Muni Wireless Business? In recent days I have heard fleeting rumors about Earthlink spinning off the muniwireless business as a separate entity, including an investment from a big investment bank."

From Techdirt:

"This leads to Om's prediction that the company will spin off the muni-WiFi efforts, to see if it can be valued at a higher rate. This is the type of thing that could make sense from the Wall St. point of view where they seem to hate businesses that have multiple lines that are valued very differently. It's part of what leads to the "build 'em up, break 'em down" mentality of Wall Street (who, of course, gets fees at each step of the process).

However, as we discussed in that link, these types of deals may be good for shareholders in the short-term, but kill off much of the strategic value for companies in the long term. Where it makes sense for a company trying to transition its business to invest in separate lines, Wall Street doesn't seem to have the patience to understand that this actually does make sense, and would rather break things up and set them afloat alone immediately."

Dissecting the Municipal Network

Glenn Fleishman pulls apart Muni Wireless, back end from front end.

From the post:

"Most municipal networks that are being bid out combine several kinds of networks and several kinds of services: The coverage and criticism of municipally authorized and bid networks often focuses strictly on Wi-Fi. That’s just one element. Most municipal networks comprise six separate components.

1. Wifi for mobility...
2. Wifi for residences...
3. Inra-node networks...
4. Back-haul networks...
5. Aggregation...
6. Backbone...

The service side is equally broad, and can include:

• Non-subscriber mobile access
• Subscriber mobile access
• Fixed residential access
• Mobile city workers
• Mobile public safety workers (often, however, on a separate frequency band)
• Fixed business wireless broadband (WiMax like)
• Fixed municipal wireless broadband (WiMax like)
• Fixed smart devices (parking meters, utility meters)
• Mobile city assets (vehicles and equipment tracking)
• Fixed or mobile sensors
• Commuter bus, train, ferry access
• College campus access (for all purposes)
• Indoor municipal building service for city workers

Most of the above are on the plate for every single serious urban municipal broadband RFP, which is one reason why fiber—despite its expense—is often cited as a reasonable part of a broadband plan. If not to the home or node, at least a fiber ring to deal with local backhaul and municipal needs."

TechDirt Reviews Senate Muni Wireless

From the post:

"In a Senate hearing on municipal broadband efforts today we learned a whole lot of nothing. Basically, Senators who have already stated a position for or against municipal broadband stuck by what they've said before. Speakers at the hearing favored one side or the other, but didn't appear to say anything even remotely original. Those on the fence? Well, it appears they remained on the fence. In other words, a whole lot of nothing was accomplished that could have been accomplished months ago, if Senators had gone out and read some of the news and blog coverage of the whole debate that's been going on for quite some time."

From CNET:

"For some at Wednesday's hearing, the answer was clear: If the nation hopes to pull up its worldwide ranking in broadband deployment, the federal government must step in and protect the rights of municipalities to build their own broadband networks. "As we work to reach the goal of universal broadband, we must open new doors, not slam them shut," said Sen. Frank Lautenberg, a New Jersey Democrat."

Senate Hearings on Muni Wireless

Daily Wireless highlights the senate hearings today:

"Today, the US Senate Committee on Commerce, Science and Transportation is holding hearings on "State and Local Issues and Municipal Networks".

Senate Commerce Committee Chairman Ted Stevens (R-Alaska) and Co-Chairman Daniel Inouye (D-Hawaii) have scheduled a Full Committee Hearing on State and Local Issues and Municipal Networks for 10am on Tuesday, February 14, 2006 in room 562 of the Dirksen Building (webcast)."

And this search tool:

"Muninetguide provides a searchable online database of municipal and related Web sites with more than 7,500 listings of Web sites that pertain to state and local governments, agencies and related organizations."

Why Muni Wireless Matters

Some links from Techdirt:

"Measuring Broadband's Economic Impact" (PDF) a report from Carnegie Mellon and MIT.

Conculsion: "Broadband is clearly related to economic well-being and is thus a critical component of our national communications infrastructure."

"Turning a Blind Eye to Wifi" an article by Robert McChesney and John Podesta.

Lead: "Broadband internet is the electricity of the 21st century -- and the rest of the world is poised to leave America in the dark."

"In the near future, telephone, television, radio and the web all will be delivered to your home via a single broadband connection. In the not-so-distant-future, broadband will be an indispensable part of economic, personal, and public life.

American residents and businesses now pay two to three times as much for slower and poorer quality service than countries like South Korea or Japan. Since 2001, according to the International Telecommunications Union, the United States has fallen from fourth to 16th in the world in broadband penetration.

Thomas Bleha recently argued in Foreign Affairs that what passes for broadband in the United States is "the slowest, most expensive and least reliable in the developed world."

Please go read the whole article. But now the part about Muni Wireless, from a section called "The Philadelphia Story."

"To provide universal, affordable Internet access, Philadelphia plans to construct a gigantic "wireless mesh network" -- a system of interconnected antennas placed on streetlights, traffic signals, and public buildings.

No tax dollars will be used to build the system, which will be financed instead with $10 to $15 million in bonds and private investment.

The service will cost about $20 a month -- with subsidized access for lower-income households for about $10. The city plans to deploy the first of 3,000 nodes soon and complete the system by 2007."

Sounds great, right?

"Last fall, behind closed doors in the state capitol, industry lobbyists slipped a measure into a massive telecommunications bill to stop municipalities from entering the broadband business."

The industry point of view is that the free market should handle connectivity and that governement run efforts would crowd out more capable private companies.

"In reality, most municipal networks are a last resort by desperate local governments. Often their choice isn't between a municipal system and a private one, but between municipal and nothing."

Muni Wireless

I was going to try and pull together a big post on Muni Wireless with comments, but it looks like I am not going to be able to string it together with a lot of prose. Here goes a link fest.

UK Parliament members demand Wifi:

"We recommend that wireless Internet access should be provided in those areas likely to be of most use to members," the report said. "We appreciate the security and viability issues around wireless Internet access but believe that it should be possible to overcome these difficulties."

Popular Mechanics say IEEE 802.16 is one of the top inventions of the past 25 years.

"The geniuses at the Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers publish a wireless metropolitan area network standard that functions like Wi-Fi on steroids. An 802.16 antenna can transmit Internet access up to a 30-mile radius at speeds comparable to DSL and cable broadband. When it all shakes out, 802.16 could end up launching developing nations into the digital age by eliminating the need for wired telecommunications infrastructure."

GlobeTel will install WiMAX in Russia's 30 largets cities.

Uli Altvater, President of GlobeTel Wireless stated: "This is a very large undertaking that will utilize the skills or more than 1,000 people in Russia, Europe and the United States. This transaction will catapult GlobeTel to a position as one of the top two suppliers and operators of wireless networks in the world."

Om Malik points to wireless clouds in Britain and Paris.

"The Cloud, a UK-based company that operates wifi hotspots is planning to build city wide WiFi clouds in London, Manchester and seven other cities. The network, is supposed to reach a total of 4 million people, and would also compete with incumbent phone and mobile carriers. The Cloud has stuck up partnerships with the likes of Skype and Nintendo for its WiFi network. I wonder if the Europeans once again have cracked the municipal wireless code: private enterprise upstarts with lower cost structure fighting it out with deep pocketed incumbents!"

"The Mayor of Paris, Bertrand Delanoë, believes in giving free access to the Internet and wants to push development of a city wide telecom network. His intentions were first reported in Nouvel Observateur, quite a serious newspaper. James Enck says, “The article refers to a city-wide network, and also seems to suggest that the Mayor has aspirations of offering free narrowband internet access and local telephony to residents of more modest economic means.”

You can also see Om's broadband Wiki.

Techdirt has the goods on why there is a need for Muni Wireless.

"Glenn Fleishman points to a Washington Monthly article that does an excellent job of highlighting why there's a need in the US for municipal broadband services -- because incumbent providers do an inadequate job of serving many communities, and regulators let them get away with it.

Both the original article and Fleishman's post point out examples of incumbent providers refusing to invest in offering services wanted and needed in some place, and also the double-standard the companies have when they object to localities spending public money to compete with them, but gladly accept all kinds of tax breaks, subsidies and incentives from local governments to support their own businesses.

The lack of real competition in the broadband market has allowed it to stagnate and lets providers get away with subpar offerings and high prices. Clearly the current regulatory situation isn't doing anything to spark competition -- far from it -- leaving underserved localities little option but to jump into things themselves. It's not a question of free markets or
government interference; incumbent providers just don't want to have to compete, period, regardless of who is their rival."

More from Techdirt on why Wifi isn't the right approach:

"WiFi is a wonderful technology that has done amazing things -- but it was built for local area networks, and stringing it out to cover entire cities is simply asking for problems.

The unfortunate part of this story, however, is that anti-muni-broadband forces, usually bankrolled by incumbent telcos, will quickly latch onto this story to suggest that all muni-broadband fails. Of course, as Glenn Fleishman pointed out just days ago, when it looked like Lompoc was on its way to launching the WiFi offering, the real goal of the city is to offer muni-fiber."

Muni Wireless

Techdirt has a nice post up about an article about Andy Seybold called, "Why Google's WiFi ambitions will fail." The upshot is that Seybold says interferance will make MuniWiFi unusable. The techdirt guys agree but conclude:

"Where we disagree with the article, is in the fact that nothing stands still. Muni Wireless has many other wireless technologies from which to choose, some of which are better suited than WiFi. Also, future versions of WiFi will greatly improve the suitability of unlicensed spectrum for this task. We have doubts about Municipal 802.11b, but we don't see that as synonymous with Muni Wireless."