The city of Toledo, Ohio has just issued a RFP for the eventual development and deployment of a citywide wireless network.
According to city officials, the deadline for proposals to be submitted is February 20. Estimates are that the winning bidder will spend about $10 million to hook up the city and will have exclusive rights to the "Wireless Toledo" brand. In addition, the city is requiring that service be free for all local governmental departments as well as emergency personnel.
Nassau and Suffolk counties on New York's Long Island have just issued a RFP this week to further explore their options in having a wireless network cover both areas.
The deadline date is March 19, and it would be a good guess to assume that a number of vendors will be submitting proposals to develop and deploy a network here. The counties are densely populated, giving it a huge tax base, so you can bet that the possibility of having hundreds of thousands of users signing up (and paying) for wireless network service could mean a lucrative revenue stream for the winning bidder.
The counties are hoping this wireless network will stimulate business as well as giving residents better access to education and governmental services. It should be interesting to see how this all progresses.
After a long period of negotiations, the city of San Francisco recently agreed to a deal with EarthLink and Google to develop and deploy a municipal wireless network. However, the contract still needs to be approved by the city council, and an EarthLink executive has been quoted as saying that approval is not a guarantee.
Don Berryman, EarthLink's head of its municipal networks division, said that as far as he can see, out of the six votes needed for the contract to be ratified, there are at least four and possibly five council members he believes will vote for the deal. He believes three are against it, and another three to four who are undecided.
Berryman believes that there is opposition to the deal by some city supervisors because they believe the city should be the rightful owners of the network, and not an outside company. In response, Berryman is out gathering public support for the project, and Mayor Gavin Newsom, a strong, early supporter of citywide wireless, is also lending a hand.
Although Berryman may be overstating the case when it comes to the level of opposition to the network, there is still some cause for concern. There have been issues regarding user privacy, and no one knows yet with any certainty as to whether citywide wireless networks will prove beneficial economically and socially for a given municipality.
In any event, the contract is up for a vote in February, and it appears that the motion will pass. There is too much momentum at this point for muni WiFi, and it would be considered an embarrassment for San Francisco, one of the technology bellwethers in the U.S., to turn down the opportunity to get into the wireless network game.
Well, not exactly. Associated Press reporter Geoff Mulvhill interviewed me last week with regard to the move by Camden and Gloucester Counties in New Jersey to jointly explore the development and deployment of a wireless network. Among the things we talked about were my expectation that this network will bridge the "digital divide" and give those folks who have not had the opportunity to access the internet to now have that chance.
We also discussed the idea expressed by many cities and regions that a wireless network will be a boon economically to these areas. While it will be some time before we see any tangible effects a network will have on a local economy, these same networks are poised to streamline government services, which should save the taxpayers some money. We shall see soon enough.
My thanks to Geoff for contacting me and here's hoping we'll see some positive effects from these networks in the near future.
Officials in New Jersey's Burlington County are not exactly jumping on the muni WiFi bandwagon, at least not as of yet.
Neighboring Camden and Gloucester counties are teaming up to create a wireless network for their respective residents, and they were hoping to bring Burlington County into the fold, but a county spokesman says that because his area is more rural and spread out (826 square miles), they would rather see how it all shakes out first before getting involved.
Of course, cost is an issue as well, but wouldn't it make sense to at least sit in on a few meetings or put together a request for information rather than sitting it out and waiting to see what happens later on? It seems a bit short-sighted to say that they'd rather sit on the sidelines and watch instead of getting into the game.
It's been a hectic week of wireless news and information, and here are five stories we think will keep you plugged in to the action. Enjoy!
OK Philadelphians, now is your chance to see what this citywide wireless thing is all about.
EarthLink is announcing that those interested in checking out the muni WiFi network it is building for the city can access the network for free until January 21. Anyone within the vicinity of the 15-square-mile area east of Broad Street and north of the Vine Expressway can log on to the network.
According to the company, routers have been placed onl light poles throughout the area and download/upload speeds should reach up to 10 Mbps. Once the free trial period ends, users can sign up for the service at a montly fee of $21.95.
This has been a long time coming, and now the opportunity to see how a wireless network can function in a large city has finally arrived.
The beautiful city of Prague in the Czech Republic is taking steps to bring wireless internet access to its residents.
As of now, plans to develop and deploy a citywide wireless network won't be coming to fruition until sometime in 2008. However, Irish company Anacapa will be offering a system for cafes and hotels and other facilities to provide a free, ad-supported wireless service to customers. The first hotspot will be up and running later next week, with a few hundred more to be established over the course of the year.
Obviously, one may surmise that residents would want the opportunity to connect to the internet from virtually any location within a municipality, but until Prague (or any other city) can get its act together to form a network, giving outside vendors the opportunity to assist others in accessing the wireless web is a smart way of going about it.
With the U.S. Congress now being in control of the Democratic party, public safety issues like nationwide communications interoperability is already on the radar of the new houses of Congress.
The residents of Minneapolis have been promised a citywide wireless network that will be up and running by the end of this year. According to city officials, various sections of the city will be phased in, with completion of the entire network by November. Access is expected to cost around $20 a month.
As construction is set to begin, some folks still may not be too sure as to whether citywide wireless is for them. This story does a good job of explaining some of the basics so people can get an understanding of what it's all about. Here are a couple of topline FAQs and answers to get the ball rolling.
Q. How to residents access the network?
A. U.S. Internet Wireless (USIW), the company that will be building and managing the network, will send a letter to residents that the wireless network is ready in their neighborhood and they will be able to sign up for the service by going to the company website at or calling the service number provided on the letter.
Q. Will residents have to pay for wireless service on each computer in their home?
A. No. Subscriptions are based on the user name, which allows for the wireless subscription to be used on any computer or device.
It's taken a while, but the city of San Francisco and EarthLink and Google have finally agreed on a contract for the development and deployment of a citywide wireless network.
The contract stipulates that Google will offer free basic service at 300 kbits per second while EarthLink will offer an enhanced service at $21.95 a month at speeds reaching 1 megabit per second. At this point, the contract has to be ratified by the city's Board of Governors, so there's no timetable as to when construction will begin as well as roll-out.
In any case, it's a big victory for Mayor Gavin Newsom who championed the concept of citywide wireless network early on. This network is certainly going to be one of the higher-profile muni WiFi projects in the country, and it is essential that this project succeed for citywide wireless to succeed.
The new year has gotten off to a rollicking start in the wireless world. Here are five stories we believe will get your juices flowing as we hit the first full work week of 2007. Enjoy!
City officials in Apopka, Florida have given the go-ahead to work out a contract with Motorola to develop a municipal wireless network.
The project, estimated to cost around $2.5 million, is expected to be up and running by the end of this year. Plans call for basic service to be free for users, with enhanced services available at an additional charge.
As with most networks of this type, Apopka officials believe it will bridge the digital divide and provide city employees and first responders access to information from virtually any location within the area.
With the U.S. Congress about to be taken control of by the Democratic Party, the head of the Department of Homeland Security -- Michael Chertoff -- has said that he would cooperate with Congress if the new, Democratic-controlled House and Senate pursue legislation to increase the supply of public-safety radio spectrum.
After reading the details of this story, I have a feeling that the nonprofit group that represents Washington's universities will get anywhere with the lawsuit just announced against some of the larger makers of Bluetooth headsets here in the U.S.< Previous Page | Next Page >
