The Wireless Report

After a long period of foot-dragging, it seems that Boston is seriously committed to bringing wireless access to its residents. First, Mayor Thomas Menino announced earlier this week the formation of a task force to investigate the process of deploying a citywide network, and their report is due in a few months.

Simultaneously, The Boston Foundation, a local philanthropic organization, will be issuing their own report, "Boston Unplugged: Mapping a Wireless Future," which indicates that the city should follow the Philadelphia and San Francisco models.

Obviously, the big boys like EarthLink and Google would dearly love to be the ones to build Boston's network, and the study recommends that the cost of building and maintaining a network should not be passed to taxpayers, which certainly plays to the aforementioned companies' favor.
 
In addition, the report says a Request for Information (RFI) should be issued right away and must include the following:

• An examination of needed technical facilities for a WiFi network
• The creation of a “realistic” timeline for the project
• A review of security and interference issues
• A plan to build off of existing WiFi pilot projects

What may concern some is that Boston seems to have gone from 0 to 60 in just a matter of days and some important details, including whether the network should be free or fee-paid, could be overlooked at the beginning stages of this project. In any case, it'll be interesting to see how this all plays out.

Although parts of the New England region have made progress in the effort to deploy broadband wireless access to residents, many people think there is a long road ahead before it can claim universal coverage. This particular editorial makes the case that wireless networks will bring economic development to the area as well as make government services more accessible.

Let's not overlook that there has been progress made--Rhode Island is on the verge of launching a statewide network, although as it stands right now, it's more geared to larger corporations and government workers. However, after the initial pilot program, residents will surely be able to access the network as well in due time. In addition, various communities across the region are in various stages of network development.

It seems that New England may be ripe for a regional wireless network similar to what is being proposed in California's Silicon Valley. Of course, we're talking about a much larger area in scope, not to mention the fact that New England features many rural locations that could prove difficult to hook up. In any case, it stands to reason that the states of Connecticut, Rhode Island, Massachusetts, Maine, and Vermont could find common ground and seek to link themselves together by the way of wireless.

Although you won't notice it on TV while watching the Super Bowl, mobile wireless technology has played a huge role in the logistical setup at Detroit's Ford Field, including the creation of a WiFi network in the stadium to serve journalists as well as enhancing security at the facility.

Motorola, Verizon Wireless, and Sprint Nextel have brought along trucks furnished with mobile wireless equipment to enhance network coverage at these types of events. These cells on light trucks or COLTs (take that, Peyton Manning!) will play a key role in setting up a wireless network for the on-site pressrooms along with making coverage available for all of the mobile equipment (cellphones, two-way radios, etc.) that will be used by people working at the game and fans.

WiFi antennas have been placed throughout the stadium, so you can bet the wireless networks will be buzzing as the game takes place.

I had a really great conversation the other day with Cole Reinwand, Vice President of Municipal Product Strategy & Marketing for EarthLink. He basically gave me an overview of where the company is right now with regard to their efforts in developing and deploying wireless networks to municipalities across the country.

As we all know, EarthLink won the biggest prize so far in the muni WiFi stakes in securing the contract to build the Wireless Philadelphia network last year. According to Reinwand, the City Council has to give its final approval, which should be occuring in the next few weeks, and the great hookup in Philly will soon get underway. He said the company has done its utmost to answer all the questions about where antennas will be placed throughout the city, as well as making sure that low-income residents will be able to access the network just as equally as anyone else. The cost to access the network will be $20 a month, and qualified low-income users will be charged $10 a month.
 
Reinwand said construction is slated to begin by this summer and the network will be fully accessible to all parts of the city by spring of '07.

The conversation was not solely devoted to Philadelphia, I assure you. Reinwand gave a brief history of why EarthLink is centering more of its efforts on WiFi, saying that the dialup business that the company was initally famous for has been trickling away for some time now and that the signs pointed to broadband as a way to stay ahead of the curve as well as responding to customer needs.

The city of Boston is currently deploying a public wireless netowrk (Boston Main Streets WiFi) available in four commercial districts--Hyde Park; Roslindale; Washington Gateway, and West Roxbury. In partnership with three network providers (Airpath Wireless, Ascio Wireless, and Colubris Networks), the network is funded through a combination of donations and advertising revenue.

It seems like a nice idea, but what about the rest of Boston. Where will these people and businesses be able to access a broader network? The initiative does have some expansion plans, but may not be enough to cover the entire city. We'll have to keep tabs on this project to see how it will address the other parts of Boston.