PUBLIC Wi-Fi networks designed to provide cheap internet access across cities and towns have got off to a bumpy start in the US.
Local governments are setting up municipal wireless networks, partly as a way of bridging the digital divide by offering cheap or even free internet access to low-income families (New Scientist, 28 March 2006, p 28).
Nearly 200 local governments in the US now run wireless networks, with another 195 planned, according to MuniWireless, a firm that tracks industry trends. Yet only 88 of those built so far serve their entire community, with 63 operating in limited hotspots and 39 used only by government agencies. Delays in setting up the networks are common.
In San Francisco, for example, a network due to be installed by Google and internet service provider Earthlink remains on hold pending a July hearing before the city’s board of supervisors, two years after the city first asked for bids. The network has become the subject of a battle of wills between the city’s mayor and board, delaying its installation, which was due to begin this year.
While the problems in San Francisco are largely political, many networks have encountered basic technical difficulties. Wi-Fi signals can be blocked by buildings and trees, so developers have found that they need around double the number of antennas per square-kilometre that they originally planned for to ensure adequate coverage, says Ash Dyer, wireless network programme manager for Cambridge, Massachusetts, which is running two pilot projects with a view to installing a city-wide network. This has led to time-consuming network redesigns.
Many networks have encountered basic technical difficulties
The most ambitious city-wide scheme, Wireless Philadelphia, has lagged behind schedule thanks to a series of redesigns and extensive negotiations with the local power company over the use of their poles to site antennas. The network was originally due to be completed in 2006, but so far only a 39-square-kilometre pilot zone serving 300,000 households and businesses has been built. The results of this pilot were approved by city officials last month, and developer Earthlink is beginning to install equipment across the remaining 311 square kilometres of the city. It hopes to complete the network by the end of the year, when it will be able to start recouping its costs by selling internet access for $21.95 a month. Low-income families will pay just $9.95 and access will be free at some public spaces.
Even completed networks are struggling to meet user expectations, however. Most people want to connect to the internet in their homes and offices, but indoor reception is patchy, as building materials such as concrete attenuate radio signals. In Cambridge, residents who want reliable indoor coverage will need to buy a $50-receiver.
Bandwidth is also limited to 3 megabits per second or less in most systems. This means a few people using bandwidth-hungry video websites such as Joost will place a heavy burden on the network, slowing the service for everyone else. “My 15-year-old can suck up 5 megabits per second all by himself,” Ken DiPietro of telecommunications firm NextGen Communications, based in Maryland, told a conference on municipal wireless networks near Boston earlier this month.
Higher-speed wireless networks would cost more, but DiPietro predicts they will attract more paying customers, which some municipal wireless networks are struggling to do. Lower-speed networks will quickly become obsolete, he says.