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.
We've seen more attention paid to WiMax over the past few months, and with industry biggies like Intel, Motorola, and Clearwire clearly attempting to put their stamps on the marketplace, it looks like a clear alternative to WiFi is on the way.
In areas such as Portland, Oregon and Seattle, Washington, WiMax is the focus of quite a bit of development and deployment. Clearwire has made WiMax available in parts of Oregon and Washington, as well as various other markets around the country. If all proves well, we will certainly see a wide-spread offering of service, and we also will see other vendors getting into the mix.
While the development of both fixed and mobile versions of the WiMax spec still need some tweaking, the fact of the matter is that 2007 should shape up to be a very good year for the technology.
Here's a strange story that will give you pause. A 59-year-old California man is being hospitalized with second- and third-degree burns after his cellphone suddenly ignited in his pants pocket while he was staying in a hotel.
The man was found lying on the bathroom floor after the phone set fire to his nylon and polyester clothes and then the flames spread to a chair. Apparently, the room's sprinkler system activated quickly and kept the fire from spreading.
There was no word as to the make and model of the cellphone. Of course, this is an isolated incident, but you just never know, and it might be wise for us to check and make sure our cellphone's are in good working order and it may also be beneficial to turn them off every now and then.
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.
Yahoo announced yesterday at CES in Las Vegas it will be releasing its Go for Mobile 2.0 mobile phone data service, intended to deliver information such as news, stock quotes, and weather to cellphones.
The company believes the mobile phone data services market will experience signficant growth in the next few years, and it felt that it had to make the commitment now before the competition gets stiffer. The software is designed to match a user's settings, like ZIP code and stock preferences, on Yahoo's existing online services, and comes with an embedded search engine.
This is just another example of the growing phenomenon of cellphones being more than just a device to place and receive phone calls. Mobile phones are truly becoming a "one-stop shop" of communications.
I
n an attempt to broaden its portfolio of services, Vonage says they will be selling high-speed wireless internet access provided by EarthLink. Under the terms of a deal announced by the two companies, EarthLink will allow Vonage to offer access anywhere that EarthLink provides WiFi services.
EarthLink offers the same type of deal with other vendors, but with Vonage having such a high profile in the VoIP space, one could definitely see a scenario where Vonage will bundle phone and internet services in the very near future.
Although Vonage is clearly the market leader in VoIP services nationwide, the company has been struggling since their IPO didn't exactly set the world on fire last year. Will Vonage customers in locations where EarthLink is providing WiFi service, including Philadelphia, Anaheim, San Francisco, New Orleans, among others, opt for wireless internet access as well? Time will tell...
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!
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