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Municipal WiFi Moves Ahead In Houston

Posted by kdawson on Tue Mar 25, 2008 05:53 PM
from the right-model-this-time dept.
Wireless Networking Government Hardware News
Highlander404 sends word of one city that is bucking the trend of failing city Wi-Fi projects: Houston is investing most of the $5 million Earthlink paid to get out of its muni Wi-Fi contract to build out 10 free wireless network "bubbles" in low-income parts of the city. Access points will be in city-owned facilities to keep costs down. Houston's mayor said that over the long term the bubbles could be connected and the areas between them added to the network. The activation of the first of these zones was announced Monday. Upload and download speeds are said to be 3 Mbps.
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[+] ISPs Losing Interest In Citywide Wireless Coverage 98 comments
The New York Times is running a story about how hope is fading for the implementation of municipal wireless access in cities across the US. Major cities and small towns alike are finding that ISPs are withdrawing from such plans due to the low profitability of ventures that are similar to Philadelphia's incomplete network. We've previously discussed Chicago's and San Francisco's wireless status, and also some of the stumbling blocks other cities have faced. From the Times: "In Tempe, Ariz., and Portland, Ore., for example, hundreds of subscribers have found themselves suddenly without service as providers have cut their losses and either abandoned their networks or stopped expanding capacity. EarthLink announced on Feb. 7 that 'the operations of the municipal Wi-Fi assets were no longer consistent with the company's strategic direction.' Philadelphia officials say they are not sure when or if the promised network will now be completed."
Firehose:Municipal WiFi Moves Ahead in Houston by Highlander404 (1070140)
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  • Not that failing (Score:3, Informative)

    by steveo777 (183629) on Tuesday March 25 2008, @06:03PM (#22863502) Homepage Journal
    We have it in Minneapolis [minneapolis.mn.us]. I'm not a subscriber but there is presence pretty much anywhere?
  • I hope this works better than Houston's attempt to create their own office suite [usatoday.com], the only notable result of which was a full week of Daily WTF stories on its creation.

    • Re:Hmmm.... (Score:4, Interesting)

      by Otter (3800) on Tuesday March 25 2008, @06:12PM (#22863594) Journal
      Sorry, here's the first entry in the DailyWTF series [thedailywtf.com]. Be sure to read through to the part where the business plan evolves to strapping a laptop, solar cell and satellite dish to a donkey and sending it through rural India!
  • What happens when, just like the .com and housing ones, this bubble bursts? $3.5 million down the drain, that's what.

    • Re:More bubbles? (Score:4, Insightful)

      by penix1 (722987) on Tuesday March 25 2008, @10:41PM (#22865550) Homepage

      What happens when, just like the .com and housing ones, this bubble bursts? $3.5 million down the drain, that's what.


      I don't think so. This is going into areas where the broadband providers don't tread. From TFS:

      Houston is investing most of the $5 million Earthlink paid to get out of its muni Wi-Fi contract to build out 10 free wireless network "bubbles" in low-income parts of the city.


      Houston is doing what all governments do. It is providing services it sees as necessary that the private sector can't or won't do. It's funny how when a community decides to provide a service the private sector may be in they scream foul but when that service becomes unprofitable they want out as fast as possible. The question is what other consessions did Earthlink get out of Houston? A company willing to pay $$$ to get out of a contract has done the bean counting before signing and you can bet your bottom dollar that those beans fall in Earthlink's favor.
  • someone is paying for it, be it other earthnet customers or the taxpayers

    • Re: (Score:3, Insightful)

      by ribit (952003)
      OK.. "Free at the point of need or provision" We need more of these, partly to combat the silly ideas of those that would try to make it a crime to 'attempt to join an open network'

      • Re: (Score:3, Informative)

        by YrWrstNtmr (564987)
        partly to combat the silly ideas of those that would try to make it a crime to 'attempt to join an open network'

        Joining a network that is financed, designed, and built to be open from the start is very different than joining a random 'open' residential network. No matter how the protocol of two computers asking and granting each other access really works.
    • No Shit.

      Everyone knowa that, you are not being witty, informative or intelligent by pointing it out.

    • Re: (Score:2, Interesting)

      by Teflon_Jeff (1221290)
      Of course, everything has to be paid for. In this case, Earthlink is paying for it out of their profits. Which means their customers are paying for it. Which means their employers are paying for it... and so on. But it is free to the users, for now. It'll be interesting how it develops from here though.

  • Muni WiFi isn't one-size-fits-all... (Score:4, Interesting)

    by bennomatic (691188) on Tuesday March 25 2008, @07:39PM (#22864370) Homepage
    ...and it shouldn't have to be. I think it's a great idea to build out some of that infrastructure, but anyone who thinks it's going to bring full bandwidth to the masses has another think coming. But I have an idea to get businesses to provide this sort of service for "free". Feel free to implement, sell, and tell me your success stories. First, you'd need an easy-to-administrate wireless access point which allows businesses to customize the "Welcome" page, but has few other configurable options. Then you'd need to convince businesses that it's worthwhile for them to get DSL/Cable and run one of your wireless access points in their front window. The customizable "Welcome" page could just be a "digital billboard", saying, "This Internet session courtesy of Blah Blah, incorporated. Come in for a free home loan analysis." Or $0.50 off a mocha. Or something. Then let the user roam free on the net, maybe asking for their contact info first for later mailers if they want to get coupons. This could be extended to almost any fixed structure. Make the system weather-proof, and you could sell the idea to the businesses that advertise on billboards, so that anyone near such a billboard would get free Internet access after being notified of the advertiser's presence, maybe offered something special for calling the number on the billboard. Even newspaper kiosks could offer web access, if they're nailed down and wired appropriately. That way, people who are pulling out their iPhones to check movie listings or look up the weather could get that information from LocalPaper.com's site before moving on to the full-blown Internet. Just an idea, but I think it'd be a good way to profitably get Internet access points freely available, at least to high-traffic business districts. Then let the city build out to other areas; maybe start in less affluent areas where even slow access to the Internet for free would be a great benefit for those who can't afford $25.00/month for DSL.
    • As long as the ad was a single page and was simple to dismiss, that would work VERY well. I have to go through about 3 pages at Panera to use their free wi-fi. It's annoying. But I use it because it's free. So maybe My point isn't that valid after all.
      • Yeah, I'm with you on the single-page thing. There's a point where you're willing to suffer it (2-3 pages), and a point where you get left with the feeling of, "wow, that's cool." I think 1 page would probably make more customers for a lot of businesses.
        And considering these'll probably be people with hand-held (i.e. iphone) devices, they probably have some money to spend. Unless, of course, they've spent it all on their iphone.
  • The city bus costs $1.50. Gas $3.59 a gallon. Milk $2.50.

    Families are dependent on the food bank, minimum wage jobs, welfare and SSI benefits . The Medicaid co-pay on a prescription drug is $3.00. Who among them can afford a computer?

    • Who among them can afford a computer?

      A lot more than you might think. I personally have given 8-10 laptops and PC's to families that would otherwise not have one. And in the grand scheme of things, $300 is doable for a lot of people. Everyone doesn't really need that $2500 gaming rig. Friend/family/corporate castoffs work quite well.

      • The cost of getting a computer is fixed. As a one time expense, it is something even a poor family can save up for. Sure, $200 for a crappy laptop and wifi card make take some saving up, but that is something that can be managed. A monthly cost of $35 (if they're very lucky) for broadband that only works at home is not an appealing proposition if you're barely scraping by. If you look at it as a two year investment, that is $8.50/month vs. $43.50/month.

        The laptop also has the benefits of being able to help

  • You'd think they'd LEARN from Earthlink's bailing (Score:5, Insightful)

    by penguin_dance (536599) on Tuesday March 25 2008, @09:29PM (#22865170)
    As a native Houstonian, so I think I can speak knowledgeably about this. The fact that Earthlink was willing to cough up $5 million to get out of a contract should tell you something. Obviously they realized this would be money losing proposition. Unfortunately, trust Houston to ignore the problems in other cities and plow ahead anyway. And yes, Earthlink defaulted, but that money now belongs to the taxpayers. It could be MUCH better used--such as hiring more police and fire personnel--than handing out "free" access at taxpayer expense.

    Putting these bubbles in "low income" areas makes absolutely no sense, unless they plan to also put in computers or some sort of cybercafe. Most of the people living there are not going to be sporting lap tops. And if they have a computer they're unlikely to have a wireless modem. They'll expect to be given one for free though. These are not nice parts of town. I used to live (briefly) not far from area highlighted on the map in the story. If you stand outside at night (not advisable), you very often hear gunfire. A murdered prostitute was found in the field across from the condos I lived in. Lots of drug dealing. This is not indicative of Houston--it has plenty good areas. I make this point in that if they do set up any sort of computer kiosk places in areas like this, it's going to have to have 24 hour security.

    Most of the people taking advantage of this are going to be small-medium businesses who will be milking the free bandwidth, not lower income families. Houston libraries already have computers and internet access, this will give others the ability to bring their own computer--but again, I wouldn't in these areas of town. I think this is going to be a colossal waste of tax payer money.

    • 1 bubble != 1 access point (Score:5, Informative)

      by langelgjm (860756) on Tuesday March 25 2008, @06:06PM (#22863534) Journal

      So 10 access points costs $5M....I want to be the guy who gets paid to install those...

      From TFA: "Each bubble will include about 15 public access points at schools, city facilities and community organizations within the area."

      Also, it's not $5 million, it's $3.5 million: "The company had to pay the city $5 million after defaulting on a contract to build a citywide wireless Internet network last year. On Monday, Mayor Bill White announced the city will use about $3.5 million of that money to build 10 free wireless network "bubbles" in low-income parts of Houston to give residents access they otherwise might do without." And I'm sure that money includes more than just the access point: think all the infrastructure, etc. to support them.

      • Yeah I figured that, but a) reading the article and b) using facts prevents you from not only making a first post, but also being witty about it.

      • Re: (Score:2, Informative)

        by martinw89 (1229324)
        Yeah, maintaining bubbles like these can be quite expensive. I work in the IT department of Housing at my university. An ill-planned Mesh Network project for family/graduate housing has shown that maintaining these networks is more costly than just sticking in an access point. Each access point has to be able to support the bandwidth of many users, not just extend the signal to them. I'd imagine the Houston project required a good amount of fiber as well as very load capable access points.

        • Re: (Score:3, Interesting)

          by el americano (799629)
          You don't need fiber for 15 access points. The total equipment cost on this would be a small fraction of that money, and much of the hardware is being donated by Hewlett-Packard, Microsoft, Verizon Wireless and Tropos Networks. They must be holding back the money to pay for operating costs, like network management and internet access.

          What is a "load capable access point", btw? One 11n Wi-Fi radio has about the same load capacity as any other. It's a zero sum game with the available bandwidth. If you want mo

      • Re: (Score:3, Insightful)

        by Qwavel (733416)
        Actually, I find the cost of some of these muni-wifi projects to be incredibly low.

        When you compare these costs to the billions being spent to roll out 3+G networks they are peanuts.
        • Do you mean cost per user reachable by the network ? Or cost per sq mile covered ?

          Assuming those 10 bubbles reach 1/3 of houston population (2.1M/3=700K), thats $5 per person. (Note that with 15 AP per buble thats about 4666 customer per AP... so i might be overestimating the number of people reached here...)

          Based on that rate alone the cost to reach the 293M people that ATT covers in the US today would be almost $1.5B

          I have no idea how many billions they are spending, (maybe they are spending $15B , not $

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