Municipal wireless network

Municipal wireless network (Municipal Wi-Fi, Muni Wi-Fi or Muni-Fi) is the concept of turning an entire city into a Wireless Access Zone, with the ultimate goal of making wireless access to the Internet a universal service. This is usually done by providing municipal broadband via Wi-Fi to large parts or all of a municipal area by deploying a wireless mesh network. The typical deployment design uses hundreds of routers deployed outdoors, often on poles. The operator of the network acts as a wireless internet service provider.

Overview

A municipal Wi-Fi antenna in Minneapolis, Minnesota

Such networks go far beyond the existing piggybacking opportunities available near public libraries and some coffee shops. The basic premise of carpeting an area with wireless service in urban centers is that it is more economical to the community to provide the service as a utility rather than to have individual households and businesses pay private firms for such a service. Such networks are viewed as capable of enhancing city management and public safety, especially when used directly by city employees out in the field. They can also be viewed as a social service to those who cannot afford private high-speed services such as DSL. When the network service is free and a small number of clients consume a majority of the available capacity, operating and regulating the network might prove difficult.

The US Federal Trade Commission has expressed some concerns about such private/public partnerships as trending towards a franchise monopoly.

The technology to allow this continues to advance. In 2007, companies with existing cell sites offered competing paid high-speed wireless services where the laptop owner purchased a PC card or adapter which uses communications based on EV-DO cellular data receivers or WiMAX rather than 802.11b/g. High-end laptops in 2007 featured built-in support for these newer protocols. WiMAX is designed to implement a metropolitan area network (MAN) while 802.11 is designed to implement a wireless local area network (LAN).

Within the United States, providing a municipal wireless network is not officially recognized as a priority. Some have argued that the benefits of public approach may exceed the costs, similar to cable television.

Finance

The construction of such networks is a significant part of their lifetime costs. Usually, a private firm works closely with local government to construct such a network and operate it. Financing is usually shared by both the private firm and the municipal government. Once operational, the service may be free, supported by advertising, provided for a monthly charge per user or some combination. Among deployed networks, usage as measured by number of distinct users has been shown to be moderate to light. Private firms serving multiple cities sometimes maintain a single account for each user thus allowing the user a limited amount of portable service as they travel among the cities covered by the firm. As of 2007, some Muni WiFi deployments are delayed as the private and public partners involved in planned networks continue to negotiate the business model and financing.

In the build-out of such networks, radio communication is used both for the Wi-Fi service and for the "backhaul" or pathway to the Internet. This means that the nodes only need a wire for power (hence the habit of installing them on power and light utility poles). This "all radio" approach means that nodes must be within range of each other and form a contiguous pathway back to special aggregation nodes that have more traditional access to the Internet. Nodes then relay traffic, somewhat like a fire-bucket brigade, from the laptop to the aggregation node. This limits the way in which the network can be grown incrementally: coverage starts near the aggregation point and, as the mesh grows, new coverage can only grow out from the edge of the mesh. If a new, isolated area is to be covered, then a new aggregation point must be constructed. Private firms often take a phased approach, starting with one or a few sectors of a city to demonstrate competence before making the larger investment of attempting full coverage of a city.

Google WiFi is entirely funded by Google. Despite a failed attempt to provide citywide WiFi through a partnership with internet service provider Earthlink in 2007, the company claims that they are currently working to provide a wireless network for the city of San Francisco, California, although there is no specified completion date. Some other projects that are still in the planning stages have pared back their planned coverage from 100% of a municipal area to only densely commercially zoned areas. One of the most ambitious planned projects is to provide wireless service throughout Silicon Valley, but the winner of the bid seems ready to request that the 40 cities involved help cover more of the cost which has raised concerns that the project will ultimately be too slow-to-market to be deemed a success. Advances in technology in 2005-2007 may allow wireless community network projects to offer a viable alternative. Such projects have an advantage that as they do not have to negotiate with government entities they have no contractual obligations for coverage. A promising example is Meraki's demonstration in San Francisco, which already claims 20,000 distinct users as of October 2007.

In 2009, Microsoft and Yahoo also provided free wireless to select regions in the United States. Yahoo’s free WiFi was made available for one full year to the Times Square area in New York City beginning November 10, 2009. Microsoft made free WiFi available to select airports and hotels across the United States, in exchange for one search on the Bing search engine by the user.

Potential externalities

Unintended externalities are possible as a result of local governments providing Internet service to their constituents. A private service provider could choose to offer limited or no service to a region if that region’s largest city opted to provide free Internet service, thus eliminating the potential customer base. This could prevent other municipalities in that region from benefiting from the services of the private provider. The smaller municipalities would at the same time not benefit from the free service provided by the larger city. Overuse could be another issue. If usage of the publicly provided network became heavier than existing private options network overload issues could arise, forcing the municipality to invest more heavily, thus spending more revenue, on infrastructure to maintain the existing level of service. This issue could be compounded if private providers begin exiting a market as mentioned above.

Cities with municipal wi-fi

Existing

Africa

• Luxor, Egypt - pilot, paid service - tourist areas, TE Data

Asia

• Malang City, Indonesia - Indoken Wireless, Fastest growing Wisp in Malang City. People choice rated best. Offering roaming connectivity. T-Fi Beta offers connectivity on Public transportation. Free access at resource centers.
• Balanga City, Bataan, Philippines - free, limited to downtown and several tourist attractions only
• Bangkok, Thailand - free service for Bangkok Citizen. Service provided by True Corporation.
• Calbayog City, Samar, Philippines (downtown area only)
• Greater Noida, Noida, India — Paid, operated by Maksat Technologies (P) Ltd, Local ISP.
• Bangalore, India - Free. Covers M.G. Road and Brigade Road.
• Hong Kong - Most are subscribed, paid services, but free service in selected governmental facilities is also available
• Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia - free, Wireless@KL - Covering major commercial areas.
• Penang, Malaysia - Named Penang Free Wi-Fi, it started in 2009, currently the Wi-fi service has covered some commercial spots in the state, mostly on Penang Island.
• Sharm el-Sheikh, Egypt - pilot, paid service, tourist areas, EgyNet
• Singapore, Singapore - free/paid, Wireless@SG
• Taipei, Taiwan - free service "Taipei Free Public Wi-Fi" and paid service 'Wifly' by Q-Ware Communications, Inc.
• New Taipei, Taiwan - free service in specific public areas in the City, including indoor public services areas, hospitals, and libraries.

Europe

• Chisinau Moldova - paid service, by ITNS company. Covers almost all the city of Chisinau, it is expanding to cover more towns in Republic of Moldova.
• Bologna Italy - free, limited to three hours a day, hotspots in historical city center and around
• Blackpool, UK - free, 1.6 km area around city centre Wireless Blackpool - Wireless Blackpool Leaflet
• Brasov, Romania - free wifi over the entire city deployed into existing 5G network by worldwifizone.com of Ireland, over 40,000 daily users at peak. Facebook login.
• Bristol, UK - free, 3 km area around city centre
• Dublin, Ireland - free wifi in certain areas of city centre. More areas to be rolled out soon. At the moment free wifi is available beside the Dublin City Council Civic Offices, at Wood Quay, at City Hall and at St Patrick's Cathedral.
• Geneva, Switzerland - free, city-operated
• Heraklion, Greece - free, city-operated network, covers major city squares and roads with over 80 access points.
• Lagkadas, Greece - free, city-operated, covers almost all the city of Lagkadas, it is expanding to cover more towns in Lagkadas municipality.
• Leiden, Netherlands - free, community project covering city and region Wireless Leiden
• Liverpool, UK - paid service, covering central areas.
• Luxembourg, Luxembourg—paid, currently covering downtown and Central Station Hotcity
• Kaunas, Lithuania - free, in represental street of the city.
• Moralzarzal, Spain - free for inscribed citizens, limited time for visitors.
• Moscow, Russia - paid service, Golden Telecom
• Newcastle, County Down, Northern Ireland, UK
• Norwich, England - free, city center and university, 18-month pilot Openlink (Norwich,UK)
• Oulu, Finland - free - panOULU
• Paris, France - free in many parks and in municipal libraries, museums, and public places (7 AM to 11 PM or opening hours, renewable 2-hour sessions)
• Roman, Romania - free, deployed by Minisoft Romania as part of MetroWireless free internet access project, paid by advertisements, covers much of the city, expanding to nearby villages
• Rzeszów, Poland - free, city-operated, with hot-spots located on public schools participating in the project
• Tallinn, Estonia - free Wifi covers not only the capital city Talinn, but most of the entire country, [as of 2011] thanks to the Tiigrihüpe (Tiger Leap) project.
• Rakvere, Estonia - free, city-operated
• Trondheim, Norway, paid/free network in city centre
• Vatra Dornei, Romania, 85% of city covered with free wifi deployed by worldwifizone.com using free guest user and Facebook connect.
• Venice, Italy, free to residents and city users, network of hotspots in historical city centre and mainland
• Vienna, Austria - free service in the Vienna International Airport
• Wrocław, Poland - free service Miejski Internet, in few places, renewable 1-hour sessions
• Zrenjanin, Serbia - free, city center only

North America

Canada

• Iqaluit, Nunavut - Community Free Access and Paid Service provided by Meshnet, and service of mnemonics.ca
• Calgary, Alberta - paid service operated by WestNet Wireless, first City Wi-Fi in Canada
• Cambridge, Ontario - paid service provided by Atria Networks for various locations throughout Waterloo Region, free at Central Public Library.
• Fredericton, New Brunswick - free, Fred-e Zone
• Kitchener, Ontario - paid service provided by Atria Networks for locations throughout Waterloo Region, free at Kitchener Public Library branches.
• London, Ontario - free (pilot project) on Dundas Street, provided by London Downtown Business Association
• Mississauga, Ontario - free, Wireless access at Mississauga Libraries, Community Centres and Arenas
• Moncton, New Brunswick - free, Service provided by Red Ball Internet of Moncton. Wireless access available at Arenas and Moncton's Public Library. It was also the first city in Canada to provide wireless internet on its public transportation fleet.
• Montreal, Quebec - free, community supported Ilesansfil
• Moose Jaw, Saskatchewan - free, city center and campus
• Prince Albert, Saskatchewan - free, city center and campus
• Quebec, Quebec - free, community supported ZAP Quebec
• Regina, Saskatchewan - free, city center and campus
• Saskatoon, Saskatchewan - free, city center and campus
• Sherbrooke, Québec - free, limited to downtown, provided by ZAP Sherbrooke
• Shawinigan, Quebec - free service, limited to downtown. City-operated.
• Toronto, Ontario - free service provided by Wireless Toronto and the Toronto Public Library system for locations throughout the Greater Toronto Area; paid service from Toronto Hydro's One Zone.
• Waterloo, Ontario - paid service provided by Atria Networks for locations throughout Waterloo Region, free at Waterloo Public Library branches.

United States

• Arcata, California
• Akron, Ohio SSID: "ConnectAkron"
• Albany, New York Albanyfreenet
• Amherst, Massachusetts - free service in downtown area
• Anderson, Indiana Anderson WiFi
• Bethany Beach, Delaware Beach and Boardwalk free WiFi
• Binghamton, New York - free service,
• Boston, Massachusetts & Brookline, Massachusetts - paid, Galaxy Internet Services
• Cambridge, Massachusetts - free (pilot), through the Cambridge Public Internet (CPI) Initiative
• Charleston, South Carolina - free public wi-fi in Marion Square [10] by the [11]
• Clearwater Beach, Florida - free service,
• Corpus Christi, Texas - paid service, Earthlink
• Denver, Colorado - Free Wifi in Downtown Denver.
• Dublin, Ohio - City Wide Wifi.[HighSpeedAir.com]
• Elk Grove, California
• El Paso, Texas - Free Wifi in Downtown El Paso.
• Escondido, California - free service in downtown area and Public Library.
• Fenton, Michigan - free or paid service in downtown area and public parks, through Tri-County Wireless, Inc.
• Gahanna, Ohio- city wide coverage.[HighSpeedAir.com]
• Hattiesburg, Mississippi Free wifi in the downtown area of Front, Main and Pine Streets and the Oaks Cultural District.
• Hollywood, Florida - Johnson Controls, Sling Broadband Wimax deploy municipal Wi-Fi network for wireless automated meter reading (AMR), public safety and free Wi-Fi service for residents. Muni Wireless
• Houston, Texas - free service in downtown area and selected neighborhoods around the city; free service also available in all Houston Public Library and Harris County Public Library branches
• Honolulu, Hawaii - free, Tri-Net Solutions LLC
• Kennesaw, Georgia - free, City of Kennesaw WiFi - available in city parks and other areas [12]
• Kenosha, Wisconsin - Low Cost Paid WiFi located in Downtown Kenosha, service provided by Infinite Technologies LLC [13]
• Lawrence, Kansas - free, Lawrence Freenet, not-for-profit company that works in conjunction with the City of Lawrence and local internet providers [14]
• Linden, Michigan - free or paid service in downtown area and public parks, through Tri-County Wireless, Inc.
• Madison, Wisconsin - paid, only covers central part of city.
• Maywood, California - Free. Initially just the business corridors, now city-wide.
• Miami Beach, Florida - Free, covers most of the city outdoors.
• Minneapolis, Minnesota - paid, USI Wireless
• Mountain View, California - free - Google WiFi
• Newton, North Carolina - free, downtown area [15]
• Pacifica, California - paid service, PacificaNet
• Peachtree City, Georgia - free at two parks and the public library/City Hall plaza -
• Philadelphia, Pennsylvania - free service, recently transferred from Earthlink to a local company
• Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania - free downtown 2 hours per day
• Plattsmouth, Nebraska - free in all public buildings (Court House, Public Library, City Hall, Community Center) and Main Street
• Ponca City, Oklahoma - covers the whole city
• Powell, Ohio - Free, covers downtown
• Riverside, California-access via main street corridors
• Rochester, Minnesota - Downtown in Peace Plaza, near the Mayo Clinic and University of Minnesota Rochester\
• San Jose, California - Free in downtown area
• Santa Clara, California - Free, outdoors in most areas of the city
• Skokie, Illinois, - Downtown and park areas
• Southaven, Mississippi - paid service, city-operated, branded as Magnoliawave
• Spokane, Washington - two free hours/day, paid after.
• Statesville, North Carolina- free access
• Storrs, Connecticut - used for students of The University of Connecticut
• Springfield, Ohio - free, downtown and Clark State Community College campus
• The Dalles, Oregon - free, via Google grant to downtown and key event areas. City-operated.
• Winston-Salem, North Carolina - free, limited to downtown. City-operated: no technical support.
• Yazoo City, Mississippi - Paid network. Branded as Yazoo Wireless, Provided by CYTEC
• Yorktown, Indiana - Free, limited to downtown
• Ocala, Florida - Free, Downtown Square

Richardson, Texas - Free, Limited to city residents

In addition, a few U.S. states, such as Iowa, Massachusetts, and Texas offer free Wi-Fi service at welcome centers and roadside rest areas located along major Interstate highways.

Oceania

• Auckland, New Zealand - Citywide network based in all popular areas across Auckland including CBD and Waterfront [16] from Tomizone.
• Perth, Australia - paid, RoamAD-based metro wide coverage in the CBD by metromesh
• Taupo, New Zealand, paid/free large RoamAD-based zone in tourist area by Kordia Metro WiFi
• Hawke's Bay, New Zealand, prepaid access and free 1 hr daily, available at many locations region wide by NOW
• Wellington, New Zealand - Free Wifi at the Waterfront, CBD & Airport

South America

• Aparecida, Brazil Free service
• Belo Horizonte, Brazil
• La Plata, Argentina - free, city center only
• Buenos Aires, Argentina - free, without registration, 120 spots for all over the city
• Sud Mennucci, Brazil—free, limited to downtown. City-operated.

Planned

Africa

• Stellenbosch, South Africa Free service. Town centre online since February 25, 2012. Coverage to be increased to whole town.

Asia

• Ha Long, Vietnam
• Hoi An, Vietnam
• Da Nang, Vietnam
• Tel Aviv Downtown and later north part as well.
• Makati, Philippines

Europe

• Swindon, Wiltshire, UK
• Leicester, UK
• London, UK (London Underground)

North America

• Mexico City, Mexico free, coupled with new surveillance system (planned 2008)
• Panama
• Tecumseh, Ontario

United States

• Cleveland, Ohio - Wireless will cover Ward 13 of the Old Brooklyn Neighborhood
• Milwaukee, Wisconsin - paid service, Midwest Fiber Networks, target date: March 2008
• Oakland County, Michigan - free 128 kbit/s, paid for high speed, Wireless Oakland
• Sacramento, California
• Silicon Valley, California Joint Venture Wireless Project - free, prototyped for Palo Alto and San Carlos by 2008, Silicon Valley Metro Connect.
• St. Louis Park, Minnesota - Set up, but not yet deployed due to contracting disputes.
• Tampa, Florida - Tampabayconnect.net
• Waukesha, Wisconsin

Oceania

• Brisbane, Australia

South America

• Jacareí, Brazil
• São José dos Campos, Brazil
• São Paulo, Brazil

Canceled or Closed

• Chicago, Illinois, United States
• Charleston, South Carolina, United States (on hold)
• Dublin, Ireland
• Groningen, Netherlands - Municipal Wireless network with open service model, covering entire city, first parts operational, 2010-2012 expanding to 54sq km
• MetroFi - free with advertisements, deployed to 10 cities in the western United States, closed in 2008
• Milwaukee, Wisconsin - paid service, Midwest Fiber Networks, target date: March 2008
• New Orleans, Louisiana, United States
• Parramatta, Australia
• Portland, Oregon, United States
• Puerto Montt, Chile
• San Francisco, California, United States
• Sydney, Australia
• Tempe, Arizona - paid service, Kite Networks
• Dubrovnik, Croatia - closed when the new major took over

See also

• Switched mesh
• Wireless community network
• Municipal broadband
• List of deployed WiMAX networks
• Implementing public WiFi at a fraction of the cost of deploying “carrier-grade” systems

External links

• How Municipal WiFi Works at HowStuffWorks
• MuniWireless