I announced at my conference last week in San Francisco that I am partnering with Microcast to take Muniwireless to the next stage. This means more (and better) reports, regional conferences, databases and newsletters. I announced at my conference last week in San Francisco that I am partnering with Microcast to take Muniwireless to the next stage. This means more (and better) reports, regional conferences, databases and newsletters.
Until recently I’ve been running the website by myself, mostly in my pajamas. But given how many cities are deploying citywide networks and the applications that are starting to come to market, I need partners to help me bring timely information to you in a variety of formats (conferences, webcasts, newsletters, online publication).
I won’t be going away and I will continue to answer all my emails. It’s just that I have had too much work and feel that I am not paying enough attention to what I do best: write articles and reports, talk to people about their projects, and help them out in anyway I can.
How I met Microcast
Here’s the story of how I met Microcast. Last April, I was sitting in a laundromat in the Castro district of San Francisco waiting for the dryer spin cycle to end. I saw the San Francisco Examiner next to me on the bench and out of boredom, I picked it up and began to read it. (Note to non-San Franciscans: the SF Examiner isn’t the kind of paper that wins Pulitzer prizes every year.) Buried somewhere in the paper was a tiny article that attracted my attention. It was a press release of Microcast, announcing that it was “open for business” and describing what kind of business it was.
I tore out the article (about the same time the dryer spin cycle ended), stuffed my laundry into the basket and ran back to the apartment. When I arrived, I dashed into the living room waving this little piece of paper in front of my husband and told him that I had to meet Microcast because they were exactly the people I needed for Muniwireless.
I did a Google search and found a one-page website with their “info at microcast” email address. I fired off an email and got a reply back from Al Perlman who informed me that, lucky for me, Gary lived in San Francisco and that I should meet him. I did meet Gary a few days after the laundromat discovery and felt immediately that I could work well with them.
My instincts proved correct. They did a terrific job helping me make the first conference a success and assisting me in writing and distributing the market report. Now the real fun starts.
Our official press release
SAN FRANCISCO–(BUSINESS WIRE)–Oct. 6, 2005–Esme Vos, founder of Muniwireless.com, and Microcast Communications Inc. today announced the formation of Muniwireless LLC, a joint venture company devoted to building world-class media and information products for the rapidly growing municipal wireless market.
Muniwireless LLC will expand upon the Muniwireless.com Web site that Vos created two years ago, offering a wide range of additional media products, including conferences, seminars, research, databases and more. Vos and Microcast have already collaborated on their first conference, Muniwireless 2005: San Francisco, which drew over 300 participants, and was supported by over 20 sponsors and exhibitors. In addition, they released last week the 2005 Municipal Wireless State of the Market Report, which is already being widely acclaimed.
Muniwireless.com is the premier site for news and information about the emerging municipal wireless market. Microcast is a year-old media company founded by veteran technology publishing professionals Al Perlman, Gary A. Bolles and Mike Perkowski.
“I’ve been part of the municipal wireless market from its infancy, and have watched it grow into an industry that has the potential to change the world,” Vos said. “The team at Microcast offers the experience and talents to build upon what I’ve started, creating a broader range of media products and services to better serve the community as it expands.”
In addition to Muniwireless 2005: San Francisco and the 2005 Municipal Wireless State of the Market Report, Muniwireless LLC plans to offer a broad range of products and services, including:
(1) Three additional conferences in the United States during 2006: One in the Southeast, another in Washington D.C., and a third back in San Francisco.
(2) A subsequent 2006 version of the Municipal Wireless State of the Market Report.
(3) A comprehensive database product that will include RFPs issued across the muni wireless industry; directories of municipalities that have implemented muni wireless networks; vendor directories and other information relevant to all participants in the muni wireless market.
(4) Additional newsletters, Web seminars and custom executive roundtables for the muni wireless industry.
(5) Expansion of the Muniwireless.com Web site.
“We started Microcast with the belief that the future of media is in delivering targeted information in a variety of formats for tightly focused communities,” said Bolles. “Muniwireless.com has built a loyal constituency in a compelling market that will require additional information sources as it continues to grow. We are thrilled to be joining Esme on this exciting journey.”
About Muniwireless.com
Muniwireless.com is the premier information source for news, information and analysis of the municipal wireless market worldwide. It was started in mid-2003 by Esme Vos, who is now recognized as one of the foremost experts on the municipal wireless market. Municipalities come to the site to find out which cities are deploying wireless networks. They use Muniwireless.com to draft their RFPs and to research which vendors, service providers and systems integrators to consider. Financial institutions, analysts, investors and venture capitalists use the site to learn about the key players and key start-ups. Journalists rely on the site for research, and on Vos as the leading voice in this arena.
About Microcast Communications Inc.
Microcast Communications is a year-old media company started by veteran IT publishing professionals Gary A. Bolles, Al Perlman and Mike Perkowski. It is focused on building media products that provide targeted information in a variety of formats to small, focused and cohesive constituencies. Microcast customers include Google, Hewlett-Packard, Oracle, Nokia, Cisco, FiServ, Verizon Wireless and others.
About Muniwireless LLC
Muniwireless LLC is the new joint venture company created by Muniwireless.com and Microcast Communications. It is dedicated to creating world-class media products to serve the needs and interests of the rapidly growing municipal wireless industry.
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