I have considerable experience with Wireless ISP but not much in muniwireless if by that we mean Municipal coverage using WiFi. We need to evaluate the article through an historical perspective. 10 years ago, cellular had worse coverage. One could arguably advance that to this day there are numerous areas , even in large cities where the coverage is far from adequate.
WiFi will get better, just realize how much progress there has been in mesh technology… We have not seen the end of the progress in this sector. Meanwhile the cost of WiFi networks keeps falling. WiFI has become a viable means of last mile Broadband transmission.

I do not have a crystal ball but I would not bet against WiFi and municipal WiFi.. notwithstanding Business Street and maybe Wall Street negtative views on the sector…

I got in touch with some people over at EarthLink and they shared some new info with me. They were also able to fix that phone number on the web site. It looks like they have listened to the criticism from people like us and are taking action.

They will now be offering reduced rates on their basic plan and have added another tier to their service. The new Extreme plan will be 3/1mbps which is a lot more competitive with other broadband options. It will be an interesting year for sure, but it really looks like EarthLink is serious about being the leader in this new industry and has placed the right people behind it.

The Hospitality broadband market began with completely different models than what we see today. Originally it was a revenue share model where the ISP funded the whole deployment (sounds like EarthLink doesn’t it?) When Holiday Inn (normally late with trends) jumped in with a coporate mandate for free WiFi, it sent a trigger rippling through the market (sounds like St.Cloud-FL, Boston-MA, Maywood-CA?)

Now the Hospitality WiFi market is migrating revenue share agreements into network management contracts. Most hotels offer free WiFi or risk losing occupancy revenues. Hoteliers have also shifted towards network ownership.

The Hospitality broadband market was not without its failures and model shifts. Darwin Networks comes to mind (over $120M in VC funding.) They were unable to endure the shift from build-it-and-they-will-come to the current model (“anchor tenancy”). Their failure was only slightly impacting to the market.

Municipal Wireless is following the same trend. It’s inevitable. Variations to the model are changing. The real question comes in the form of just how fast Municipal budgets are willing to support the change from receiving to spending.

You make an excellent point, Marty, about not drinking out own Kool-Aid. My remarks weren‚Äôt meant to candy-coat the challenges of municipal deployments so much as take to task BW’s headline and its implication that one writer’s problems in one cafe in one city is evidence that the muni model has failed. Certainly, EarthLink is motivated to make the technology work (although I wouldn‚Äôt say they‚Äôre more motivated than others that has a significant stake in the market).

The problem with headlines that declare Muni Wi-fi “a failure to communicate” is that, in popular parlance, Muni Wi-Fi has come to describe any wireless data network commissioned by a municipality for reasons ranging from public safety to offering low-cost alternatives to retail broadband. As you say, every deployment is different and has its own set of challenges. Headlines that indict the industry under such a wide brush miss that point. But I don’t think we drink our own Kool-Aid in calling this a “vibrant” industry. The number of players is small but the market is large and extremely active. Hardly a week passes (sometimes hardly a day) that we don’t see another city issue an RFP.

In short what our users are doing today on their wired broadband services will be required of our Portable and or mobile services, otherwise they will seek other wireless solutions.

Do I hear Fiber (100Mbps+)as Gateways to these Networks??

Unfortunately I agree that one of the big draw backs to this industry and its future success is the lack of capable Network Providers-those who design, deploy and operate these Metro Networks. The question I have here is are they selecting the right technologies to address this market??

Jacomo

Well I dug around on EarthLink’s website some today. They have new rates listed at $6.95 per month (for only 6 months) instead of the 17.95 I have seen listed before.

They have a phone number on their site to sign up for service (1-800-433-WIFI). I tried calling it, but actually got a porn service. Hmmm.

Corpus Christi is still listed as coming soon.

I contact the live chat support and was given a new phone number. 1-800-327-8454. This took me to EarthLink sales where they tried to sign me up for dialup internet. I asked about the WiFi service and was told they are still “upgrading” it. I asked if they had any ETA, but they could only offer to email me when service became available.

Neither person I spoke with was too concerned that their website has a phone number for a porn service.

You can see the site below.

http://www.earthlink.net/wifi/

How large is the market for mobile and outdoor solutions is. I keep seeing it suggested as a solution to an alleged problem if reading parking meters and utility meters. Is that true? What else?

For Police and Fire, wouldn’t a cellular data connection be more reliable?

EarthLink has put a huge stake in the ground for Muni-Wifi – if they can’t pull it off with success, it seems reasonable to question if anyone can.

Also the Time Warner FON deal is for an indoor based router like you can buy at the store today – not the outdoor to indoor Muni-Wifi solution.

And the Sprint/Nextel/Comcast Wimax solution is on bands that don’t have the same penetration issues as WiFi.