ComEd stalls progress of network in Aurora, Ill.

Aurora, Ill.’s muni Wi-Fi network is running behind schedule due to ComEd’s foot-dragging on pole attachment agreements with MetroFi, the company deploying the network. Chances are, the city will miss its September target date for completion.Aurora, Ill.’s muni Wi-Fi network is running behind schedule due to ComEd’s foot-dragging on pole attachment agreements with MetroFi, the company deploying the network. Chances are, the city will miss its September target date for completion.

This echoes the situation in California where the Diamond Bar deployment was delayed for more than a year when Southern California Edison (SCE) demanded excessive per-attachment fees.

The muni Wi-Fi network in Aurora, Ill., already eight months under construction, is likely to miss its September target date for completion, largely because of stalled negotiations with ComEd over rights to use their poles to mount antennas needed for the network.

The good news is that these things can be worked out. SCE has proposed a new tariff schedule that would allow municipalities free access to poles with capacity to power the antennas. The bad news is that in California it took a year to get there.

In Aurora, MetroFi faces the prospect of having to rent space on several hundred poles in order to complete the deployment. Half of the 160 antennas installed in the deployment are now operating but they cover only about 20 percent of the city and some 600 to 900 antennas are needed to take coverage city-wide.

According to a story in the Aurora Beacon News, negotiations with ComEd have stalled and “despite more than a year of talks, that rental agreement has been elusive.”

MetroFi has agreed not to pass pole rental costs on to the city and, since the company shares no anchor tenancy agreement with Aurora, the pole attachment costs represent a major hurdle in the business model for the network. MetroFi’s agreement with Aurora calls for free service to the community, supported by advertising and fees from expanded service. The city is evidently considering public safety applications, including the use of video cameras in high-crime areas, but has made no commitment to proceed.

Click here to read the Beacon News story.