A feasibility study conducted by Columbia Telecommunications Corporation (CTC), a consulting firm based in Maryland, for the city of Tucson, Arizona recommends that the city issue an RFP for a citywide Wi-Fi network, but that the RFP should balance the risk and reward offered to the winning bidder. The study also includes interesting statistics about broadband use in Tucson as well as the estimated costs of setting up a network.
A feasibility study conducted by Columbia Telecommunications Corporation (CTC), a consulting firm based in Maryland, for the city of Tucson, Arizona recommends that the city issue an RFP for a citywide Wi-Fi network, but that the RFP should balance the risk and reward offered to the winning bidder. The study also includes interesting statistics about broadband use in Tucson, as well as the costs of deploying a network.
CTC recommends that in the long term, Tucson should consider fiber and other wireless technologies to meet the requirements of the local government, residents and businesses:
“A combination of wireless, fiber, and other connectivity technologies are required to meet the entire breadth of private and public connectivity needs. Obtaining a City-wide WiFi network is just a start — not the ending. We strongly recommend that the City of Tucson view the WiFi effort as a necessary first step, then look at ways to embrace and encourage incremental steps toward fiber deployment to large business and institutions, then smaller business, and eventually to all households. Although wireless technologies will continue to evolve at a rapid pace, wireless will not replace fiber for delivering high-capacity circuits to fixed locations. In addition, fiber will always be a necessary component of any wireless network because it boosts capacity and speed.”
CTC criticizes some of the RFPs issued by other municipalities:
“When refining the requirements and obligations for the City of Tucson and the RFP respondents, it is critical to select an appropriate level of risk, degree of control, and the share of potential rewards. All too often we see RFPs distributed to the WiFi provider community asking for financial commitments, free service, and other obligations with little or nothing in return. For example, a recent RFP developed and distributed by a municipality asked potential providers to build a city-wide network. In the RFP, the city asked for and required the responses to:
¬ Offer a free service for a digital inclusion program.
-Provide funding for the digital inclusion program.
-Provide 100 percent geographic coverage in the community.
-Offer a $20 per month 1 Mbps Internet service to all residences and businesses.
-Provide free access for police, fire, and other public uses.
-Provide the city a percentage of subscription revenues received.
In return, the city offered to grant access to lamp posts and other assets for a monthly fee. Not surprisingly, no responses were received.”
CTC estimates that the total financing cost for a network with low density wireless access points (WAP) is $40 million, and a high density (WAP) deployment is $56 million.
Please download the CTC feasibility study from here.
I worked on the Philly Earthlink project, and this sounds like the same type of initial model they used. The difference is that Philly was not allowed to profit from subscriptions hence Earthlink owning the system.
Since then, we have come up with a new municipal model for a different city that encompasses municipality use and then offers other services for pay, not profit. Our new model also fits into the federal the guidelines for stimulus grants. The key to the model is the approach to core use.