The Riverside, California muni Wi-Fi network is nearing completion, according to the Inland News. Riverside issued an RFP in 2006 and selected AT&T from among three bidders. From the beginning, Riverside had intended to use the network not just for Internet access but for a host of municipal services. For a while it seemed as if the network would not expand beyond the downtown area. Now, apparently, AT&T is deploying the network in other parts of Riverside to cover 55 square miles (out of 85 square miles) and expects to be done by May 2008.
Anchor tenant model, AT&T as partner
Like the Minneapolis municipal wireless network, the Riverside network is built on the “anchor tenant” model where the city pays the provider, in this case AT&T, a fixed amount annually over several years. In the case of Riverside, that amount is AT&T $4 million over five years. In exchange, Riverside gets to use the network for a variety of municipal applications. AT&T must create a network that is robust enough to support those applications (remote meter reading, public safety, traffic control). For AT&T or any other provider, the guaranteed annual payments create an incentive to continue building out the network to meet the specific needs of the anchor tenant (the city).
Indeed, as they were rolling out the network, AT&T discovered that the original plan did not meet the city’s needs: “… city officials and AT&T realized that the system as originally envisioned lacked sufficient data-transmission capacity to stream video from police car cameras and other cameras…”
It’s not surprising that AT&T added capacity at no cost to the city according to Steve Reneker, city CIO. It is a showcase for AT&T and more than that. I would also guess that AT&T would like to test out a range of services and subscriptions that might include bundling “nomadic” Wi-Fi service (iPhone) with mobile phone service and DSL.
When AT&T won the Riverside project, there was no iPhone so, now things get really interesting.
AT&T has already kicked out T-Mobile in Starbucks cafes so the news that they are going ahead with a wide-area Wi-Fi deployment comes as no surprise if in fact, they have a plan that includes small Wi-Fi enabled devices.
Read more about the Riverside – AT&T network here.
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For earlier news about the Riverside network:
Riverside – AT&T contract available for download (PDF)
Riverside selects three finalists
Riverside RFP gets six responses
Tmobile wifi is still available at the Starbucks I’ve visited lately. You can choose to login either way.
The antennas are up in my neighborhood on the western end of Riverside. Some of the antennas are large “beer-kegs” or “totem-poles” looking things. I’m not sure if they are part of the public safety enhancements mentioned above.
The name of the paper where the article was published is The Press-Enterprise, not the Inland News. The writer may be confusing the P-E with a paper named Inland Valley Bulletin from Ontario (but as a practical matter, the San Bernardino Sun now manages day-to-day operations of the Inland Valley Bulletin).
That same Press-Enterprise printed this article on April 4th.
http://www.pe.com/localnews/temecula/stories/PE_News_Local_D_wifi04.3a319cc.html
A delay in rollout. Note also the interesting sentence: “The system is designed to serve outdoor users”. I can attest to that.
Sorry: here is the correct link to the Press-Enterprise article discussing the delay in rollout in the middle of the city.