MuniWireless

No one is surprised by news of yet another municipal wireless project delayed. In this case it’s Wireless Washtenaw county in Michigan, whose provider, 20/20 Communications, needs $10 million to finish the network. They have already spent between $2 million and $3 million. They say they are not pulling out of the project (like MetroFi and EarthLink has done in other places). Indeed, 20/20 Communications has paying customers and a waiting list of 3000 people. According to this article, Livingston…

The city council of Málaga, Spain wants to provide Wi-Fi everywhere in the city. They are working on a map of Wi-Fi hotspots in the city, which will include information about whether they are free of charge or paid. Although several companies such as JiWire and WeFi provide maps with Wi-Fi locations, they are not comprehensive. Neither are they easy to update. This is the challenge that Málaga is facing after they’ve created the map.

In addition, the city will find…

Wireless Oakland has suspended operations after failing to attract new investors. The network is stuck in phase one and has been unable to expand because of a lack of funds. The total cost of building out the network is estimated at $70 million. MichTel Communications, the service provider, cannot go on with the project.

While projects such as Wireless Oakland stumble, others such as Craven County (North Carolina), Racine County (Wisconsin) and Cambria County (Pennsylvania) are going forward with their plans.…

Two ISPs, Veraloft and I-Net Solutions, are bidding to operate the Milpitas, California municipal Wi-Fi network that EarthLink abandoned several months ago. The city acquired the network for $800,000 and was planning to use it for municipal purposes only. However, this month, the city put out a bid seeking a provider to operate the network and provide public access. Two firms responded: Veraloft (provides Wi-Fi access in Half Moon Bay and Pacifica) and i-Net (Google’s partner in Moutain View). Read…

Statesboro, Georgia has issued a Request for Proposals, seeking an ISP to build and operate a citywide wireless network for educational, residential, commercial, municipal and public safety use. Initially the network will be used primarily for public safety, remote work order management, Digital Inclusion, residential and student Internet access.

According to the RFP, the city “prefers to own the network infrastructure, since it intends to pay for the cost of the infrastructure, using the grant that it received from the State…

Back in February, we reported how frustrated FCC commish Jonathan Adelstein was at the pace of broadband deployment in the U.S. While we liked his idea of national broadband summits, at the time it seemed like a good idea without much behind it.

Tuesday, Google and a few of its friends got behind the idea in a big way, launching something called Internetforeveryone.org, which is clearly a place for Google and others to promote their ideas for open, more-available Internet to…