MuniWireless

The city of Fresno, California recently issued a Request for Proposals (RFP) for the creation of a citywide wireless broadband network. In the RFP, the city states that it prefers not to spend any money on the network and that all of the costs of the deployment should be borne by the service provider (the private corporate franchise model). Given that this model has failed in a number of cities, prospective bidders submitted questions that revealed their serious reservations about…

Fresno, California (pop. 480,000; 112 square miles) has issued a Request for Proposals (RFP) for the creation of a Wi-Fi or WiMAX network that will cover the entire city. The municipality will spend no public funds on the network. The winner of the bid must bear all of the costs. The deadline for responses to the RFP is 28 August 2008. Download the Fresno municipal wireless RFP.

Here are a few details about the network’s business model: