MuniWireless

Wireless Ypsilanti in Michigan has reached a milestone this week as it logged over 25,000 users since the launch of the network in January 2008. Last week, the network had 1399 users who downloaded 310.4 GB (statistics from the interactive node map). Wireless Ypsilanti is a community collective that offers free Wi-Fi access in parts of Ypsilanti. They began with the downtown area and expanded to other parts of the community. They are using equipment from San Francisco-based, Meraki Networks.

Meraki has just released a 3-radio 802.11n outdoor mesh product, the MR58, that provides more capacity and speed than 802.11b/g wireless nodes. The list price: $1500. In one bold move, Meraki has dropped the cost of outdoor Wi-Fi mesh equipment to $500 per radio. Meraki is the only outdoor mesh equipment vendor with an 802.11n product. None of the other vendors (Cisco, BelAir, Tropos and Firetide) has one.

I spoke to Sanjit Biswas yesterday about Meraki’s new 802.11n device. He says…

Glenn Fleishman has written an analysis of municipal wireless networking, tracing its development from large citywide “free” networks (which did not get built out) to smaller, more targeted networks (Minneapolis, Oklahoma City). He focuses much of the article on mesh vendor Meraki’s strategy: unwiring small neighborhoods, apartment complexes and downtown areas. EarthLink’s pullout from the municipal wireless market, the failiure of wireless ISPs such as Kite Networks and MetroFi, and more importantly, the financial crisis which has drained cities and…

Meraki has just released a cute Wi-Fi Wall Plug which hotel and apartment building managers can install in rooms and apartment units to expand Wi-Fi access throughout their properties. The Wall Plug (pictured below) looks like the Apple Airport Express and costs $179. In addition, Meraki is now marketing a Residential WiFi Pack (which includes Wall Plugs) for less than $5000. The pack is designed to bring wireless access to a 100-unit building with minimum installation hassles and faster time…

Meraki has just introduced a muni wireless Starter Pack for $10,000 per square mile (available until 1 December 2008) with a 60-day money back guarantee for cities or business districts that want to unwire their neighborhoods. Meraki says that setting up a wide-area Wi-Fi network using their equipment is much less expensive than the $25,000 to $100,000 estimated cost (per square mile) using other manufacturers’ gear. I went to the Meraki website and tried to get more information about what…

Like many online publications, I got the Meraki press release whose title reads “MERAKI ANNOUNCES FREE PUBLIC WIFI AVAILABLE IN 80% OF SAN FRANCISCO NEIGHBORHOODS”. When you look at the Meraki map of users (below) you will see that Meraki does not cover 80% of San Francisco at all.

Large areas of the Sunset District have no Meraki network (unless of course you consider 14 people all clumped in one location to be meaningful coverage). Other areas with barely any Meraki…