MuniWireless

Mumbai, India will be issuing a public tender in August inviting companies to bid for the deployment of a citywide Wi-Fi network. The city does not want to spend any public funds on the project (sounds like SF, Philadelphia and Houston). Anyway, the wireless network will be an intranet, which people can use to communicate with one another. They want to get the network up and running within six months, which I find too ambitious. We have already seen how…

Lompoc, California is trying to make its citywide wireless broadband service work harder by attracting and keeping more customers. The city has replaced its previous network management system with a new one from Aptilo and claims that Aptilo’s system now allows to city to manage its network better, including being able identify where problems occur, when customers call in. The city has also stopped using outside firms to manage the network. Now, instead of needing 4000 subscribers to break even,…

Stephouse Networks, a Portland-based wireless ISP, announced they are offering Wi-Fi and fixed WiMAX service within the five square miles of Portland’s downtown area and two square miles of North Portland’s St. Johns neighborhood. The fixed WiMAX service is targeted to enterprise users, primarily to replace more expensive T-1 lines.

Last week, I spoke to Tyler Booth, CEO of Stephouse, about their Portland network. Booth made it clear that Stephouse did not take over the MetroFi contract with Portland (even though…

Hartford, Connecticut has abandoned its plan to cover the city with wireless broadband service. Instead, it will focus on maintaining the existing network which is available in the Blue Hills neighborhood and certain parts of downtown. Hartford had embarked on a $5.8 million plan to unwire the city, primarily to bring inexpensive or free Internet access to low-income residents. But lack of demand from residents, coupled with rising costs, have forced the city to rethink the entire project.

Several points raised…