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Why “NO” for Muni WiFi?
By Larry Hendrick | June 8, 2007
The news is filled with stories of more and more cities adopting plans for WiFi implementations. The two biggest reasons given for needing to implement this technology are: economic development and bridging the digital divide. Let’s look at each of these must have reasons.
Economic Development
Cities are desperate for economic development, so using this buzz word gets immediate attention. What city in its right mind would turn down the chance for economic development? None, that’s who. (Disclaimer: I am a committee chair with the League City Economic Development Corporation)
Companies have certain criteria when deciding where to locate a new headquarters or divisions. These would be:
- Quality of Life
- Schools
- Healthcare facilities
- Shopping
- Suitable locations
- Available electric and telephone capacity
- Reliable business Internet
This is also the order that each gets measured. For this discussion, I’m skipping down to number 7 on the list, reliable business Internet. What requirements are reasonable to classify business Internet as reliable.
- High up-time (consistent access) ratings
- Fast speeds
- Access to all areas of office
- 24/7 customer service
- Static IP addresses
Up-time ratings
Today, businesses rely on Internet access more than ever. It has to be up and running all the time, or they can’t do business. Email and Internet access is now a requirement for business, not a luxury. My own web-based retail American flag business is out of business for the time the Internet is down. This requires a high up-time rating to assure businesses that the Internet is there when needed. Wireless Internet service is disrupted by objects blocking the path, trees, and weather conditions.
An ISP, where I worked for five years, fed wireless, via Motorola Canopy backhaul products, to near buildings for Internet access. A construction company set up shop between the access point (eleven stories up) and the client (four stories up). It wasn’t until the crane moved in that the problems started. Every time the crane moved its boom between the two points, the phone started ringing. Several times, they parked the crane in the path for long periods of time. Many customers were lost because of unreliable service over something we couldn’t control.
A year before the crane incident, we lost 100% of our customers using the node facing west. The interference go so bad that the service quit working. After dozens of hours of testing by our technicians, a rival wireless network was located causing the problems. However, since these nodes were on public frequencies, 5.2MHz, there was no recourse. End result was loss of considerable revenue from that sector.
Fast Speeds
Business speeds today range from 3.0Mbs to 10Mbs depending on number of users and whether fed by copper or fiber. In fact, in the Verizon Fios locations (which are expanding daily) a business can purchase a 50 and 100Mbs fiber connection for very reasonable prices. Every Muni WiFi project, I have looked at, has limited the speed of the network to 1Mbs for each node. That’s just not enough to lure any business.
Access
WiFi’s distance is limited by something as small as tree leaves. Brick and Steel walls stop it in its tracks. Penetration into buildings is non-existent without additional boosters installed to help the signal. Additional internal boosters are also needed to cover offices that are medium to large in size.
As wireless travels through these obstacles, the speed is also reduced. Even though someone in the back office can get a signal, doesn’t mean they can access the bookkeeping database from the server and work at a reasonable speed.
At my office, there is great access in the three rooms close to the wireless router. However, I like to head out to the back patio which is downstairs. Total distance (as the mosquito would fly) is probably 40-45 feet. From that location, I get a weak signal, but my Gmail page won’t open. It times out before getting logged in. That’s not the option a business is looking for.
24/7 Support
This depends on the method of deployment. There are different scenarios for deployment.
- City owned and operated
- City owned/contract support and maintenance to a third party
- Third party owned and operated.
There are a few other combinations of these, but you get the point. The success of each of these depends on the available support. When someone can’t connect, who do they call and what hours are they available. Those are critical questions for a business looking for Internet access.
Static IP Addresses
Most of the companies signing contracts with cities to provide wireless Internet services are consumer-based businesses (sell primarily to consumers). They have very little experience supporting business customers and their special needs. A few of the ISPs working on this will not provide a static IP address for businesses, or if they do, they charge an extra monthly fee.
With remote and traveling workers, businesses require access to their databases and information from anywhere. This is best accomplished by assigning each customer a static IP address. Yes, it can be done with a dynamic address, but in my opinion, that is an unacceptable situation.
Digital Divide
I haven’t even started on the Digital Divide aspect of Muni WiFi. I think I will leave it for another article.
Topics: WiFi |
June 10th, 2007 at 9:10 pm
Larry, Interesting post. You seem to make your case primarily around the notion of businesses using muni Wi-Fi in their fixed locations. But I don't think that's the primary sell for those touting it as a business development tool. Instead, it's access to the the Internet from anywhere in a city, at any time — mobile, not static.You deal with that only briefly. You write that:"With remote and traveling workers, businesses require access to their databases and information from anywhere. This is best accomplished by assigning each customer a static IP address. Yes, it can be done with a dynamic address, but in my opinion, that is an unacceptable situation."But businesses do this all the time. Check in at any Starbucks or other Wi-Fi hotspots at midday, and you'll find business types stopping to check their mail, or using VPN on their notebooks to access the network. You didn't say why using a dynamic IP is "unacceptable," when it's done all the time. Can you elaborate on that? And what type of remote network technology would you say would allow dynamic IPs without a hardwired connection at low cost?Thanks.
June 10th, 2007 at 9:57 pm
Hey Dwight, great to hear from you. Let me see if I can expand a little.
In every meeting I’ve attended about using Muni WiFi for Economic Development, it is in reference to selling the service to businesses, to use at their primary location, not to allow mobile personnel access. And yes, as you say, workers are doing it everyday now, so where is the need for city involvement in any of this process.
My bad on not explaining the Static IP issue better. My discussion revolves around the need at the primary business location to have a static IP. Connecting to a business server that doesn’t have a static IP address is difficult, but not impossible.
I was not referring to the remote workers using VPN (on a dynamic address) access the server. That is the norm, as you stated.
For instance, today, right now, in the Verizon LATA, where I am, Verizon can’t provide a static IP address to anyone (unless they have resolved the technical issue in the six months since I left the independent ISP). Verizon referred business to my former employer when a business called them for service. Good for us, bad for Verizon. Earthlink had the same limitations in this area, as does Yahoo. As they roll out wireless, the same dilemma presents itself.
In the at&t area this is not a technical issue, but Earthlink is not predisposed to handing out static IP addresses to business customers because that is not their focus or forte’.
I was addressing that business class services requires a different set of expertises than does consumer access.
Again, don’t get me wrong, I love free access when working out and about. However, it is available readily at many locations already. I don’t see a need to have it in every parking space in the Galleria parking garage, or such. Many coffee shops and restaurants (growing daily) offer the service free, as does every library in Harris and Galveston county. I haven’t had any problem getting to email or data remotely either from a free wireless access point or using the cell phone with my Palm or laptop.
But back to the main point, I have seen no evidence from any city where they have boasted of winning any new business because of Muni WiFi. That is one of the main selling points made in front of politicians who have neither the technical expertise or know the right questions to ask.
Well, this is turning into another article, so I will stop for now.
Thanks again Dwight. I do enjoy your articles and blog at the Chronicle, so keep up your good work.