http://www.startribune.com/stories/789/5342733.html
>From the article: "Consumers would be able to buy broadband access of 1 million to 3 million bits per second for $18 to $24 a month -- a bit slower than wired cable modem service but about half the price. The network also is expected to create an economic incentive for businesses to locate in Minneapolis". The Star Tribune article's statement that wireless access will be "a bit slower" than current cable access isn't correct and the issue of wireless speed versus that of current cable or DSL needs clarification. This is important because while wireless access is much cheaper than current DSL or cable, I don't think consumers would be much interested in a service that takes their internet access backwards speed wise. I also don't want us city consumers - residential or commercial - to set our expectations about wireless internet access low, especially given that in Minneapolis the service will be owned and operated by a private (s) company unlike in other cities (Chaska, Philadelphia, San Francisco), where the municipalities themselves provide (or will provide) the service at faster speeds and cheaper rates than current cable and DSL service. I have always understood that wireless was not just faster, but significantly faster, than current cable or DSL, so I started with a call for clarification to Bill Beck, the lead person on this at city hall. He confirmed that wireless access speed, at 1 to 3 megabits per second (Mbps), will be faster than DSL at 0.3 to 0.4 Mbps and cable at 0.6 to 0.7 Mbps. For comparison (from other sources): -Wireless Protocol 802.11g (note the g)gets up to 54 Mbps -Wireless Protocol 802.11b (not the b)gets up to 11 Mbps -Cable and DSL generally download between 0.256 Mbps and 5 Mbps and upload between 0.128 Mbps and 1 Mbps -56k Dial-up modem is equivalent to 0.056 Mbps -28.8k Dial-up modem is equivalent to 0.0288 Mbps Based on the speed being reported by the city, I assume that the city wireless system will use the 802.11b protocol. This appears to be the norm for city-wide public access: Chaska, MN 0.25 to 3 Mbps using 802.11b (http://www.chaska.net/mkpage.cgi?services_residential_connect+residential_d etails) Buffalo, MN up to 1.5 Mbps (http://www.bwig.net/) Philadelphia, PA is proposing to use 802.11b (http://www.phila.gov/wireless/faqs.html) The differences between the 802.11 protocols are discussed here: http://www.linksys.com/edu/wirelessstandards.asp Also in the news - San Francisco considers going the way of Philadelphia - playing a central role in setting up and providing wireless access service. See "Should Municipalities Get in the Wi-Fi Business? Wireless wonder at a fraction of the cost", http://www.commondreams.org/views05/0415-20.htm Jeanne Massey Kingfield REMINDERS: 1. Be civil! Please read the NEW RULES at http://www.e-democracy.org/rules. If you think a member is in violation, contact the list manager at [EMAIL PROTECTED] before continuing it on the list. 2. Don't feed the troll! Ignore obvious flame-bait. For state and national discussions see: http://e-democracy.org/discuss.html For external forums, see: http://e-democracy.org/mninteract ________________________________ Minneapolis Issues Forum - A Civil City-focused Civic Discussion - Mn E-Democracy Post messages to: mailto:[email protected] Subscribe, Un-subscribe, etc. at: http://e-democracy.org/mpls
