Bids roll in for Minneapolis wi-fi service
Steve Alexander
Star Tribune
Published July 27, 2005
http://www.startribune.com/dynamic/story.php?
template=print_a&story=5527618
A couple of points about the article.
The Philadelphia initiative was not "restructured into much the same
form as the Minneapolis wireless project". The City of Philadelphia has
created a non-profit (Wireless Philadelphia) that will own the network,
and space on the network will be leased to multiple private service
providers. Funding will come from foundation grants and private loans
to the non-profit. The network will not be owned by the contractor that
builds it, and the builder will not be a service provider.
The Minneapolis proposal, on the other hand, would have a private
company own the network and also be the service provider to the City.
If it will cost $4 million to put in wireless, what is the other $16
million-plus building? (And $4 million is a very high estimate. Tropos
- which Chaska used - can do it for about $31,000 a square mile, or
about $2 million for 58 square miles of Minneapolis. Estimates put the
cost of an open source network with 1000 nodes - about what Minneapolis
would require - at under $1 million.) It's an investment in fiber
infrastructure, which will be with us for decades.
This is not just a wireless network that can be re-bid in 5 years when
the wireless technology evolves. If we choose to go with a privately
owned network, we'll be tied to that private company much as we've been
tied to Time Warner cable and its predecessors. Based on the current
lawsuit, that relationship doesn't seem to be something the city should
want to repeat.
The article addresses what household subscribers might pay, but not
what the network's largest customer, the city of Minneapolis will pay.
This is crucial. It is the City that will be, in essence, providing
the guaranteed funding that will enable the financing of the network.
The city's current information services budget is around $20 million.
How much will it pay annually for services provided through the new
network?
A privately-owned Minneapolis network is not a done deal. If you're
interested in this, consider coming to Breakfast with Gary Schiff on
Friday, July 29.
"This month, welcome Becca Vargo Daggett from the Institute for Local
Self-Reliance and Catherine Settanni from Digital Access. Becca and
Catherine will discuss their visions and advocacy for a high-speed,
wireless Internet network in the City of Minneapolis. Cities around
the nation have begun implementing Wi-Fi networks and the City of
Minneapolis is currently reviewing proposals for our own."
Friday, July 29, 2005 - 7:30 to 9:00 a.m.
Café of the Americas - 3019 Minnehaha Avenue South
$5 for breakfast
Becca Vargo Daggett
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