On Sun, Oct 12, 2008 at 10:10 AM, Keith Lofstrom <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> wrote: > > I first wrote an essay about why public wifi is not likely to help with > digital divide issues, and argued that if the city retains some of the > Skypilots, they should be moved to outdoor event venues like Waterfront > Park. Then I got a better idea. > > How about the Max lines? Are there enough Skypilots to cover the > stations, and perhaps be placed along the routes so that the 5.8GHz > backhaul could connect them? More ambitiously, could something be > added to the Max cars so that wifi was usable in them, and roaming > was supported, so people could use wifi while they travelled?
As I calculate it, there are enough SkyPilots to cover 50-64 miles of track (200-250 ft coverage radius per radio). Currently there are 44 miles of track, but the new lines probably add considerably to that. I think the issues would be: a) Backhaul. The mesh is only going to support a few hops before you'll need to inject new bandwidth. I would imagine that setting up all the backhaul along the tracks is a larger hurdle than acquiring wireless gear. b) Reliable handoff between radios. In most instances, users traveling on the train will only be connected to each radio for less than a minute, and in some cases, only a few seconds. There's hardware that claims to support that, but it hasn't been demonstrated (at least not in Portland) that the SkyPilots can do that under real world conditions. > Many Max riders are already carrying wireless devices, and could make > productive use of transit time. The users are concentrated into a > relatively small area - no "hundreds of square miles" problem, no > "reaching through trees and walls" problem. Providing wireless to > a narrow band has got to be easier than covering a whole city. > Power and other infrastructure is already available. Trimet does have an RFP out for wireless on a new line (not sure, off the top of my head, which it is). > Financing is a problem for public wireless, but the money collection > system that Trimet has in place could be incrementally expanded - an > additional ticket machine menu item that adds wifi access to your > ticket for a buck, and provides an individual access code. Or $5 > extra for your monthly pass to get an access code. That could easily > pay for the system, and provide additional revenue for Trimet besides. I would think that adding that as a ticket option would needlessly complicate the already complicated ticket machines. It's more likely they would offer it free as something to attract riders, or have a payment gateway through a splash page. > There could also be an advertising-supported option a la Metro Fi. > Trimet already handles advertising - this expands existing efforts. > Scheduling information could be available for free. Ugh, hasn't that train left the station yet? Michael Weinberg President Personal Telco Project, Inc. A 501(c)(3) Non-Profit --~--~---------~--~----~------------~-------~--~----~ The Personal Telco Project - http://www.personaltelco.net/ Donate to PTP: http://www.personaltelco.net/donate Archives: http://news.gmane.org/gmane.network.wireless.portland.general/ Etiquette: http://www.personaltelco.net/index.cgi/MailingListEtiquette List information: http://lists.personaltelco.net To post to this group, send email to [email protected] To unsubscribe from this group, send email to [EMAIL PROTECTED] -~----------~----~----~----~------~----~------~--~---
