The Mercury News put Google’s WiFi network to the test this week.

GigOm explains the network covers 11.5 square miles and features 380 access points, all supplied by Tropos. One in six access points is an Alvarion gateway. There are also three bandwidth aggregation points connected to GooglePlex using point-to-point gear from GigaBeam, an equipment vendor of licensed 71-76 GHz and 81-86 GHz radios.

The Mercury News tested the network which opened for business this week. Last year, Google said it would build a WiFi network in its hometown of Mountain View and operate it for five years — out of its own pocket.

Google has installed 380 “nodes,” boxes with distinctive twin antennas, on light poles scattered throughout Mountain View.

Google is promising a public debut for Google WiFi by the end of summer, which gives the company until Sept. 23. Details are online (http://wifi.google.com), along with a map showing node locations

Here’s how it will work:

If you’re within range of a Mountain View node with a WiFi-enabled notebook computer, you’ll be able to connect to Google WiFi.

You’ll need a Google account, which provides a user name and password. If you don’t yet have a Google account, you can get one free online (www.google.com/accounts). If you already have Google’s free Gmail service for e-mail, you’ll be able to use your Gmail user name and password.

You can also connect with a desktop computer, by adding a USB WiFi adapter, available from a number of manufacturers for about $50.

When you open your Web browser, the first page you’ll see is a sign-in screen. After entering your user name and password, you’ll arrive at a “landing page” with local information — and a small amount of advertising — related to Mountain View.

Once you leave the landing page, you’ll see no more advertising from Google WiFi.

And you won’t be limited to Web browsing. In my test last week, I was able use three non-browser online applications on Google WiFi: Microsoft Outlook, Apple Computer’s iTunes Music Store and eBay’s Skype phone service.

Google says the network will run at 1 megabit per second. That’s slower than home DSL or cable Internet access, which run at 1.5 to 6 megabits per second, but it’s more than adequate for most online activity.

In my tests last week, Google WiFi consistently performed just under the 1 megabit mark. But, as with any shared network, that speed could drop in the future if too many users crowd online at the same time.

WiFi’s biggest limitation is that its signals aren’t good at going through walls. So users inside homes, schools and offices can’t always connect to WiFi nodes on the street.

Muni wireless proponents frequently skip over this problem. But Google, which has no financial incentive to oversell its network, is refreshingly candid. “Google WiFi is primarily an outdoor network,” the company said in a flier distributed at a Mountain View community meeting last month.

“It is unlikely that a WiFi-enabled laptop, or computer with a conventional WiFi card, will work indoors in most locations.” For buildings within 500 feet of a Google node, a signal booster device — which Google calls a “WiFi modem” — might be able to make a connection indoors. The Google WiFi site includes information on buying and configuring two models, priced at $130 and $170, recommended by the company…

Related DailyWireless articles include; WiFi Ad Nets, GoogleFi Test Drive, Solar RoofNet, The Yellow Chair Project, GoogleFi: Ads or Not?, Google WiFi Interview, MetroFi Goes Free, Will Free Work?, Google Gets Mt. View Cloud, Earthlink and Google win San Francisco and Portland Chooses MetroFi for 134 Mile Cloud and Intergalatic MuniFi Management.

Posted by Sam Churchill on Monday, August 14th, 2006 at 6:04 am.