Wireless Silicon Valley, the organization that hoped to build a network that includes Santa Clara and San Mateo counties and the city of Santa Cruz, potentially reaching 2.4 million people, is on the ropes, reports Mercury News.
The wireless Internet network is stalled in San Jose, as questions mount on funding sources and the best technology for the project. It could cost from $125,000 to $150,000 per mile to build, and the system would stretch several thousand miles.
Wireless Silicon Valley, an initiative of the nonprofit Joint Venture: Silicon Valley, has been working for several years to find private and city investors, but it is now turning to businesses to help support it.
Representatives from San Jose and other Santa Clara County cities say they want to wait before committing to a network for Wi-Fi to get residents online.
“I think all the cities are trying to evaluate it,” said Steve Turner, San Jose’s deputy director of information technology. “It’s free Wi-Fi, but somebody’s going to have to pay for it.”
Seth Fearey (right), vice president and chief operating officer of Wireless Silicon Valley, said the project is moving away from consumer-oriented Internet access and more toward broadband applications for businesses.
But many cities have been unwilling to pay to set up the network. Some city leaders also may fear that a free service would sap dollars from established Internet providers and the tax revenue they generate.
In parts of downtown San Jose and other cities such as Cupertino, Sunnyvale, Santa Clara, and Portland, Oregon, MetroFi offers free wireless access.
In 2006 MetroFi said it would build new networks only for cities that would use it for such municipal services as police and firefighting. Wireless Silicon Valley appears to have taken its cue from this.
“You can’t have a sustainable business just on e-mail and advertising,” Fearey fears.
Another issue that Wireless Silicon Valley faces is whether to buy in to WiMax. It might be more useful for businesses such as an ambulance operator, according to Fearey.
Clearwire will provide discounted service of $9.95 per month for qualifying low-income citizens covering up to 5% of the total households in Grand Rapids. To better serve visitors and occasional users, free Wi-Fi hot spots will be provided throughout the City. Grand Rapids and licensed Mobile WiMAX operator Clearwire have a deal similar to municipal WiFi contracts that provide public rights of way for Clearwire infrastructure in exchange for discounted service.
Clearwire’s Mobile WiMAX coverage in Hillsboro (below) does not yet extend into downtown Portland, Oregon, where the DailyWireless tower is located.
At launch, later this spring, Clearwire expects to cover all of metropolitan Portland and extend into Washington State across the Columbia River into Vancouver USA and parts of Clark County.
Let’s compare the cost of infrastructure between Mobile WiMAX (at 2.5 GHz), unlicensed Wi-Fi and Mobile WiMAX (at 700MHz).
- Clearwire’s Mobile WiMax in Hillsboro covers 145 Square Miles with 35 to 45 towers. Each tower may have $50K of WiMAX gear.
- MetroFi in Portland uses roughly 25 nodes per square mile (in a 5×5 array). Twenty five nodes times 145 sq miles equals 3,625 WiFi nodes (don’t forget the backhaul). Each of the Skypilot nodes costs about $1.8K.
- 700MHz is expected to require only about 1/3rd to 1/4 the number of towers needed by 2.5 GHz WiMAX. Perhaps 10-12 towers would cover the same 145 square miles.
Do the math.
Related DailyWireless articles include; Sacramento WiFi on Slow Track, Sacramento Approves WiFi, SoCal Wireless: Toast?, MuniFi: What Now?, MuniFi: Not Dead Yet, Earthlink Restructures, MuniFi Holds Breath, Sacramento Approves WiFi, Vision for Silicon Valley: Cloudy, El Paso Unwired + Most of California, San Mateo: 1st Silicon Valley Cloud, Wireless SiValley: Mix & Match, Broadband Cities, New York’s 750 sq mile Cloud, San Francisco WiFi Dead?, Wireless Houston: Size Queen?, State-wide Wireless Broadband Access, Ten Cities Under Colorado Cloud, FiberNet for Calif Schools, Washington’s 1500mi Cloud, and Sacramento Regional Cloud
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