dailywireless.org » Portland MetroFi: Coming Down

Portland MetroFi: Coming Down

Bren: What is your job title exactly?
Ultrasound Technician: I’m an ultrasound technician, ma’am.
Bren: Well, I’m a nail technician and I think we both ought to just stick to what we know.
Ultrasound Technician: Excuse me?
Bren: Oh, you think you’re so special because you get to play Picture Pages up there? Well, my five year old daughter could do that and let me tell you, she’s not the brightest bulb in the tanning bed. So why don’t you go back to night school in Mantino and learn a real trade. — Juno

MetroFi has confirmed that it plans to turn off Portland’s free Wi-Fi network at the end of the month, putting an end to the ad-sponsored, city-wide network, reports The Oregonian.

The company notified the city of its decision Wednesday. It set a deadline for the end of June to beginning taking it down unless a last-minute buyer emerged. Apparently none has.

“We are disappointed that MetroFi’s business model did not pan out but glad that it was not a financial risk to taxpayers,” said Brendan Finn, chief of staff at Portland City Commissioner Dan Saltzman’s office to the Washington Times.

MetroFi told city officials it plans to turn off its Portland network on June 30, and begin taking antennas down the next day. The company said it expects to have all work done by July 30. MetroFi erected about 600 cylindrical Wi-Fi antennas on streetlights and utility poles around Portland [map], concentrating coverage downtown and in inner Southeast and St. Johns.
MetroFi launched its network in December 2006, commissioned by the city to provide free, wireless Internet coverage for 95 percent of Portland. The city spent more than $250,000 studying the project and overseeing its launch, but MetroFi and its investors paid the $2 million cost of building the partially completed network themselves.
Low-powered Wi-Fi antennas are relatively inexpensive to operate, but Wi-Fi lacked the signal strength to provide truly comprehensive coverage in Portland. Many would-be users found themselves unable to connect, and few users could access the signal indoors without a $100 signal booster.

Logan Kleier who manages “Unwire Portland” for the city told DailyWireless:

The communication we received from MetroFi indicates that they have not
found a third party to purchase the network and intend to shut off access to
the network on June 30th. I am not aware of any discussions between MetroFi and the City regarding the purchase of their assets.

Brendan Finn, Chief of Staff for Commissioner Dan Saltzmann, who oversees MetroFi for the city, had this response to our emails:

DailyWireless: Is this [shut down] certain?
Brendan Finn: It is pretty much certain at this point, MetroFi has notified the city
that they will shut down service June 30th and begin to dissemble the
network July 1st.
DailyWireless: Are discussions still going on?
Brendan Finn: No, not much to discuss at this point. We had the option to buy the
system, but decided against that purchase.
DailyWireless: What has the city done to find a resolution, such as the one in Philadelphia?
Brendan Finn: We have had a number discussions with parties that might have been
potential operators but there was little interest in the MetroFi network. At this point, we will regroup and likely open up a broader community discussion on how the city might facilitate low-cost internet access through wireless technologies. Look forward to having you and your readers part of that conversation. - Brendan

Michael Burmeister-Brown of Open-Mesh, emailed this on a vacation with his family:

I am not a big fan of muni-networks. At 2.4ghz, we just don’t think they can work. Our approach is and has always been to work “inside out”. We don’t believe wifi can penetrate “outside in”. Brick/stone and modern thermal windows are just too much of a block to 2.4ghz.

I’m sorry to see it go. I’m using MetroFi’s “free” service in Portland right now, and posting this story using it. The wireless service has been good enough for me not to abandon it. Many of the early glitches seemed to have been resolved (for me at least).

I never did understand how any WiFi network could deliver reliable, cost/effective, wireless service for big cities — especially with only 25 nodes per square mile. Too many nodes. WiMAX was designed for metropolitan wireless networks. It’s cheaper per square mile, more reliable and has voice.

But without an effective unlicensed channel for municipal wireless, what choice did anyone have?

Chuck Haas and MetroFi made a bet…and lost. But “free”, ad-sponsored municipal networks are a great idea, even if MetroFi promised more than they could deliver.

It does seem ironic. Just when mobile devices like the iPhone are taking off, networks like MetroFi are shutting down. It doesn’t make sense to me. Some service is better than none. Surely there’s a business model for the downtown core.

Unfortunately, the city doesn’t appear to be trying very hard to find a resolution.

Juno Soundtrack - Anyone Else But You - Ellen Page

Dailywireless has extensive stories on MetroFi.