A California company has offered to install wireless internet access for
Philadelphia at half the cost envisioned by the Mayor, with a system that will
reach indoors rather than just outside as in the current proposal. A story is
reproduced below from the DP. Whether this is real or "just talk" is a
questionn. However, it behooves the city to investigate it carefully.
You can send an e-mail message urging that this proposal be carefully
evaluated to the mayor and everyone in City Council -- all in one fell swoop
-- using the form at
www.iconworldwide.com/speakup
(a public service of my "other" company).
Always at your
service and ready for a dialog,
Al
Krigman
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From the DP
Cost of wireless in city could be reduced by half
By Byron Kho
October 18,
2004
A Silicon Valley, Calif., company recently
proposed to provide all Philadelphia residents with free wireless Internet
service in under three months for an installation cost of $5 million -- a
significantly smaller investment than provided for in the city's original
proposal.AnchorFree Wireless not only claims that it can provide coverage
cheaper, but also that its proposal will make wireless access available
indoors as well as outdoors.
City officials had initially announced
that implementation of a citywide wireless infrastructure would cost $10
million and take roughly a year to build.
"Their price is a big waste
of money," said Eugene Malobrodsky, senior vice president of AnchorFree. "We
know how to build at lower cost and in faster times, because we have done so
before."
Malobrodsky referred to the company's May installation of a
fully operational wireless "hot zone" in downtown Palo Alto, Calif., a mile
away from Stanford University.
However, Philadelphia's chief
information officer, Dianah Neff, warned that Palo Alto could not be directly
compared to Philadelphia.
"Palo Alto is not a dense metropolitan city
and will have different requirements for the number of devices. They could
also be using a different technology," Neff said.
However, AnchorFree
is confident that its plan could work in Philadelphia.
"While wireless
mesh technology -- which the city plans on using -- can only be used outside,
our networks will be functional inside as well," Malobrodsky
said.
Company spokesman Denis Hiller noted that, unlike the city's
plan, AnchorFree plans to include both indoor and outdoor
transmitters.
"We have a patent-pending methodology," Hiller said.
"We'll talk to business owners, churches, residents, so we can strategically
place our transmitters for maximum effect. We want everybody in the city to go
wireless."
AnchorFree's proposal will be reviewed by the Wireless
Philadelphia Executive Committee, which is responsible for overseeing the
planning and installation of the municipal wireless project.
"The
committee is looking at multiple governance models, sustainability options,
including types of services and fees, plus privacy and security issues," said
Neff, the committee chairman.
Neff and other city officials have also
participated in talks with local telecommunications companies to determine
corporate participation in the project.
The Wireless Philadelphia
committee is expected to submit a recommendation to Mayor John Street by
December.
