Minneapolis Unwired: The network is just about as complete as it's going to be
Minneapolis is officially unwired says the Star Tribune:

The $20 million Minneapolis wireless Internet network has been completed after 2 1/2 difficult years of technical and political delays. The city's next step: getting the police and fire departments using it this year.

The City's basic requirement was for coverage of 95% of it's 59.5 miles and performance meets the City's expectations, according to Minneapolis Chief Information Officer Lynn Willenbring. There are 16,500 private subscribers, according to Joe Caldwell, marketing vice president of US Internet, which owns and operates the network. The company hopes for 30,000 individual customers.

Getting City departments to use the wireless network is another story. So far Sprint cellular services trump US Internet Wi-Fi services with the City using less than half of the $1.25 million a year worth of services it's paying for. Luckily  unused money can roll over to future years of the 10-year contract. (What happens if there is still unused money after ten years?)

Esme Vos wrote about the network today at MuniWireless, stressing the need to upgrade to 802.11n units sooner rather than later if it's not been done already. (I don't think it has.)

US Internet has improved customer service in the last year and now sends out (and charges for) a technician on each install. General satisfaction of users on the system seems to be growing. I'm seeing far fewer complaints via my Google Alerts than in previous years.

Posted via email from Peter's posterous

Labels: broadband, minneapolis, USIW, Wi-Fi, wireless

- posted by Peter Fleck @ Permalink 10:10 PM |

 
Minneapolis Unwired: Test the Wi-Fi System for Free!

Labels: broadband, minneapolis, USIW, Wi-Fi, wireless

- posted by Peter Fleck @ Permalink 8:15 PM |

 
Minneapolis Unwired: Dead zones & IOUs (plus a Wi-Fi in the parks update)

Labels: broadband, minneapolis, municipal, politics, USIW, Wi-Fi, wireless

- posted by Peter Fleck @ Permalink 11:08 AM |

 
Minneapolis Unwired: NY Times Wi-Fi article lists Minneapolis wireless

Labels: broadband, minneapolis, Wi-Fi, wireless

- posted by Peter Fleck @ Permalink 7:37 AM |

 
Minneapolis Unwired: Community meetings 10/18 and 11/1
Upcoming Wireless Minneapolis informational/community meetings.

Oct. 19 at Logan Park, 690 13th Ave. NE.

Nov. 1 at Nokomis Park, 2401 E. Minnehaha Parkway.

Both go from 5:30 p.m. until 7.

Labels: minneapolis, USIW, Wi-Fi, wireless

- posted by Peter Fleck @ Permalink 9:19 PM |

 
Minneapolis Unwired: Digital Inclusion Update

Labels: broadband, digital_inclusion, minneapolis, USIW, Wi-Fi, wireless

- posted by Peter Fleck @ Permalink 9:13 PM |

 
Minneapolis Unwired: ZDNet article covers USIW response to bridge collapse

Labels: minneapolis, twitter, USIW, Wi-Fi, wireless

- posted by Peter Fleck @ Permalink 10:12 AM |

 
Minneapolis Unwired: Five things we gotta do for success
It would be in the best interest of us all in Minneapolis to take Gigi Tagliapietra's five qualities for success of muni wi-fi to heart. They show an understanding for just how important the Internet is becoming in all of our lives.

Labels: broadband, digital_inclusion, minneapolis, Wi-Fi, wireless

- posted by Peter Fleck @ Permalink 9:46 PM |

 
Minneapolis Unwired: Having City as an anchor tenant is the way to go
BusinessWeek sees problems with muni-wi-fi deployments with companies requiring cities to become the anchor tenant with guaranteed revenues. That sounds very familiar. Maybe it should be called the Minneapolis Option.

BusinessWeek: Why Wi-Fi Networks Are Floundering

Labels: broadband, minneapolis, USIW, Wi-Fi, wireless

- posted by Peter Fleck @ Permalink 9:42 PM |

 
Minneapolis Unwired: Muni Wi-Fi Meeting Tomorrow Night
City Wi-Fi Community meeting for Southwest Neighborhoods tomorrow night at Lyndale Farmstead Park, 3900 Bryant Ave. S., 5:30 p.m. to 7.

Whether you live in Southwest or not, you can attend for more information on what's happening with the wireless system.

For more information on this and future meetings, check the City site.

Labels: broadband, digital_inclusion, minneapolis, USIW, Wi-Fi, wireless

- posted by Peter Fleck @ Permalink 9:13 PM |

 
Minneapolis Unwired: New Wi-Fi helps in aftermath of bridge disaster
ComputerWorld has a nice article about how the City of Minneapolis was able to utilize the new wireless network in the aftermath of the bridge collapse.


US Internet Wireless also opened the network for free service after the disaster. With the cell network maxed out for voice calls, some people were able to use voice over the Wi-FI system.

Labels: minneapolis, USIW, Wi-Fi, wireless

- posted by Peter Fleck @ Permalink 3:04 PM |

 
There's a spectrum auction around the bend and maybe we'll get lucky
The FCC will be auctioning off old TV spectrum in 2008 and they are hard at work today creating a set of rules for the auction. Past spectrum auctions are dominated by really big companies with lots of money (and lobbyists) and this auction will be no different except there's a new kid on the block named Google. And Google thinks the FCC should require openness:

1. Open applications: consumers should be able to download and utilize any software applications, content, or services they desire;
2. Open devices: consumers should be able to utilize a handheld communications device with whatever wireless network they prefer;
3. Open services: third parties (resellers) should be able to acquire wireless services from a 700 MHz licensee on a wholesale basis, based on reasonably nondiscriminatory commercial terms; and
4. Open networks: third parties (like internet service providers) should be able to interconnect at a technically feasible point in a 700 MHz licensee's wireless network.

Read the full post at the Google Policy Blog.

Yesterday the FCC voted to require 1 and 2. Sad not to have 3 which would have really opened up the spectrum but any openness is welcome. Of course, enforcement of the openness will be another issue.

Washington Post has a good article about the whole situation, Susan Crawford reports on the decision, and Paul Kapustka at GigaOm has a good summary of what happened yesterday.

Given that AT&T is happy about the decision (see the Kapustka link), it may be (as Susan Crawford feels) unenforceable.

Labels: broadband, google, policy, politics, spectrum, Wi-Fi, wireless

- posted by Peter Fleck @ Permalink 9:08 AM |

 
Minneapolis Unwired: Status and a report at W2i
Has USI Wireless (USIW), builders of the Minneapolis Wi-Fi mesh network, officially finished Phase 1 (the downtown area and near downtown and where I happen to live). Local media hasn't reported and the two official mailing lists--one from City of Minneapolis and one from USIW--have been silent.

Today, via Google Alerts, I found a current report of sorts dates July 25. It's by James Farstad, the City's wireless consultant. It's remarkably frank and gives some insight into the building out process and some of the problems USIW is facing.

Here's a copy of the phase map with the current schedule.

Some highlights...

• Although it doesn't say that Phase 1 is done, it says Phase 2 has started.
• The network does cover 12 miles and it worked on a T-Mobile Wi-Fi device.
• Electrification is a big problem. Crushed conduit is a big problem as it has to be replaced. There are also permits to consider.
• Phase 2 should go faster because of the standard street grid but there is some road construction and missing poles to hang the nodes.
• Phase 3 is parks and lakes and potential headaches. Farstad: "I've asked the team to locate solar powered artificial pine trees that we can plant." Wow.
• Customer experience is important (sign-up, sales, support, etc.). Farstad: "Some early test interactions indicate there is work to do here and it has become an important focal point this week." Statements of poor customer service have been reported at the community wireless meetings.

Read the full report and watch for more. There are a couple of other articles on the local deployment listed here.

And USIW, it's still not too late to implement some of my community wireless related recommendations. (They got a bit of airplay via MuniWireless.)

Labels: broadband, minneapolis, USIW, Wi-Fi, wireless

- posted by Peter Fleck @ Permalink 9:45 PM |

 
Senator Durbin live blogs broadband policy
Tonight and the rest of the week, Illinois Senator Richard Durbin will be engaging in conversations at the OpenLeft blog about US broadband policy starting at 6 p.m. CST (that's tonight's time check the schedule for other nights). Check here for details and instructions on getting an account.

Here's a summary of each night's discussions:

Day 1, Tuesday July 24, will feature a live-blog with the Senator
where we'll be looking to lay out the big picture: how should we
think about broadband policy? How should we be looking at it
differently? What should the key principles for a national broadband
strategy be? It's a big-picture night and an opportunity for folks to
say what they're concerned about, as well as how they think the
Internet (and broadband overall) should operate in the future.

Day 2, Wednesday July 25, will focus on net neutrality and other 'how
the Web works' issues, but indeed, net neutrality will take center
stage. Organizers are hoping we find new frames, new insights, and
new directions for this debate.

Day 3, Thursday, July 26, is going to be about municipal
infrastructure with an emphasis on the use of the public airwaves to
provide broadband. We'll talk iPhone politics, spectrum auctions, and
discuss models for municipal broadband and their implications.

Day 4, Friday, July 27, is going to be more about practicalities in
regards to the provision of infrastructure itself: public/private
partnerships, projects like UTOPIA and Fiber for the Future, Connect
Kentucky, and USF/USDA reform.

Labels: broadband, digital_inclusion, policy, politics, Wi-Fi, wireless

- posted by Peter Fleck @ Permalink 1:13 PM |

 
Minneapolis Unwired: Are we live yet?
Has US Internet USIW finished phase 1 of the network? This includes downtown, Cedar-Riverside area, and part of Seward Neighborhood.

Checking their ordering site, I'm told that I can't yet purchase service at 24th Ave. and Franklin. I assume that means they haven't finished yet. The current build-out schedule lists June but also says that all dates are subject to change.

The next community meeting will be at Lyndale-Farmstead Park, 3900 Bryant Ave. S., on Thursday, July 19, 5:30 p.m. to 7. A second meeting with same time schedule will be held there Aug. 15.

Labels: broadband, USIW, Wi-Fi, wireless

- posted by Peter Fleck @ Permalink 10:53 PM |

 
Minneapolis Unwired: Kari tests Phase 1 Wi-Fi
Kari VanDerVeen at the Downtown Journal tests the network in the downtown area. Works well where it works, she says, but there are still holes (which USI Wireless acknowledges.

Seems she could keep a connection while riding in a car. I wonder how fast she was going.

Labels: broadband, minneapolis, USIW, Wi-Fi, wireless

- posted by Peter Fleck @ Permalink 9:48 AM |

 
Wireless Woes: MBP Unable to Connect to Actiontec
I have an almost brand new Apple Macintosh MacBook Pro (MBP) (15-inch). It's one rev back from the mercury-less model.

My home Wi-Fi connection is via Qwest DSL and an Actiontec GT701-wg DSL gateway. Qwest sold me the Actiontec and that they still support it. My MBP connected with no problem initially. In fact, it could pickup a signal from the gateway where no signals had been picked up before in my home.

Then I added Apple's last two updates: Security Update 2007-006 (from June 22) and the OS X 10.4.10. The MBP will no longer connect to the Actiontec. I can see the SSID but get an "Error in joining blah network..." message every time.

From googling the issue, I think it's a 10.4.10 problem.

I also have an older 12-inch Powerbook (aluminum) and it has not had any issues and has been able to connect to the Actiontec with no problem.

My MBP can still connect to some Wi-Fi networks including the one at the University of Minnesota and via the US Internet municipal Wi-Fi system in Minneapolis.

A. Brody has an excellent FAQ for troubleshooting Wi-Fi connection problems with current Macs. So if you're having problems like this, start there.

None of A Brody's solutions helped me. I called Apple and the support person said it's a problem with the gateway not the Mac and there were no known issues relating to the latest updates. I mentioned that there was a buzz in the Apple discussion area as well as on the Internet to which he responded that people will write anything they want and their discussion boards are user-to-user. Thanks, Apple.

Potential solution 1: I have been running my system without any encryption and some people have found that adding WPA encryption solves the problem (WPA is recommended over WEP). I'm going to try that next.

Potential solution 2: Wipe the drive and reinstall the system. Don't use the migration tool if you are migrating from an non-intell Mac because you could bring over incompatible settings. And don't update to 10.4.10. I really don't want to do this.

Today I called Qwest and talked to a DSL support guy named Steve. He said that he had a few calls last week on this issue and he was very appreciative of the testing and research I had done. He put me on hold and called Actiontec. (Actiontec charges $29.95 per incident if I call.) They said that yes, there is a problem with 802.11n Apple wireless cards. I don't know if they have linked anything specifically to the 10.4.10 update or not. They are working on it. They are hoping that Apple is working on it or will tell them more of what they are doing so they can make their Gateways compatible.

Thanks, Qwest. Apple could learn a bit about tech support from you.

I'll update with any resolutions or new information. If you know anything, please comment.

Labels: apple, broadband, mbp, Wi-Fi, wireless

- posted by Peter Fleck @ Permalink 9:36 AM |

 
Chicago Unwired: Transforming through digital excellence
Michael Maranda and the rest of the Chicago Digital Access Alliance (CDAA) are celebrating the release of the report from the Mayor’s Advisory Council on Closing the Digital Divide. It's titled The City that Networks: Transforming Society and Economy Through Digital Excellence. You can get the Chicago report here (link on the right).

Reading it is in-progress here but already I've found a term that I want to appropriate here in Minneapolis: digital climate:

a state of awareness in which virtually everyone—people, businesses, service providers, government, community organizations and others—fully understands and embraces the potential of technology in everything they do.

(This will be the second term appropriated by Minneapolis. The first was civic garden to replace walled garden in relation to portal entry pages on our muni Wi-Fi system.)

After the celebration is over, watch for report analysis at Michael's blog.

Labels: broadband, Chicago, digital_inclusion, Wi-Fi, wireless

- posted by Peter Fleck @ Permalink 7:01 AM |

 
Unwired in Philadelphia Part 2
Miriam Hill at the Philadelphia Daily News has a good piece on the trials and tribulations large municipal wireless deployments. Of course her focus is Philadelphia but it's really an overview as to what is going on in this space nationally. She provides a good description of how a wireless mesh network works and why it might be difficult to keep up and running and providing ubiquitous access.

Philadelphia is a whole lot bigger than Minneapolis both in population—1.4M compared to some 300,000—and area—135 square miles compared to 60 square miles. The stakes are definitely higher. How Earthlink fares with it's Philadelphia network will set a tone for large deployments around the country and world.

I want to commend Ms. Hill for her article and entreat our local press (Star Tribune, Pioneer Press, TC Daily Planet) to start providing this type of coverage. More than anything, we need more information about what is happening locally and nationally. We want US Internet Wireless (USIW) (our muni wireless network builder) to prosper and give us another choice for broadband Internet services in Minneapolis. But we also need to be weighing the problems with a large deployment and nurturing a conversation on how we can make this work together.

Labels: broadband, minneapolis, Philadelphia, USIW, Wi-Fi, wireless

- posted by Peter Fleck @ Permalink 10:00 PM |

 
Unwired in Philadelphia
Glenn Fleishman has a good post on the Philadelphia wireless effort. Philadelphia will be the first major city deployment and he (and others) think that the success or failure of that deployment could be a bellwether for other big city deployments.

One issue he points to is nodes. Originally, Tropos believed a city network could provide adequate service with twenty to twenty-five nodes per square mile. That number has since risen to 30+ and Novarum (a muni-scale independent testing service) puts the number even higher.

I don't know what the node density is in Minneapolis but I'll try to get that information. I do know that US Internet is increasing density in the pilot area and they told current pilot customers that the reason was "to accommodate the additional leaf coverage since installing the original
network."*

Read Glenn's post.

*from an email that US Internet sent to current customers.

Please ignore. Technorati claim in progress. Technorati Profile

Labels: broadband, minneapolis, Philadelphia, USIW, Wi-Fi, wireless

- posted by Peter Fleck @ Permalink 3:34 PM |

 
Unwired Community Summit
Back in May, I attended the International Summit for Community Wireless Networks and I was honored to be asked to represent Minneapolis's digital inclusion and community benefit efforts on one of the panels: Holistic Planning & Deployment of Wireless Networks.

Josh Breitbart at Civil Defense recorded several of the presentations including the one I participated on.

Here's the direct link to my presentation.

Make sure to check out Robin Chase's description of what's going on in Boston. (It starts 15m30s in.) Boston's plan is to have a nonprofit own the backbone and sell databits cheap to ISPs. They define an ISP as anyone: You, me, your mother. The goal is connectivity for $10/month.

US Internet in Minneapolis is also going to sell accounts to ISPs but there will be qualifications and minimum account buys in the area of 5,000 at a time. Not for the average geek to purchase.

Labels: broadband, digital_inclusion, IS4CWN, Wi-Fi, wireless

- posted by Peter Fleck @ Permalink 1:16 PM |

 
Minneapolis Unwired: Technology Day in Minneapolis featuring Wi-FI
Minneapolis Wireless Update

Minnesota Stories guy Chuck Olsen captured the Technology Day festivities on video. Included is information on the community portal system. This blogger will talk about that soon too.

Labels: broadband, digital_inclusion, minneapolis, USIW, Wi-Fi, wireless

- posted by Peter Fleck @ Permalink 6:23 AM |

 
Minneapolis Unwired: Only one can roam
Minneapolis Wireless Update

In my rush to the presses last night with details of USIW charges, I forgot to cover roaming accounts on the US Internet-Minneapolis Wi-Fi system. This is the ability to pick up your laptop and go nomadic since theoretically you should be able to connect to the system anywhere in the city limits where you can get a strong enough signal.

Monthly fees allow you a single roaming account. In two-laptop families (like mine), you would have to purchase a second account if you both want to sit in the back yard and surf the Web.

Now if you rent or purchase the USIW/Ruckus modem, you get an extra login somehow tied to the modem. Now Mary can be logged in the modem and I can roam or vice-versa.

You can rebroadcast the modem signal via a hub, switch, or an internal wireless radio (like an airport).

Labels: broadband, minneapolis, USIW, Wi-Fi, wireless

- posted by Peter Fleck @ Permalink 5:59 AM |

 
Minneapolis Unwired: The Nitty Gritty Details
[Update: I forgot to mention nomadic roaming accounts and logging in anywhere in the City where you can get a signal. You get one roaming account. More details here.]

Minneapolis Wireless Update

Technology Day, Minneapolis, and finally details of how much Wi-Fi is going to cost on the US Internet Wireless (USIW) network.



That's a quick view (click the image for enlargement). For the official prices, go to http://www.usiwireless.com/Promo03, "Click Here," agree to whatever they ask, and you will see the official offer.

You need the Ruckus device (USIW modem) to have a guarantee on the speeds. That will cost you $5/month rental or $80 to purchase. Joe Caldwell, US Internet CEO, says rental is better for the consumer as USIW will replace it if you break it. From conversations with USIW sales, I also know that firmware upgrades will also come from USIW if you rent. Rental looks like the best deal.

Uploads Throttled! My hope was for symmetrical upload/download but USIW has decided to hold all uploads at 1 Mbps. Ironic that our local vlog guy, Chuck Olsen, was recording tonight. Sorry Chuck. If you get high-speed USIW, your vid to the Net will still be in the slow lane.

If you can't get a decent signal with the Ruckus, USIW can try mounting an external directional antenna on your house or apartment building. Didn't catch the brand but I will guess Belair, same company that is making the main radios.

High Rises. After the network is in place, they are going to tackle the high rises. I think the first plan will be to turn a radio sideways which will "paint" the side of the building with a signal. Another possible plan is to use IP over electric in the building. (What's the bandwidth on that?)

Completion of the first segment (Phase 1) covering downtown, Cedar-Riverside, and part of Seward, is June 19.

That's all for now, folks. Post your questions and I'll try to answer plus the USIW folk read this blog so maybe they will chime in. What do you think of the rates?

Labels: broadband, minneapolis, USIW, Wi-Fi, wireless

- posted by Peter Fleck @ Permalink 5:55 AM |

 
Minneapolis Unwired: Community Benefits
Ed has a good summary of the community benefits included in the City's contract with US Internet. Also check my home page for links to various documents like the full contract and the original community benefit recommendations.

Happy Technology Day, Minneapolis! Everyone should wear one of those little hats with a propeller on top. The Wi-Fi Wireless Rollout is at 4 p.m. in the Doty Room at the DT library accessible by train, bike, bus or automobile. Bring your ideas about what equals community content.

Labels: broadband, digital_inclusion, events, minneapolis, USIW, Wi-Fi, wireless

- posted by Peter Fleck @ Permalink 7:36 AM |

 
Minneapolis Unwired: 2.0 style marketing
Early Wi-Fi adopters in the pilot area (Seward Neighborhood mainly) have not been well-served. Service has been very intermittent since around Mother's Day. At least one person I know has not been able to use Wi-Fi for at least a month. I believe users were warned of outages by US Internet but not that they would be without service for days or weeks.

To their credit, US Internet Wireless (USIW) is trying to rectify the situation and has refunded monthly fees.

Back in October, when USIW started selling accounts, I had some suggestions as to how a company might market Wi-Fi as they build out the network. Reading them over again, I realize I was trying to help them to transform sterile municipal wireless into something akin to community wireless.

I think the suggestions—listed below—are still viable and would result in more long-term profit than the current course USIW is following.

1. Don't charge anything for now. In fact, give us free accounts for a year and we'll help you troubleshoot problems. [Plus, subscribers could keep their other Internet accounts until the network was official.]
   
2. Start blogging about the deployment. In fact, start blogging about your company. Be as transparent as you can. Make sure the CEO is blogging. [Information about the deployment from both the City and USIW has been sparse at best.]
   
3. Lend out your Ruckus Metroflex Wireless Access Gateway units. We'll pay a deposit and return it in good working condition or buy it if we like the Wi-Fi
   
4. Help us optimize service and set up networks in our homes. You will learn as much as we do and foster good will.
5. Hold events at Wi-Fi hotspots in the pilot area.
   
6. Give away some of the Ruckus units at the events. (Winners must prove they live in the pilot area!)
   
7. Give away some of the 3-6Mbps accounts.
8. Meet with the community to educate them about the Internet and wireless. Talk to PTAs, senior centers, trade groups, and neighborhood groups. Engage the people with how cool the Internet is. Don't sell anything! In fact, answer questions honestly about the competition, and discuss the pros and cons of Wi-Fi.
   
9. Start working on digital inclusion initiatives.
10. Engage the open source and software development community in the Twin Cities. Attend Minnebar and Minnedemo and read the blogs.
    
11. Give us cool lawn signs advertising our USI Wi-Fi connection.
12. As you build out, give away some accounts in each neighborhood. Hold a street party with a raffle.

Labels: broadband, minneapolis, USIW, Wi-Fi, wireless

- posted by Peter Fleck @ Permalink 6:39 PM |