Municipal Wi-Fi Faces Multiple TestsMunicipal Wi-Fi Faces Multiple Tests

THE HOPE
Municipal Wi-Fi will bring low-cost Internet access to the masses and attract businesses and tourists to cities.

THE CATCH
Interference, network interoperability, and signal strength could plague deployments.

Telecom companies once flatly opposed low-cost municipal Wi-Fi in cities where they provide broadband services. Now some are softening their stance as they move to get in on the action. That will help cities trying to deploy these networks, but it won't do away with concerns.

AT&T is one of four companies that bid in March to provide a high-speed wireless network for Washtenaw County, Mich. Cable provider Cox Communications, which in the past lobbied Congress to stop municipal Wi-Fi projects, has teamed with Internet provider MobilePro and Strix Systems to build wireless networks in several Arizona cities. Time Warner recently bid on a project in Dublin, Ohio, and Sprint Nextel is testing a citywide Wi-Fi service for Henderson, Nev.

All these deployments are testing the bounds of the technology. There's the potential of interference from existing private Wi-Fi networks. How muni Wi-Fi will work alongside third-generation cellular and WiMax networks also is a question. The broadband industry is working on what's called an IP Multimedia Subsystem, to let cellular, wireless, and wireline networks talk to one another, but that looks to be at least five years away.

Signal strength could leave these efforts short of citizens' expectations. Some proposals only require wireless signals to reach street-facing rooms on the first and second floors of buildings. Tough luck for the high-rise crowd or the emergency workers helping them.

Municipal Wi-Fi may be coming to a city near you. But don't expect a perfect unplug-and-play experience.

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