Re: Wobbly Wi-Fi strives for stability in Portland (The Oregonian)

> I am curious what you guys think of the MetroFi service in Portland.

I don't think Personal Telco has any one opinion on the matter (being an
all-volunteer-anarchy-of-sorts). 

We (by which I mean mostly Jason McArthur) have archived some opinions
and links and stuff like that on the wiki:

  http://wiki.personaltelco.net/MetroFi

Also, Russell and I (as most know by now) did an independent (of both
the City and PTP) survey of the Portland MetroFi proof-of-concept
network, which lives here:

  http://unwirepdx-watch.org
  http://unwirepdx-watch.org/files/report.pdf

However, this is less what we "think" and more what we "learned" about
the network.

Some comments below...

> Wobbly Wi-Fi strives for stability 
> Technology - The city's wireless network's been plagued with technical difficulties and iffy finances 
> Monday, September 03, 2007 
> MIKE ROGOWAY 
> The Oregonian 
> The dream of cheap, wireless Web access broadcast across whole cities -- a dream nurtured with great fervor around the country last year -- has largely collapsed. 
> 
> In city after city, technical limitations and financial troubles have killed plans to replicate coffee shop Wi-Fi networks on a broad scale. Just last week, plans for networks in Chicago, Houston and San Francisco were scuttled when EarthLink Inc. disbanded its Wi-Fi team. 
> 
> And yet in Portland, the dream survives. 
> 
> Despite eight months of ridicule by bloggers and techies, and scores of complaints from would-be Web surfers who can't connect, Portland's network is proving stubbornly resilient. 

Should say "citizen criticism" not "ridicule by techies".

> Data from MetroFi Inc., the California company behind the project, indicate that thousands of people are quietly using the network. It isn't the plug-and-play, universal access of Web surfers' dreams, but it's not an out-and-out failure, either. 

Oh, boy, nothing proves success like asking the marketing department!

> "I don't know of any municipal wireless network that has as much usage," said Chuck Haas, MetroFi's chief executive. "Portland is absolutely a success." 
> 
> If Portland is positioned to be the last man standing, though, that's hardly an enviable spot. MetroFi itself acknowledges that free Wi-Fi alone won't satisfy its investors, and is exploring alternatives that include more robust technologies and paid services. 
> 
> Others say that Portland's plan was fatally flawed and that it's impossible to use Wi-Fi to build a citywide network that's both profitable and reliable. 

Perhaps they were focusing on the wrong kind of profit.

> Portland should start over with a community-oriented approach focused on bringing wireless access to individual neighborhoods, said Michael Weinberg, president of the volunteer group Personal Telco Project. 

Yay, Mike!

> Personal Telco popularized Wi-Fi in Portland by setting up dozens of free hot spots in cafes and bars around the city and helped inspire the city's network. The group's members quickly turned against the effort and are now among its most vocal critics. 

Wrong again. We didn't "turn against it", we're just concerned and vocal
citizens.

> "Personal Telco Project was able to do a lot of stuff because we're volunteers," he said. "That gives us a huge advantage in terms of accomplishing a lot of things." 
> 
> A rough start 
> 
> MetroFi won Portland's contract in the summer of 2006 by offering what seemed an unbeatable deal: free Wi-Fi for nearly all of Portland, with no financial commitment from the city. The startup planned to pay for its network with 1-inch banner ads that appear across Web browsers while users are online, and from other wireless subscriptions it hoped the city would buy. 
> 
> The first phase went online downtown in December. Troubles were immediately apparent, as coverage was spotty in some areas and all but unavailable indoors. Many users were surprised to learn that MetroFi recommends a $100 signal booster indoors to overcome the limitations of low-powered Wi-Fi signals. 
> 
> Negative reviews followed, distributed coast-to-coast by National Public Radio and The Associated Press. The AP labeled Portland's network "frustrating" after repeated, unsuccessful attempts to log on. Portland bloggers and technologists have been considerably less kind, offering expletives and other scorn to describe connection problems. 
> 
> Still, MetroFi persists. The Portland network is now about 25 percent complete, and MetroFi says it expects to cover nearly all of Portland by this time next year as its contract with the city requires. 
> 
> While network performance is certainly erratic overall, in certain places close to network antennas -- and even some places indoors -- access is dependable and fast. For many people, apparently, that's enough. 
> 
> MetroFi reports the number of people online has climbed from about 4,300 a month at the start of the year to more than 17,300 in August. Those folks spent an average of nearly 15 hours on the network last month, MetroFi says. 
> 
> But the question remains whether even a growing user base will make the project work financially. 
> 
> An analysis by The Oregonian of MetroFi's business model suggests that, if the company's data is accurate, advertising could support the network once it's fully built. But returns would likely be modest. 
> 
> Even if usage rates don't grow, MetroFi could expect about 70,000 regular users each month when its network is complete. Assuming the amount of time users spend online remains constant, they would generate as many as 1 billion page views a year, and at least $5 million in advertising revenue annually. 
> 
> In July, MetroFi reached agreement with Microsoft and a California online ad company called JiWire Inc. to supply advertising for the Portland network. A recent check of ads running on the Portland network showed a number of national advertisers have bought space, including Monster.com, Verizon Wireless and Wells Fargo. 
> 
> Factoring in some unsold advertising space, network operating expenses and the $10 million it cost to build the network, MetroFi could break even within a few years. 
> 
> While agreeing generally with that analysis, CEO Haas indicated that his company's venture capital backers are looking to do more than break even. 
> 
> So to supplement its free Wi-Fi network, MetroFi wants to develop two other sources of income: selling subscriptions to a faster wireless network to business customers and to government agencies. 
> 
> "To get the investment community to fund these networks it requires all three revenue streams," Haas said. 
> 
> Potential and problems 
> 
> Just a year ago, cities all over the country envisioned wireless futures. Wi-Fi, immensely popular as a convenient way for connecting to the Web in homes and cafes, seemed to offer the promise of a low-cost network that could make fast Web connections broadly accessible on the cheap. 
> 
> But things haven't worked out. National interest in municipal Wi-Fi is flagging and network performance lagging, said Daryl Schoolar, networking analyst for the research firm In-Stat. He said MetroFi and other wireless contractors have no choice but to seek alternatives to the public networks they originally planned. 
> 
> Wi-Fi, which has difficulty penetrating walls and reaching past radio interference, may never be a credible technology for broad access, Schoolar said. 
>
> "There seems to be a lot of fluctuation in the performance of these networks," he said. 
> 
> Trying to check the industry's troubled economics, MetroFi has teamed with EasyStreet Online Services Inc., a venerable Internet service provider based in Beaverton, to start offering more robust wireless subscriptions to business customers in Portland. 
> 
> And earlier this year, MetroFi decided to stop building municipal networks unless cities agree to be an "anchor tenant," committing to pay a specified amount to subscribe to wireless access. Portland made no such commitment, but MetroFi later dropped plans to build networks in Ohio and Alaska after cities in those states balked at committing any funds. MetroFi still has projects under way in Illinois and California. 
> 
> Looking at the future 
> 
> MetroFi says it remains committed to free Wi-Fi in Portland, and the city remains 

"Free-as-in-ads"

> "I think that's a business model that can ultimately work," said Portland city Commissioner Dan Saltzman, whose office led efforts to bring citywide Wi-Fi to Portland. 
> 
> Portland will evaluate MetroFi's progress more fully at the end of the year, Saltzman said, though he anticipates that MetroFi will continue building the network whatever the city concludes. If necessary, Saltzman said, he would be open to finding ways to supplement MetroFi with other wireless services in areas where coverage is inadequate. 
> 
> "If we decide this isn't right for us, or vice versa, we'll maybe look at some more homegrown options as well," he said. 

Wow. Great! Saltzman++. That's the most political affirmation of
community wireless in Portland that I've heard, in, well, forever. I
guess at some point they have to admit that it works :).

> Mike Rogoway: 503-294-7699, [email protected], http://blog.oregonlive.com/siliconforest/   

--
Caleb Phillips

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