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

does anyone know the gateway IP addresses that MetroFi is using on their 
Free and Premium (WPA secure) networks?

ty


----- Original Message ----- 
From: "Caleb Phillips" <[email protected]>
To: <general-9Og1/[email protected]>
Sent: Tuesday, September 04, 2007 11:55 AM
Subject: Re: [ptp-general] Wobbly Wi-Fi strives for stability inPortland 
(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
>
> -- 
> The Personal Telco Project - http://www.personaltelco.net/
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