Re: Bait and Switch?

On 10/5/07, Rick Lindahl <rickl-R3ScRDP9NayTtA8H5PvdGFaTQe2KTcn/@public.gmane.org> wrote:
>
>  Unfortunately, no one wins in this scenario: The city doesn't get the
> network they expected and promised, MetroFi (and its investors and
> suppliers) don't make money, the muni-wireless industry looks bad and, most
> importantly, the citizens of Portland don't get a competitive service!
>

-The city could get the network is needs, but now they will have to ,
maybe, take some more tech and less political considerations into
account.

-MetroFi and its investors should take this opportunity to go learn a
little about planning wireless networks, there are several good books
on the subject.

-The muni-wireless industry got a little ungrounded there, didn't it?
Maybe they too can take this as an opportunity to get grounded in some
facts of the field they are in.

-The citizens of Portland also need to be more grounded in what it
takes to make a city wide cloud of wifi networking. If the citizens
got every need without a care for reality there would be gold paved
streets and fresh coffee flowing from sidewalk fountains. A metro
sized wifi cloud is going to take some work, maybe a little effort on
their part or it is going to look like just another ISP service with a
monthly bill. Hats off to all the people around the city who have put
in the hard work and effort to making what it is we already have
around the city, both ptp efforts and others good works.


So what are the downsides of MetroFi playing out its eventual and
loudly predicted swan song? Lots of folks called MetroFi on the BS of
their plan back when it was unfurled so it is not as if efforts were
wasted in working on their "solution". I am sure some will spin this
as a gain of some sort, such is the ways of politics which is what ths
whole situation is about having little to do with being being grounded
in technical decision making.


So the losses? Some faces with egg, some bad thinking sources exposed,
some misguided Pollyannas looking a bit foolish... it could have been
much much worse.


-tomhiggins

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