Cost of wireless in city could be reduced by half
by Byron Kho
The Daily Pennsylvanian
October 18, 2004
A Silicon Valley, Calif., company recently proposed to provide all Philadelphia residents with free wireless Internet service in under three months for an installation cost of $5 million -- a significantly smaller investment than provided for in the city's original proposal.
AnchorFree Wireless not only claims that it can provide coverage cheaper, but also that its proposal will make wireless access available indoors as well as outdoors.
City officials had initially announced that implementation of a citywide wireless infrastructure would cost $10 million and take roughly a year to build.
"Their price is a big waste of money," said Eugene Malobrodsky, senior vice president of AnchorFree. "We know how to build at lower cost and in faster times, because we have done so before."
Malobrodsky referred to the company's May installation of a fully operational wireless "hot zone" in downtown Palo Alto, Calif., a mile away from Stanford University.
However, Philadelphia's chief information officer, Dianah Neff, warned that Palo Alto could not be directly compared to Philadelphia.
"Palo Alto is not a dense metropolitan city and will have different requirements for the number of devices. They could also be using a different technology," Neff said.
However, AnchorFree is confident that its plan could work in Philadelphia.
"While wireless mesh technology -- which the city plans on using -- can only be used outside, our networks will be functional inside as well," Malobrodsky said.
Company spokesman Denis Hiller noted that, unlike the city's plan, AnchorFree plans to include both indoor and outdoor transmitters.
"We have a patent-pending methodology," Hiller said. "We'll talk to business owners, churches, residents, so we can strategically place our transmitters for maximum effect. We want everybody in the city to go wireless."
AnchorFree's proposal will be reviewed by the Wireless Philadelphia Executive Committee, which is responsible for overseeing the planning and installation of the municipal wireless project.
"The committee is looking at multiple governance models, sustainability options, including types of services and fees, plus privacy and security issues," said Neff, the committee chairman.
Neff and other city officials have also participated in talks with local telecommunications companies to determine corporate participation in the project.
The Wireless Philadelphia committee is expected to submit a recommendation to Mayor John Street by December.
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