Municipal Wireless Internet Network in Edmonton
Thursday February 08, 2007
Kevin MacMillen
A couple weeks ago I was in a pub with some friends – it was Robbie Burns Day in fact. My friend Denis was there – he is from Scotland – Glasgow actually - and I asked him what the Glaswegian tradition is on Robbie Burns Day. Of course it’s about the beer and the scotch, but the tradition also involves reciting Burns’ poetry, in remembrance of Scotland’s Greatest Poet.
The problem of not having poetry at hand to recite was quickly solved when another in the group downloaded the words to “To A Mouse” on his PDA. With the best Scottish brogue, we then had poetry in action.
Two years ago this spontaneous wireless internet download would not have been possible here in Edmonton, and the progression since then to ubiquitous wireless internet access has been painful and, more notably, expensive. That download was not so cheap, after all.
So where do we sit now? Pursuing wireless internet (WiFi) access in Edmonton was one of the nine recommendations that the Next Generation Task Force (a committee that was established to understand and find ways to make Edmonton an attractive place for people between the ages 18-40) made to City Council back in June of 2006. Now there is a working group looking at alternatives, and working towards refining the recommendation so that City Council has something more concrete to go on.
The concept becomes very complicated as you dig deeper into the logistics. What sort of radio frequency will be used? And then what sort of equipment is required? Who will pay to install it? Can one use existing cell-based infrastructure? Do we need a system which works indoors as well as outdoors? Which civic areas require coverage? Where is the technology headed and what sort of equipment will be prone to obsolescence?
In Edmonton right now there are four basic types of WiFi available. First, and most common, are personal wireless systems which anyone can set up in their home or business. The hardware is available at your local electronics retailer, and once installed your existing lap-top computer will work at high-speed, within your home or business. There are likely thousands of these private WiFi systems already in Edmonton.
Then there are more sophisticated WiFi networks which have been set up for a specific group, such as the University of Alberta’s system, which enables students access to WiFi from a variety of locations on campus. The City of Edmonton also has one, for employees. Other commercial entities such as West Edmonton Mall have a WiFi network available to their consumers. These networks are available for specific users or for a specific area.
Then there are WiFi Hotspots dotting our civic landscape, typically in cafes or other public areas where attracting users has a commercial utility. There are perhaps 50 or so in Edmonton, and it is a pay-per-minute affair - $.15 per minute at its most expensive.
Finally, for the best coverage, one can purchase a so-called “Air Card” from a cell phone provider. When installed in a lap-top, the device enables high-speed access from anywhere that a cell signal exists, it is quite expensive however. This technology applies to hand-held devices as well – as anyone with a browser function on their cell phones can attest to.
A variety of cellular-based carriers offer wireless internet access right now however the service is notably cost-prohibitive for any typical personal usage.
The latest in the US uses new devices on a different frequency. This Wi-Max technology operates on proprietary band-widths. That means a company owns the radio frequency and has developed a market based on that fact. Verizon for instance owns specific Wi-Max frequency in most if not all major centers in the States, and offers a hand-held device which provides typical cellular access for telephone, coupled with high-speed internet on a different network, all at a more moderate cost.
Concurrent with that development is the increasing prevalence of commercial or retail web-sites providing a better browsing capability for PDA’s – so that a small screen looks at a version of the web-site which is built for small screens.
This really speaks to what wireless will do for Edmonton in the future. Is it the case where users will want to operate their lap-top and down-load a spread-sheet or a power-point presentation at the mall, or in Earl’s? Or is it more likely a PDA user accessing a web-site to gain consumer info or down-load music or game on-line?
It looks as though the latter may be increasingly prevalent, and good old capitalism is defining how Wi-Fi technology is being developed.
We are grappling with these issues as we attempt to move forward in refining our recommendations to Edmonton City Council for a public WiFi network in Edmonton. The Next Gen Committee wants to hear your opinion and voice about WiFi. There are two things you can do to help us out:
1) go to our WiFi blog www.wifiedmonton.ca . We welcome your comments.
2) fill out our WiFi survey beginning February 8th. You can access the survey by visiting our web site www.edmontonnextgen.ca.
Anyone who submits their name at the end of the survey has a chance to win an iPod Shuffle.
The more input we get, the better decisions we can make as a municipality. After all, “The best laid schemes o' mice an' men gang aft agley”
Column ID#: 29
**Opinions expressed by guest columnists do not necessarily reflect the views of Connect2Edmonton members, partners or sponsors.**
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