Minneapolis wireless internet network
The city of
The network, which offers speeds of one to six
Background
At the time when the wireless network was under consideration, various other American cities already had such networks or were in the process of constructing them. Chaska and Moorhead, both in Minnesota, had city-owned and -operated wireless networks, while Philadelphia was considering building its own and Corpus Christi, Texas, was experimenting with a specialized government-use-only network.[1][2]
Before the network was built, Minneapolis's city services were run on a combination of
History
The initiative to construct a citywide wireless internet network, initiated in 2003 by city councilmember Gary Schiff,[1] aimed to both offer city residents with wireless access for around $20 per month, and also to improve city services such as fire and police by giving them greater access to information while en route or on-site anywhere in the city.[4] Bridging the digital divide in the city was also a stated goal for the network.[5]
Several ownership schemes were considered in the process of building and running the system. One plan, which named city officials as the owners and operators of the network, was scrapped because the city lacked the core competency to do it on its own, as well as the $25–30 million capital investment required for the initial construction.[4] The plan which was ultimately adopted entailed a private company building and running the network. This plan met opposition from the Institute for Local Self Reliance, an organization that stated that it believed that the city should build the network itself, and then contract a private company to maintain it.[4]
The city opened up bidding for the construction of the network in 2005, eventually receiving bids from eight different internet service providers. Of these eight, Atlanta-based EarthLink and Minnetonka-based US Internet were selected as semifinalists, and each company set up a trial program in Minneapolis before the final decision was made.[4] During this process, outcry arose from both members of the Institute for Local Self Reliance about the lack of public hearings on the subject of the network, and from Qwest, another internet service provider who had placed a bid to build and run the network, about the city's plan to be involved in the wireless internet business at all.[4] The deputy chief information officer of Minneapolis, Bill Beck, stated that the city was worried about legal restrictions and lawsuits, which were key reasons for the lack of transparency in the process.[4]
US Internet was selected by the Minneapolis City Council to build the city's network late in the summer of 2006.[5] The firm was guaranteed a 10-year, $12.5 million contract with the city as its anchor tenant.[6] USI Wireless, a wholly owned subsidiary of US Internet,[6] was tasked with installing 1,800 radio transmitters for the wireless network upon light poles, telephone poles, buildings, and other structures. Construction was slated to begin three to four weeks after the city selected US Internet, around the beginning of October 2006, and was expected to be completed by the following autumn.[5] The network is sometimes referred to as Wireless Minneapolis.[7]
US Internet also provides wired
Availability and usage
Minneapolis was intended to be covered in its entirety by the wireless network, with certain exceptions (such as the Eloise Butler Wildflower Garden, which lacked the infrastructure to support such a system).
In 2006, when US Internet was selected to construct the network, plans existed for the wireless service to be available to residents for a subscription of $19.95 per month, for speeds of one to three
By December 2010, USI Wireless had approximately 20,000 subscribers, according to the company's CEO, Joe Caldwell.[6] The company's original target was 30,000 subscribers by 2012; Caldwell expected the company would reach this milestone by 2013, due to delays in setting the network up.[6] Nonetheless, the firm made a $1.2 million profit in 2010[6] and counted 27,000 subscribers by 2014.[8] Meanwhile, in 2010, the city of Minneapolis was paying $1.25 million annually for the wireless service but using only six percent of the capacity which it had purchased.[6] Some complaints were raised by various municipal departments from whose budgets the cost of the network subscription was being deducted, regardless of whether they were utilizing it.[6] More departments, however, were beginning to use the network, including city inspectors and 90 other city employees, a trend which was expected to lead to a usage of fourteen percent of the city's purchased capacity by the end of 2011.[6]
The city of Minneapolis had connected 30 security cameras and 35 electronic street signs to the network by the end of 2010, with the intention to connect 50 network-enabled parking meters and 10 garbage trucks to the system in the near future.[6] Fire and police conversion to the citywide network was also underway, though the city was taking necessary precautions to ensure that the two services, who will ultimately have their own dedicated frequency, continue to offer uninterrupted public safety service.[6]
About 200 free wireless access points were set up around the city to aid with the city's goal of increasing access to the internet. US Internet paid $500,000 up front and agreed to pay five percent of its yearly revenues for seven years to maintain them, totaling about $10 million.[5] By 2010, 44 such points had been set up at community centers around Minneapolis,[6] out of a total of 117 which had also gone up in parks and on street corners around the city.[17] Per the request of law enforcement officials who were concerned about the potential ability to surf the internet anonymously, the free login points require the user to enter a username, password, and credit card number.[17]
Emergency preparedness
Minneapolis's wireless network was built with emergency preparedness in mind, a consideration which Caldwell noted was always a part of the proposals for such networks.[18] It was not until the collapse of the I-35W Mississippi River bridge on August 1, 2007, however, that this application of the network was truly tested.[18] By that point, USI Wireless had managed to cover about 18 square miles (46.6 km2) of the city with its network. Conveniently, much of this area was in Downtown or along the Mississippi River, near where the bridge collapse site was.[18] Shortly after the collapse, USI Wireless opened up the network to anyone (not just subscribers) and hastily added more wireless transmitters to the area to give additional speed to the network.[18] With cell phone service overwhelmed in just 30 minutes, it was Caldwell's goal that people would use smartphones to communicate via the network instead.[18] Whether or not voice communications traffic jumped in that period was unclear, but the network's usage did expand from 1,000 users before the collapse to 6,000 afterwards.[18]
The network was also used heavily by government officials and rescue personnel, who used PDAs or laptops to log on to the network.
Reception
In a report on municipal wireless networks by
The network received the W2i Digital Cities Wireless Communities Best Practices Award in 2007.[22]
References
- ^ a b c Hughes, Art (April 12, 2005). "Minneapolis is going WiFi". Minnesota Public Radio. Retrieved April 21, 2011.
- ^ Caruso, David B. (September 2, 2004). "Philadelphia Plan Would Give WiFi Access to the Whole City". The Washington Post. Retrieved April 20, 2011.
- ^ Power, Matthew (March 1, 2005). "Top Tech City: Minneapolis, MN". Popular Science. Retrieved April 26, 2011.
- ^ a b c d e f Scheck, Tom (December 7, 2005). "Minneapolis considers citywide WiFi alternatives". Minnesota Public Radio. Retrieved April 19, 2011.
- ^ a b c d e f g Williams, Brandt (September 5, 2006). "Minneapolis WiFi system could close digital divide". Minnesota Public Radio. Retrieved April 20, 2011.
- ^ a b c d e f g h i j k Alexander, Steve; Steve Brandt (December 5, 2010). "Minneapolis moves ahead with wireless". Star Tribune. Archived from the original on December 9, 2010. Retrieved April 21, 2011.
- ^ a b Gorney, Douglas (June 4, 2010). "Minneapolis Unplugged". The Atlantic. Retrieved April 26, 2011.
- ^ a b Alexander, Steve (April 22, 2014). "1-gigabit Internet service available for 4,000 Mpls. homes". Star Tribune. Retrieved December 30, 2014.
- ^ Ojeda-Zapata, Julio (October 14, 2014). "U.S. Internet has plans for a broader Twin Cities broadband". St. Paul Pioneer Press. Retrieved December 30, 2014.
- ^ Chandna, Pulkit (December 28, 2014). "U.S. ISP Beats Others to 10Gbps Internet Punch". Maximum PC. Retrieved December 30, 2014.
- ^ a b c d e Lavallee, Andrew (December 8, 2008). "A Second Look at Citywide Wi-Fi". The Wall Street Journal. Retrieved April 26, 2011.
- ^ a b Alexander, Steve (June 30, 2007). "Minneapolis Wi-Fi system hits parts of downtown". Star Tribune. Retrieved April 20, 2011.
- ^ Alexander, Steve (December 19, 2008). "Minneapolis Wi-Fi network delayed again". Star Tribune. Archived from the original on October 17, 2012. Retrieved April 20, 2011.
- ^ a b Wyant, Carissa (September 24, 2008). "Minneapolis to pump $1M in Wi-Fi network". Minneapolis St. Paul Business Journal. Retrieved April 26, 2011.
- ^ Gardner, W. David (November 6, 2009). "Broadband Goals Proposed In Minnesota". InformationWeek. Retrieved April 20, 2011.
- ^ C.J. (September 6, 2010). "Fancy Ray's busted by strip club article". Star Tribune. Retrieved April 26, 2011.
- ^ a b McGuire, Kara (June 12, 2010). "Surf's up: Outdoor Wi-Fi hotspots ready in Minneapolis". Star Tribune. Archived from the original on October 17, 2012. Retrieved April 20, 2011.
- ^ CNET.com. Retrieved April 26, 2011.
- S2CID 109652010.
- PC World. Retrieved April 26, 2011.
- ProQuest 216093305.
- ^ a b "USI Wireless' Minneapolis Network Has Highest Speeds of Any Metro Wi-Fi Network in The U.S. According to Preliminary Tests". Business Wire. January 28, 2008. Retrieved April 20, 2011.