Government Technology - January 2008 - (Page 33) Board Can WiMAX save municipal wireless? on the public’s appetite for low-cost wireless Internet. For the most part, the networks struggled to attract enough subscribers to make them profitable. These difficulties were on clear display in 2007 as EarthLink — a major player in the municipal wireless market — cut nearly half its work force after losing millions of dollars on the initiatives. EarthLink CEO Rolla Huff announced the company would back away from further municipal wireless projects until it found a viable business model. On the technology side, municipal wireless initiatives often ran into higher-than-expected equipment costs, as the task of blanketing large urban areas with Wi-Fi coverage proved harder than anticipated. Cities and their private partners found that hundreds — if not thousands — of Wi-Fi access points were needed to provide adequate coverage. Where does that leave cities, many of which still want municipal wireless networks? Cities and commercial wireless providers will hash out better business models. But Back Drawing the to Over the past several years, hundreds of U.S. cities launched municipal wireless initiatives, as widespread wireless Internet access became the latest must-have for local officials bent on keeping their communities economically competitive. But that activity cooled significantly in the latter half of 2007. The chill stems from several factors. The implosion of the “free” business model that attracted wide interest in municipal Wi-Fi has left many cities unsure of how to pursue wireless Internet access on a communitywide scale. Furthermore, shortcomings with the wireless technologies used to deliver municipal networks created other unforeseen challenges. The business-model problems are well documented. Many projects called for commercial network providers to foot the bill for citywide Wi-Fi networks in exchange for mounting wireless antennas on public light poles and other assets. Closing the digital divide was a driver for many of these undertakings, which pinned hopes of network use ANDY OPSAHL | FEATURES EDITOR | ILLUSTRATION BY TOM McKEITH 33 http://www.govtech.com
Table of Contents Feed for the Digital Edition of Government Technology - January 2008 Government Technology - January 2008 Contents Point of View Big Picture The Last Mile On the Scene CIO Sightings Four Questions for... Spectrum Location, Location, Location Digital Governor Back to the Drawing Board Waukesha Goes Green Collaring Dangerous Dogs Public Sector Goes Web 2.0 Bounce Back SACWIS Rollout Simple Strategy Products Personal Computing How It Works signal:noise Government Technology - January 2008 Government Technology - January 2008 - (Page CW1) Government Technology - January 2008 - (Page CW2) Government Technology - January 2008 - (Page CW3) Government Technology - January 2008 - (Page CW4) Government Technology - January 2008 - (Page Bellyband1) Government Technology - January 2008 - (Page Bellyband2) Government Technology - January 2008 - Government Technology - January 2008 (Page Cover1) Government Technology - January 2008 - Government Technology - January 2008 (Page Cover2) Government Technology - January 2008 - Government Technology - January 2008 (Page 3) Government Technology - January 2008 - Contents (Page 4) Government Technology - January 2008 - Contents (Page 5) Government Technology - January 2008 - Contents (Page 6) Government Technology - January 2008 - Contents (Page 7) Government Technology - January 2008 - Point of View (Page 8) Government Technology - January 2008 - Point of View (Page 9) Government Technology - January 2008 - Big Picture (Page 10) Government Technology - January 2008 - Big Picture (Page 11) Government Technology - January 2008 - The Last Mile (Page 12) Government Technology - January 2008 - The Last Mile (Page 13) Government Technology - January 2008 - On the Scene (Page 14) Government Technology - January 2008 - CIO Sightings (Page 15) Government Technology - January 2008 - Four Questions for... (Page 16) Government Technology - January 2008 - Spectrum (Page 17) Government Technology - January 2008 - Location, Location, Location (Page 18) Government Technology - January 2008 - Location, Location, Location (Page 19) Government Technology - January 2008 - Location, Location, Location (Page 20) Government Technology - January 2008 - Location, Location, Location (Page 21) Government Technology - January 2008 - Location, Location, Location (Page 22) Government Technology - January 2008 - Location, Location, Location (Page 23) Government Technology - January 2008 - Location, Location, Location (Page 24) Government Technology - January 2008 - Location, Location, Location (Page 25) Government Technology - January 2008 - Location, Location, Location (Page 26) Government Technology - January 2008 - Location, Location, Location (Page NIC1) Government Technology - January 2008 - Location, Location, Location (Page NIC2) Government Technology - January 2008 - Location, Location, Location (Page NIC3) Government Technology - January 2008 - Location, Location, Location (Page NIC4) Government Technology - January 2008 - Location, Location, Location (Page NIC5) Government Technology - January 2008 - Location, Location, Location (Page NIC6) Government Technology - January 2008 - Location, Location, Location (Page NIC7) Government Technology - January 2008 - Location, Location, Location (Page NIC8) Government Technology - January 2008 - Location, Location, Location (Page 27) Government Technology - January 2008 - Digital Governor (Page 28) Government Technology - January 2008 - Digital Governor (Page 29) Government Technology - January 2008 - Digital Governor (Page 30) Government Technology - January 2008 - Digital Governor (Page 31) Government Technology - January 2008 - Back to the Drawing Board (Page 32) Government Technology - January 2008 - Back to the Drawing Board (Page 33) Government Technology - January 2008 - Back to the Drawing Board (Page 34) Government Technology - January 2008 - Back to the Drawing Board (Page 35) Government Technology - January 2008 - Waukesha Goes Green (Page 36) Government Technology - January 2008 - Waukesha Goes Green (Page 37) Government Technology - January 2008 - Collaring Dangerous Dogs (Page 38) Government Technology - January 2008 - Collaring Dangerous Dogs (Page 39) Government Technology - January 2008 - Public Sector Goes Web 2.0 (Page 40) Government Technology - January 2008 - Public Sector Goes Web 2.0 (Page 41) Government Technology - January 2008 - Bounce Back (Page 42) Government Technology - January 2008 - Bounce Back (Page 43) Government Technology - January 2008 - SACWIS Rollout (Page 44) Government Technology - January 2008 - SACWIS Rollout (Page 45) Government Technology - January 2008 - SACWIS Rollout (Page 46) Government Technology - January 2008 - SACWIS Rollout (Page 47) Government Technology - January 2008 - Simple Strategy (Page 48) Government Technology - January 2008 - Simple Strategy (Page 49) Government Technology - January 2008 - Products (Page 50) Government Technology - January 2008 - Personal Computing (Page 51) Government Technology - January 2008 - Personal Computing (Page 52) Government Technology - January 2008 - Personal Computing (Page 53) Government Technology - January 2008 - How It Works (Page 54) Government Technology - January 2008 - How It Works (Page 55) Government Technology - January 2008 - How It Works (Page 56) Government Technology - January 2008 - How It Works (Page 57) Government Technology - January 2008 - signal:noise (Page 58) Government Technology - January 2008 - signal:noise (Page Cover3) Government Technology - January 2008 - signal:noise (Page Cover4)
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