Keen or not, no company wants to be left out of citywide service
Gillian Shaw
Sun
Fatport co-founder Michael Kuhlmann uses his laptop computer in a Seattle’s Best coffeeshop that subscribes to the Fatport wireless system. Photograph by : Ian Smith, Vancouver Sun
One way or another, Vancouver is going to get a city-wide WiFi network, and that means that major players are already scrambling to position themselves to reap the spoils.
Those jostling to get into line range from Telus — which says the city doesn’t really need such a network but is willing to participate if it goes ahead — to feisty little wireless hotspot operator FatPort, which sees itself as the perfect company to run such an enterprise.
It’s a trend that has already hit other cities, such as Toronto. And San Francisco is even vowing to offer free WiFi service to all its residents. WiFi is a short-range technology that relies on multiple transmitters spread throughout an area and already is available in many hotels, coffee shops and other businesses
But offering WiFi wireless connectivity city-wide, either free or at a nominal cost, has the potential to cannibalize wireless network offerings from some of the bigger players.
That dilemma has not escaped companies such as Telus, which are trying to balance solidly on the fence. In one breath, Telus dismisses city-wide WiFi as unnecessary, given its high-speed paid wireless services; and in the next breath pledges its enthusiasm to be part of a solution should the city go the WiFi route.
“It is a matter of when and how, not if. And as always, who pays for it,” said city councillor Peter Ladner, who has requested a staff report on potential options.
Ladner realizes the prospect may be unsettling for wireless companies, but points out that it also may open new business opportunities.
“Maybe this is another reason people are so fascinated with all this,” he said. “It becomes a whole new business paradigm.
“It blows up all the old winners and losers and leaves you with a new world where everybody has to fight for position.”
Chris Langdon, vice-president of wireless solutions for Telus, is quick to point to that company’s EVDO wireless service offers close-to-broadband wireless speeds in major centres across Canada, including Vancouver. But he allows that Telus would be interested in any WiFi plans the city may have.
“We would certainly be interested in talking to the city to understand specifically their plan,” he said. “At this point, it would be hard to speculate on how they plan on rolling it out, and what they are planning on rolling out.”
EVDO and other wireless data transmission offerings from traditional carriers provide anywhere, anytime Internet connectivity in the areas they serve. However EVDO ranges from $30 to $100 a month, and comes with limits to its usage. It’s a built-in price barrier that puts it beyond the reach of many residents.
Google has already offered San Francisco a free WiFi service that would give residents a 300-kilobit a second speed. That’s considerably slower than EVDO — which can be up to 700 kilobits a second, a speed comparable to wired broadband connections.
In Toronto, Toronto Hydro is capitalizing on its wireless meter-reading capability to offer WiFi service across the city. Earlier this week, the corporation announced its telecommunications subsidiary Toronto Hydro Telecom was to install radio access points on streetlight poles throughout a six-square-kilometre area downtown.
For the first six months of operation, the service will be free. After that customers will be offered a range of access packages at what Toronto Hydro terms competitive rates.
So far, BC Hydro has said it is watching Toronto Hydro’s developments with interest, but it adds it is not moving ahead with any similar plans in B.C. due to economics. BC Hydro says the technology of automated meter reading still evolving.
TransLink is also dabbling in WiFi, with a traffic-signal priority system it is testing on the 98 B-line buses that can prompt lights to change or hold green lights for buses. However, TransLink spokesman Drew Snider said since this is only a test that uses WiFi, any speculation about a city-wide TransLink WiFi service “a little premature.”
Ladner said determining the objective of a city-wide system is part of the study, as is figuring out how best to deliver the service.
While one might expect a company such as FatPort, which offers paid WiFi service throughout the city, would feel threatened by the city’s proposal, that company’s reaction makes it clear it is nimble enough to recognize an opportunity.
“FatPort would welcome such a network in Vancouver. We’re obviously proponents of wireless technology, in particular public WiFi technology,” said Michael Kuhlmann, a co-founder and vice-president of business development at FatPort.
Although the company has only been around for three years, it is a pioneer in the WiFi hotspot business, and Kuhlmann is keen to be part of a city-wide solution. “At the end of the day we are entrepreneurs, so it has to be an opportunity for us,” he said.
Kuhlmann suggested the optimum solution wouldn’t be one in which one provider gets the go-ahead to provide a city-wide service, and he said FatPort would welcome being part of the project.
“There is no reason whatsoever we wouldn’t participate,” he said. “We have expertise built over the last three years that could facilitate such a network.
“It would be in everybody’s best interest if all the best players in Canada were at the table.”
A hybrid option, one in which various players take part, is one preferred by Matthew Asham, president of the British Columbia Wireless Network Society, a non-profit that builds local networks and content and promotes community wireless networks.
GET IN ON THE WIFI:
Here are some WiFi websites for further information:
– www.muniwireless.com
A portal for news and information about citywide broadband projects around the world.
– www.bcwireless.net
A volunteer, non-profit organization focused on building community networks using wireless technology.
– www.canadianhotspots.ca
A Web site endorsed by Canada’s four major wireless carriers that offers a guide to hotspot locations across Canada.
– www.fatport.com
A broadband wireless hotspot service that businesses can offer free to their customers, or can offer as a paid service with subscription rates that start at $9.95 for 120 minutes that can be used anytime over a 60-day period.
– www.wi-fi.org
The Web site of an alliance of more than 250 companies involved in WiFI, whether through hardware, software or connectivity. Canada ranks fourth after the U.S., the UK and Italy in the alliances top 10 countries for WiFi hotspots.
© The Vancouver Sun 2006