Philly Announces Cloud Details T

MuniWireless says that Mayor John Street of Philadelphia and the city's Chief Information Officer, Dianah Neff, will be announcing the details of the Wireless Philadelphia business plan on 7 April 2005 (Thursday) at 12 noon Eastern time at the Mayor’s Reception Room, City Hall, Room 202.

An audio conference call-in and a web conference hosted by Dianah Neff is scheduled for 15:00 Eastern time.

Here are details for those who want to participate:

Audio conference call-in information
Concall Bridge: 888.296.6500
Guest Code: 481105

Web Conference Log In Info

Go to https://data.ccsip.com/SOC1.htm

You will be prompted to enter the following information:
• Reference Number: 385585
• Guest Code: 481105
• Enter Name and Organization

You must have Java software installed. You should also have your browser allow pop-ups during the web conference so you can view the message center and the slide show.

Posted by Muniwireless April 06, 2005

Here's an interview with Philadelphia's Diane Neff on NW Fusion.

Wireless Philadelphia (pop. 1.5 million), announced its plans to provide a vast wireless network across the 135 square miles city last year (See: High Noon for City Clouds).

The goals include;

A Competitive Location: Providing an environment that attracts and keeps the knowledge workers who drive the economy of today.
Enhancing the Visitor’s Philadelphia Experience: Today’s visitor is demanding 24/7 access to travel information and is using mobile devises to book flights, reserve a rental car, and making all sorts of travel arrangements
Delivering Public Services: The city will improve service delivery and reduce costs in many applications from mobile data terminals in police cars to hand held devices for delivery workers.
Investing in the People of the City: It will provide an infrastructure that can assist in bridging the digital divide that now exists

It is estimated that a wireless mesh can be deployed for approximately $60,000 per square mile. For the City of Philadelphia with approximately 135 square miles of land area, wireless access could be provided to the entire city for $7.0 to $10.0 million.

Recent "city cloud" announcements include the city of Alexandria, Va., home to many federal spooks. Their Wireless Alexandria (interactive map), will offer free public WiFi access in Old Town, said e-government manager Craig T. Fifer. But Wireless Alexandria is not "trying to serve everybody everywhere" as some municipalities are doing, he added.

The IEEE 802.11b and 802.11g WiFi equipment cost the city less than $14,000, not including a T1 line at $650 per month. It will link up some unusual applications. For example, one application can tell when trash can contents need to be compacted. "There's no reason to pay $40 for a cellular account to make that call," Fifer said.

Mobile Pipeline Editor David Haskin contends municipal wireless networks are not all bad. Or maybe they are.