Decide for yourselves, folks. (if you don't have the time, then just read the bold items)
Almost two weeks ago, Detroit News gave us a clearer picture of this Oakland Wireless proposal.
To wit:
When L. Brooks Patterson laid out his vision to make Oakland County completely wireless by 2006, the idea was to attract more business. Companies would flock, he said, to a county so tech-savvy and cutting-edge that the Internet floats through the air where they can capture it -- for free -- and use it to make money.
While many raise questions about whether the Oakland County executive's plan to build the first all wireless county will work, the proposal is a hit with many residents and Web enthusiasts who would love to have Internet access without the monthly bills.
Under Patterson's proposal, for which bids are expected in June, anyone who pulls open a laptop computer on their front porch, a park bench or a boat in the lake district can tap into the World Wide Web for free.
Patterson vows that no taxpayer money will pay for the wireless system. Wireless technology experts and service providers agree that the technology exists to build a system that covers Oakland's 910 square miles but estimate it will cost in the range of $50 million to $100 million to build.
They also raise serious questions about whether it can be done so big and so fast.
"Nobody has built a network this big. No one even knows how it would work," said David McClure, president and chief executive officer of the Washington, D.C.-based U.S. Internet Industry Association, a trade association that advocates for wireless, broadband and cable companies, among others. "This is about bragging rights. At some point, someone's going to have to tell the emperor he's not wearing any clothes."
County leaders propose partnering with private technology firms to build the network using some 2,400 publicly owned access points, such as traffic lights and telephone poles, and have it in place by mid-2006. County leaders say the initiative will lure tech-savvy businesses and jobs to Oakland,...
Residents eventually could opt to drop their Internet service provider and rely on the county's wi-fi system, although the speeds will be slower than a cable connection, for instance, and the strength of the wireless signal will vary throughout the county, said Phil Bertolini, deputy county executive.
Cable giant Comcast, which provides cable modems to customers throughout Metro Detroit, isn't worried about the potential competition, said Jerome Espy, spokesman for Comcast in Michigan. "Right now, we're in listening mode and watching how things shake out," he said.
Under Oakland's plan, private providers are expected to offer to pay for, install and manage the network.
Building a system for the 910-square mile Oakland County, therefore, could top the $90 million mark, McClure said. (Poster note: I would double that figure, $150-180 million, all payable by the proposed providers with NO government recompense).
"When I talk to businesses around the world about locating in Oakland County, we'll get some attention if we can say we're the only county that's wireless," Patterson said. "This has everything to do with attracting more businesses and attracting more jobs, and I'm not at all ashamed that that's our motive." Bertolini agrees.
"We know that companies want to be located in high-tech areas. We want people to flock here for that reason like they flocked to Silicon Valley for years," he said.
Free of charge
The county insists private companies will provide wireless Internet access for free, but participating companies will be able to charge fees for certain services, such as faster connections. Oakland officials also said providers could sell advertising on the system as a way to make it profitable.
"We're concerned about the magnitude of what they're trying to accomplish. They're trying to form partnerships, but they're really not putting up any money . Their big claim is that they're making millions of dollars of resources available, but it's really nothing more than free access to roofs and poles," Coyl said. "That certainly helps, but it's a lot to swallow when they're asking certain companies to put up $50 million to $100 million to make this work."
"The question is why any company would want to come in and do this when they in theory could make money from doing something in that area without having to offer anything for free," he said.
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Hack's Attack:
Councilman Kurt Hack made a presentation at the last council meeting to discuss the project.
"The initiative will provide wireless Internet services to all Clawson residents at no cost to you," Hack said. "We (also) want to provide no-cost or low-cost computers to those at-risk communities, to low-income (residents), or the elderly ... so they can take full advantage of what the wireless Internet has to offer them."
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According to the publicly available RFQ (Request for Qualification), here is partially what Oakland wants:
2.2 Wireless Oakland™ Overview
Wireless Oakland™ is an initiative launched by County Executive L. Brooks Patterson that consists of three goals. The first goal is to blanket the County's 910 square miles with wireless internet service. The second goal will directly address the County’s "digital-divide" and provide low-cost or no-cost PC's and technology training to underserved population groups. Finally, the third goal will develop a Telecommunication and Technology Planning Toolkit that will support continued high-tech investments in local government and promote the integration of those investments with local community character and quality of life.
Public tax dollars and/or grant monies will not be used to subsidize the provision of wireless internet service.
Respondents will be required to provide insurance and bonds to mitigate the risk
of installing hardware on the public and private assets.
One qualified Respondent will be required to implement a demonstration project in an urban County community in early September 2005. The demonstration project will be an opportunity to evaluate the proposed technologies in a small geographic area (10-12 city blocks) and gather feedback from the general public. The cost of the demonstration project will be borne by the qualified Respondent and the qualified Respondent is expected to assume complete management and responsibility for the demonstration project.
Certain qualified Respondent(s) will be required to implement a pilot project in assigned County communities in the Fall 2005. The pilot projects will be an opportunity to further evaluate the proposed technologies and gather feedback from the general public. The specific communities that will participate in the pilot projects will be announced in July or August 2005. The cost of the pilot projects will be borne by the qualified Respondent and the qualified Respondent is expected to assume complete management and responsibility for the project.
The benefits of this initiative are nearly endless. Wireless Oakland™ will prepare the residents of the County for the jobs of tomorrow. As businesses go high-tech and more high-tech firms locate and relocate their businesses within the County, the residents of the County must be prepared to fill the jobs those businesses have to offer. Government agencies will also benefit from increased efficiencies when providing services to the public.
Well, there it is in a nutshell, so what say YOU?
