Aiirmesh: Wi-Fi Cities Come Calling

[David Farber <dave () farber net>]

Begin forwarded message:

From: Dewayne Hendricks <dewayne () warpspeed com>
Date: October 30, 2004 4:31:11 AM EDT
To: Dewayne-Net Technology List <dewayne-net () warpspeed com>
Subject: [Dewayne-Net] Aiirmesh: Wi-Fi Cities Come Calling
Reply-To: dewayne () warpspeed com

Aiirmesh: Wi-Fi Cities Come Calling
 October 29, 2004
<http://www.wi-fiplanet.com/news/article.php/3428821>

Cities such as Philadelphia and San Francisco, which are investigating 
large-scale Wi-Fi deployments, have Aiirmesh Communications on 
speed-dial.

 Noted for using Wi-Fi to create a wireless mesh network for the 50,000 
residents of the Cerritos, CA., Aiirmesh "has been contacted by 
Philadelphia and San Francisco," says Tony Esfandiari, CEO of Aiirmesh.

 Recently, a number of cities have expressed interest in offering Wi-Fi 
throughout their locales.

 Philadelphia wants to start in 2005 building a Wi-Fi network for its 
1.5 million residents. The city expects to spend $10 million to unwire 
135 square miles.

 New York City also is deep into the planning phase of creating a Wi-Fi 
network for those living in that East Coast landmark.

 "We will not stop until every San Franciscan has access to free 
wireless Internet service," declared Gavin Newsom, that city's mayor. 
With Wi-Fi service already available at the city's baseball park, 
Newsom is planning on deploying Wi-Fi in the Union Square shopping 
area, Chinatown, City Hall, the waterfront and throughout housing 
projects and community centers.

 "Cities want to offer Wi-Fi like a utility," says Esfandiari. While 
Wi-Fi is often viewed as an attractive alternative to cable or DSL for 
broadband services, cities need to investigate the risks and benefits 
of deploying Wi-Fi on a citywide basis.

 Aiirmesh made news last year when it—in partnership with Tropos 
Networks, and Pronto Networks—began installing a Wi-Fi mesh network 
spanning 8.6 square miles of Cerritos. At the time it was billed as the 
single largest Wi-Fi deployment in the U.S. Now cities are considering 
using the wireless networking technology to cover millions of citizens 
and hundreds of square miles.

 What is spurring the expansion of Wi-Fi in cities? "Homeland security 
is a driving force in urban areas," says Esfandiari. Cities like New 
York and LA want to use Wi-Fi to link police, fire and emergency 
services.

 Aiirmesh recently announced it has begun a six-month trial which the 
company hopes will convince Los Angeles planners to use Wi-Fi 
throughout the city.

 Through the trial "the city of LA is going to get a feeling" for the 
benefits of Wi-Fi, says Esfandiari.

 To convince LA of Wi-Fi's potential, Aiirmesh is unwiring the Marvin 
Braude San Fernando Valley Constituent Service Center in Van Nuys, CA. 
Located 15 miles North of LA., the government center is the home of the 
mayor's office and a number of other planning agencies. The center is a 
frequent destination for lawyers and engineers in the San Fernando 
Valley area, who use the location as an alternative to going into LA.

 "Anyone with a Centrino chip" will be able to get free Internet access 
throughout the 142,000-square-foot center, according to the Aiirmesh 
CEO.

 "As a technological leader, Los Angeles should be on the forefront of 
providing Wi-Fi Internet access," said LA Council member Jack Weiss, 
the pilot project proposal's author.

 "An extensive study with the Univ. of California is underway" to track 
the number of users and other statistics resulting from the Wi-Fi 
pilot, says Esfandiari.


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