[Rooftops] Re: [msgs] City of Boston WI-FI "summit" Thurs @ Museum of Science (9am - 1pm)

Mon May 16 01:37:33 EDT 2005

I have hard time getting behind initiatives like this because with rare  
exception:
	- they aren't designed to be self-sustaining and tend to operate with  
an infinite subsidy
	- they're deployed with too little forethought and too much excitement
	- they seem to forget that people don't use laptops in parks, and  
won't, and maybe oughtn't, for a number of reasons
	- there's nothing magical about wireless connections that "bridges the  
digital divide"
	- they're pushed by self-interested vendors chasing a permanent  
money-stream

I would sure like to know what BTS Partners stands to gain from this  
event, considering that their business is the design and deployment of  
networks.

Another of the sponsors is Boston WIreless Advocacy Group (BostonWAG)  
whose founder is Michael Oh, who can himself be often heard promoting  
the Newbury Open Net as a means of advertising his computer services  
business, Tech Superpowers. Confusingly, BostonWAG seems to be  
advocating simple open access points [10] like the access point in my  
living room, something that's very different from the promise to paint  
an entire 3D city with high-speed data to solve decades of division  
between poor and rich people. BostonWAG also has stake a claim to a  
bigger mission of collecting wireless best and worst practices, but so  
far the website only shows about 10 reviews of coffee shops offering  
wireless Internet access... that's not quite the same thing, and a real  
understanding of best and worst practices may require empirical data  
that simply do not exist at this early point.

The survey, with its open-ended questions asked of people with no  
background in the subject, provokes lots of magical fantasy thinking on  
the part of respondents who aren't hamstrung by the physics of radio  
signals or sunlight, or that Boston is cold or rainy 9 of 12 months, or  
that miss the point of the exercise entirely, for example: [2]
	"I could go anywhere outside in the nice weather months to get work  
(social & professional) done on my laptop."[3][6][7]
	"I could have used my laptop while in Vermont" [8]
	"I would like to be able to use my laptop in different rooms of my  
home"
	"Being able to bring my own laptop into work and not having the to  
find an extra cord around." [9]
	"Just having information available at my fingertips would be helpful."  
[5]

This stuff will make for a great showing at the public meeting, but  
it's not rooted in reality.

I note that several respondents to the survey seem to anticipate that  
this service will indeed provide "free wireless" but the promotional  
materials don't really suggest that will (or could) be the case,

The Philadelphia experiment that seems to have made Boston officials so  
envious, will _not_ provide free wireless access to the entire city of  
Philadelphia, but will instead create a nonprofit ISP launched with  
subsidies and friendly loans, with operating costs covered by  
subscription fees just like those paid to cable, DSL or dialup  
providers already. In that way the project is not unlike a nonprofit  
(still in operation today) ISP that I helped found, to cover a large  
rural area that was entirely unserved by commercial ISPs back in the  
1990s. But in that case there were no alternatives and our work created  
a market that allowed other ISPs to come in with services we did not  
offer. [4]

We dealt with some of the same magical thinking in the WCNet [4]  
project, but still managed to build something sustainable, over a large  
area, without paying fees to outside consulting firms to sort it out  
for us.

Anyone on msgs who'd care to either debate this or help me put together  
an explanation of how this project could rapidly and permanently  
consume the scarce resources that might otherwise actually "bridge the  
digital divide" is of course welcome to e-mail me.

Councillor Tobin has been talking about this for a long time, then got  
distracted. Now Boston is perhaps playing "keep up with Philadelphia"  
before anyone even knows whether that experiment will be a success or a  
failure.

apologies for typos or errors of fact or omission. it's late.

REFERENCES
-----------
[1]  
http://www.phila.gov/wireless/pdfs/Wireless-Phila-Business-Plan-040305 
-1245pm.pdf
[2] http://wifi.btspartners.com/Userresults.php
[3] http://www.cityrating.com/cityweather.asp?City=Boston
[4] http://wcnet.org/
[5] Connection != Information at fingertips
[6] http://ksgaccman.harvard.edu/hotc/DisplayIssue.asp?id=32  and  
noting that crime rates are higher in the warm summer months when it's  
vaguely feasible to use a computer outdoors
[7]  
http://www.rv.net/forum/index.cfm/fuseaction/thread/tid/15504819/ 
gotomsg/15505187.cfm
[8]  
http://maps.google.com/maps? 
q=boston,+ma+to+montpelier,+vermont&spn=4.078125,7.553058&hl=en
[9] http://www.networkworld.com/newsletters/sec/2004/0315sec1.html
[10] http://www.bostonwag.org/mission/index.html

On May 16, 2005, at 12:35 AM, tpryor at media.mit.edu wrote:

> ...forwarded from multiple sources...
>
>> If you're interested in attending the Boston Wi-Fi
>> Summit that City Councillor Tobin's Office is hosting
>> with the City of Boston, The Museum of Science and The
>> Boston Foundation ... read on for more info about how
>> to RSVP in case you haven't seen the info on
>> BostonWAG's website yet.
>> WI-FI SURVEY:
>> At the summit, BTS Partners will present a study
>> conducted to determine existing wireless technology in
>> the city of Boston and potential models to increase
>> Wi-Fi capability in the future. The survey for
>> individuals will remain available after the 5/19 WiFi
>> Summit to gather additional individual input and
>> include the report. If you have not filled out the
>> survey, please do! While the survey is geared towards
>> Boston residents, if you reside outside Boston you can
>> enter your town in the "other" field on question #2.
>> (For example: Cambridge, Brookline, etc.)
>> To participate in the survey for individuals visit
>> http://wifi.btspartners.com
>> Please share this information with your friends and
>> colleagues in the Boston area who are interested in a
>> discussion about wireless in Boston.
>> WHAT:
>> Boston Wi-Fi Summit
>> RSVP ONLINE:
>> http://www.bostonwag.org/summit.html
>> RSVP BY PHONE:
>> If you prefer to RSVP by phone, City Councillor
>> Tobin's office is taking RSVPs at 617-635-4220.
>> WHY:
>> BTS Partners will present a study conducted to
>> determine existing wireless technology in the city of
>> Boston and potential models to increase Wi-Fi
>> capability in the future. The event is the outgrowth
>> of an order filed in August 2004 by City Councillor
>> Tobin, who represents West Roxbury and Jamaica Plain.
>> Councillor Tobin?s order called for hearings to
>> discuss how the City of Boston could use wireless
>> technology to bridge the ?digital divide? and provide
>> the infrastructure to support residents? growing need
>> for access to new technology.
>> WHEN:
>> Thursday, May 19, 2005
>> 8:45 AM - 1:00 PM
>> WHERE:
>> Museum of Science
>> Science Park
>> Boston, MA 02114
>> 617.723.250
>> http://www.mos.org
>> AGENDA:
>> I. Registration/Coffee & Refreshments
>> II. Welcome Remarks
>> III. BTS Presentation
>> IV. Panel 1: Questions and comments regarding the BTS
>> analysis from a community perspective
>> V. Panel 2: Discussion of possible business models
>> that could work in Boston
>> VI. Next Steps
>> VII. Audience Questions & Comments
>
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