Tech Watch | InfoWorld Staff » Motorola: Metro Wi-Fi'll never happen

October 19, 2006 | Comments: (0)

Motorola: Metro Wi-Fi'll never happen

TAGS: Wireless

In writing my column about WiMAX that will be online next week I spoke with Juan Santiago, senior director of product management at Motorola.

We were talking about Wi-Fi versus WiMAX and I found one of his comments about Wi-Fi both interesting and enlightening.

Enlightening because as so many in high tech they put down what was once touted as the next great technology in order to promote their own.

Santiago dismissed Metro Wi-Fi as an attempt, he as much as said it was a feeble attempt, to take Wi-Fi outdoors. According to Santiago Metro Wi-Fi, "hasn't happened."

Among Santiago's reasons are because it is unlicensed, free, there are too many devices out there creating too much interfence to make it usable.

Secondly, it would be too costly to support and maintain outdoor
Wi-Fi. Reason being, to get coverage similar to cellular requires too many access points because of Wi-Fis short range.

"If the municipalities didn’t subsidize [Metro Wi-Fi] the business case falls apart."

Santiago went on to say that the only reason the business case works is there is a tit-for-tat with municipalities, in which they get free access to the infrastructure like the light posts.

I guess the word subsidized is an anathema to a commercial concern but not everything has to be commercial. Isn't garbage collection, fire protection and police subsidized by city government, too? Isn't that why we pay taxes?

I suggest if WiMAX is so much better why doesn't Motorola donate the infrastructure to a municipality and show us all how to do it right.

Posted by Ephraim Schwartz on October 19, 2006 03:20 PM

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