Tech Watch | InfoWorld Staff » Muni Wi-Fi back on SF map

January 04, 2008 | Comments: (0)

Muni Wi-Fi back on SF map

TAGS: Wireless

High perhaps on its recently announced $20 million in Series B funding, wireless networking startup Meraki Networks has announced it will lift up the tar-smeared municipal Wi-Fi baton dropped by EarthLink in September 2007, stating that it will provide advertising-supported free wireless for the city of San Francisco by year's end.

Meraki's technical solution for the oft-longed-for service would be to establish a mesh network of solar-powered repeater antennas dispersed across the rooftops and balconies of the city by the Bay. The repeaters, which Meraki sells for $49, would be doled out free to interested citizens, who would then affix the units to their own private -- as opposed to city-owned -- property. The repeaters would extend the signal capabilities of Meraki's larger outdoor antennas, which sell for $99.

The populist angle not only frees Meraki of service-level agreements with the city but also transforms the city itself into a proving ground for Meraki's hardware. Should the plan succeed in delivering the 1Mbps download speeds Meraki suggests are possible with its proposed mesh network, the company would be well positioned to cash in on this very high profile proof-of-concept phase.

Some neighborhoods are already experiencing the free love, as 500 repeaters currently serve 40,000 users across the Mission, Lower Haight, and Alamo Square districts.

Intriguing, of course, is the fact that Meraki's announcement dovetails with a report released by Indiana Unviersity researchers regarding the influenza-like computer virus outbreak potential that dense urban Wi-Fi router populations present.

Posted by Jason Snyder on January 4, 2008 12:25 PM

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