Wireless City deployment in Calgary shows off different business model

Wireless Internet service providers (WISPs) in Calgary have a head start on their colleagues in other municipalities after Calgary Technologies Inc. lit up four Wi-Fi hotspots last month on a not-for-profit basis. The hotspots are part of the Wireless City initiative. Project director Richard Belzil says publicly owned facilities can offer significant advantages to the business model of fledgling Wi-Fi operators, which can now break out of the gate with a network that already spans a significant portion of the city’s core area. Belzil says there are a number of models for Wi-Fi being implemented across the country and North America. "There’s different business models being proposed and what’s really being modeled here is the notion that you would have a third-party access network and a number of WISPs could roam on it, could service it," he tells Report on Wireless. Belzil says there may be a couple more hotspots in the future, but that will be all. "It’s up to the WISPs to equip the rest of the city. We’re not here to interfere with the commercial model." Currently, NetWireless and Telus Mobility are the only two wireless providers connected to the Wireless City network, but more are expected to join in the future. The identities of those companies will be made known once they have officially signed on, Belzil says. He says the impetus for this program was borne out of curiosity to understand Wi-Fi and to see how the usage of Olympic Plaza would change by having wireless coverage. But the program is also about promoting technology companies in the region and giving them an ability to showcase their wares. Belzil notes that the vast majority of Wi-Fi players are testing the waters through a revenue-sharing model. They acquire the location, put the equipment in, and then offer the location owner a portion of the service revenue. That doesn’t work in all situations, he says, adding that there has been some high-profile failures in the United States in the past. In the hotel market for example, revenue sharing doesn’t work very well, Belzil says. "In fact, for the hotel to own their own infrastructure and then have WISPs roam onto it is actually a more stable model." While Belzil admits that communications companies are and will be part of the market, this type of business model also lends itself well to other similar companies and locations. "It may be a facility owner, somebody who has buildings or a facility that is appropriate as a hotspot. They could own their access infrastructure and let (other WISPs) roam onto it. That’s an innovative business model." One of the key factors in bringing this network to fruition was the low-cost of deployment. Belzil explains that 5.8 GHz gear from Calgary-based Wi-LAN Inc. as backhaul was the right way to go. "We feel that using a wireless backhaul demonstrated how rapidly you could get that network up and running. It turns out to be a very cost-effective way of doing it." Belzil says the wireless backhaul also allows the operator to quickly respond to changes in demand or physical environment. "If you configure your network thus and such today and your experience two or three months later tells you actually you’d be better over there, you pick it up and move it. You don’t have all that infrastructure to move around."

Wireless City deployment in Calgary shows off different business model

News | July 9, 2003

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Wireless City deployment in Calgary shows off different business model

News | July 9, 2003

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