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Wireless Atlanta Frequently Asked Questions |
How will Wireless Atlanta affect Atlanta residents? Wireless Atlanta will provide high speed wireless broadband service that is affordable, easy to access, and accessible throughout the City. Residents may save money on their current broadband costs while those who have not used broadband before may subscribe to the Wireless Atlanta network. This Citywide network will allow residents to access the Internet from nearly any location in the City of Atlanta – creating the opportunity for anytime, anywhere access and providing the infrastructure necessary for residents and businesses to communicate with each other and access information like never before. In addition, the City of Atlanta will be using the broadband network to securely access online criminal databases and share intelligence in real time – making your neighborhood and family safer. How will Wireless Atlanta affect Atlanta's businesses? Wireless Atlanta will offer businesses the opportunity to both access the Citywide broadband network and save on business level (T1 and above) broadband services. The City is requiring that the selected company provide T1 services for small business. Since wireless does not require the expensive wired infrastructure often affiliated with T1 service, business customers should expect to save substantially on their broadband costs. In addition, Wireless Atlanta will allow businesses portable access to the network throughout the City and provide the opportunity for businesses to develop innovative mobile applications that increase productivity and decrease costs. Wireless Atlanta is an initiative of the City of Atlanta to provide wireless Internet access throughout the City through a public/private partnership. Why was Wireless Atlanta created? The Wireless Atlanta initiative was launched to provide a Citywide blanket of high speed Internet access to the residents, visitors, and City employees. Providing anytime, anywhere broadband access will help meet Mayor Franklin's second term goals to improve quality of life, promote economic development, and support public safety. How will Wireless Atlanta be funded? Wireless Atlanta will be funded by a private service provider that partners with the City. The City expects to invest no taxpayer dollars to support the capital and operating expenses of the network. When will a network be deployed? The City released a Request for Proposal (RFP) in June and expects that network deployment could begin as early as the spring of 2007. Will Wireless Atlanta compete with local Internet Service Providers (ISPs)? The Wireless Atlanta broadband service will be provided by a private service provider. However, the City requires that the selected service provider offer wholesale services to other service providers at a competitive rate. The City believes that its residents and visitors benefit by increased competition, which leads to lower prices and value added services. How will Wireless Atlanta cooperate with private companies? Wireless Atlanta will select a private service provider to form a partnership. Wireless Atlanta will then provide City assets including traffic light poles, buildings, and towers located throughout the City to support the Citywide network installation. Wireless Atlanta will also work with other entities that have important infrastructure assets and help the service provider reach an agreement for mounting rights. Aren't DSL and Cable already available in most of the City? Why wireless? Even in areas where DSL and Cable Internet access is available, it can be cost prohibitive for many residents and businesses. Also, DSL and Cable do not support nomadic, portable and mobile usage, which is increasingly important for residents, businesses, government, visitors and business travelers. Will the network be upgraded over time with newer technologies? Yes, the RFP requires the selected service provider to outline their network upgrade strategy and cost estimates. In addition, since the network will be privately owned and operated, the City believes that the selected service provider will find it necessary to consistently upgrade the network in order to remain competitive. While the network will not deliver a guaranteed speed for connectivity, average service is estimated at one megabit per second (Mbps) or greater upstream and downstream, depending on other network connections. Will this be an indoor or an outdoor network? While network equipment will be installed on outdoor utility poles, wireless signals may be transmitted indoors depending on location, distance from the utility pole, and the type of building. Which areas of the City will have free access? It is expected that some public parks, common areas, and other gathering places throughout the City will have free access. Will the City's public safety and government agencies have prioritization over public users? The RFP requires the selected service provider to prioritize traffic for Public Safety and other City employees in the case of an emergency. The network will support varying levels of security, ranging from open, public access to highly secure use by government agencies. The level of security will depend on the types of applications being used. How reliable will the network be? The RFP requires that the Wi-Fi network provide 99.9% reliability. Who will a resident or business subscriber call for support? Subscribers will contact the service provider they used when signing up for the service for customer service and technical support. Will antenna or other equipment be required at a home or business to access the network? Users with a wireless card in their computer, laptop or handheld device should be able to access the service while roaming throughout the City, with no additional equipment. A small, indoor “wireless bridge” may be required at any residence or business where indoor service is requested. A wireless bridge can be self-installed by the resident and purchased at a local electronic goods store like Best Buy, Circuit City , or Radio Shack. Is it true that trees and metal objects can disrupt a wireless connection? Trees and buildings can decrease wireless broadband coverage areas. However, the City will require the private company designing and deploying the network to design the network to insure that the network covers 95% of the outdoor areas in the City. Does wireless interfere with my cell phone? No, Wireless Atlanta's network will use unlicensed spectrum while cell phone providers use licensed spectrum. However, many common household items like microwaves, baby monitors, and garage door openers may interfere with the wireless network. The selected service provider will conduct a comprehensive site evaluation throughout the City to build the network in a way that accounts for existing “noise” in the unlicensed spectrum. Is a particular wireless card recommended? No, as long as the wireless card is Wi-Fi certified it will be able to work with the equipment deployed by the City. Does a wireless card reduce battery life? Using a wireless card to access the Internet does decrease battery life. What is the difference between 802.11a, 802.11b, 802.11g, etc? The basic difference is coverage area and connection speed. The table below outlines the differences between 802.11a, 802.11b, and 802.11g:
Will Bluetooth transmissions interfere with my Wireless connection? Since Bluetooth and Wi-Fi use the same unlicensed spectrum, interference can be an issue. However, the result of interference between these two technologies is usually a slower data rate. When Bluetooth devices encounter interference on a channel, they move to the next channel and attempt to resubmit the data. Wi-Fi usually decreases its speed and attempts to resend. For the vast majority of users, this type of interference will be minimal and only temporarily decrease transmission speeds. Why doesn't the City wait until WiMAX? The City believes that Wi-Fi and WiMAX will be complimentary technologies for at least the next eight years. Proposers may decide to use WiMAX equipment to provide backhaul connections to the Wi-Fi nodes located throughout the City since WiMAX solutions currently provide fixed broadband connectivity. I use a Mac instead of a Windows-based machine. Can I still use this service? Yes, as long as the Mac has a wireless card. Since Wi-Fi is still a relatively new technology, there is little conclusive evidence on whether Wi-Fi signals are safe. However, many common household devices use the same radio waves as Wi-Fi including microwaves, baby monitors, and garage door openers. These household devices are commonplace and few people consider them unsafe. |