Boston's Free WiFi Plan Delayed

As the first city to form an independent organization to own and operate its free citywide WiFi network, the Boston WiFi project will not be completed by 2008 as originally planned.

While technical issues carry some of the blame, the majority of the hold up comes from lack of funding.

Building the WiFi Network On Their Own

Announcing its WiFi plans in the summer of 2006, Boston shunned the original models followed by other cities such as San Francisco, which gave responsibility for building its wireless Internet network by contracting with outside firms. Instead, the city of Boston founded OpenAirBoston, a non-profit established to manage the program. The organization was to raise up to $20 million from businesses and foundations for the project.

The group has not been able to raise such funds and has now scaled back its goals to between $12 million and $15 million. The amount raised to this date has not been disclosed.

The Grove Hall Pilot

Grove Hall, a low-income neighborhood with about 8,000 households was chosen for a test pilot to bring high-speed Internet access to local homes and businesses. Only a quarter of the neighborhood is estimated to have computers.

Once the Grove Hall pilot is complete, OpenAirBoston hopes to use it as an example of free WiFi, in hopes of fund-raising that will extend the WiFi network to other neighborhoods.

OpenAirBoston has enlisted and trained over a dozen families in Grove Hall to help test the wireless network and to communicate back to officials about their experience with the network.

Techincal Issues Arise

While funding is short, the Grove Hall test bed has also been troubled by interference and other technical difficulties. OpenAirBoston will have to add another 13 routers to fill in coverage.

Because WiFi is so fickle and so new, even experts argue that one could be sitting next to a wireless router and not get any signal, or be 30 feet away and get a strong signal. The signals seem to bounce off everything, creating inconsistencies.

OpenAirBoston told the media that while the debut of citywide Internet access is not likely for 2008, the WiFi test pilot in the city's Grove Hall might be completed by the end of the month.