Take me back to the press release
What is WiFi and why is it an important technology?
How is the Grand Haven network different from other WiFi
projects?
Is the Grand Haven network the most advanced WiFi network
in the world?
Is Grand Haven the first city wide WiFi network in the world?
What specific WiFi technologies does the Grand Haven network
use?
What do I need to connect to the Ottawa Wireless WiFi network?
What can I connect to the network?
What is the extent of the coverage area in Grand Haven?
What services will Ottawa Wireless offer in the future?
How are the city of Grand Haven and Board of Light & Power
involved in the project?
How can I sign up for the service?
If I come to Grand Haven in my boat, do I need to go onshore
to get WiFi access?
Are Ottawa Wireless antennas safe?
Is the network secure?
What is WiMAX?
Where can I get a WiFi compatible adaptor?
What services does Ottawa Wireless offer and at what prices?
What's the total coverage area?
How many residents & subscribers are there?
Are there competitors?
Does the city itself use the service?
How long did it take to implement? What were some of the
milestones?
I have other questions. How do I get them answered?
What is WiFi and why is it an important technology?
WiFi, for Wireless Fidelity, is a wireless extension of “Ethernet”, the worldwide networking standard that gave rise to the Internet. WiFi is an industry worldwide standard technology for wireless connections that is inexpensive, widely available, accepted worldwide, and highly reliable. WiFi was invented in 1997 by Lucent Technologies. WiFi is now operating on its third generation of the technology with 802.11a and 802.11g versions at 54 Mbps (megabits per second). Earlier generation, completely compatible 802.11b versions operate at 11 Mbps
How is the Grand Haven network different from other WiFi projects?
Nearly all public WiFi projects to date focus on bringing access to “hot spots,” or specific locations, such as coffee shops. In most of these instances, users share a cable or DSL line, unlike the Grand Haven fiber-optic line, which can accommodate millions of simultaneous users. Some WiFi networks focus on providing access to homes in rural areas or across a few city blocks of a downtown region. The Grand Haven WiFi network extends far beyond this by enabling a fully mobile urban WiFi network, where coverage includes the entire town. While a few cities have announced city-wide coverage, these projects are all still on the drawing board or operating in commercial pilot.
Is the Grand Haven network the most advanced WiFi network in the world?
While a variety of cities are deploying public WiFi networks, the scale, performance and availability of coverage of the Grand Haven network appears to be superior to most -- if not all -- other identified city-wide networks in the U.S. and rest of the world. Other city-wide or partial city networks include Long Beach, Calif., Half Moon Bay, Calif., Hermosa Beach, Calif., Spokane, Wash., Aukland, New Zeeland, and Zamora, Spain.
Is Grand Haven the first city wide WiFi network in the world?
Grand Haven is the first city-wide WiFi network to be operated commercially, but it is not the very first city-wide WiFi network in the world. The first city was Zamora, Spain, where several U.S.-based technology companies participated in a semi-secret pilot, deploying 300 WiFi antennas across 80% of the city by the end of 2002. The Grand Haven network, however, uses many advanced technologies that were not yet available when the Zamora WiFi network was built.
What specific WiFi technologies does the Grand Haven network use?
The Grand Haven network uses a combination of the latest wireless technologies, including 802.11a, 802.11g, polling, high-performance antennas, and advanced encryption and security technologies such as 802.11i, Virtual Private Networks (VPNs) and the Advanced Encryption Standard (AES).
What do I need to connect to the Ottawa Wireless WiFi network?
You can connect to the Ottawa Wireless network with any standard WiFi adaptor. These adaptors are available directly from Ottawa Wireless and most computer retailers.
What can I connect to the network?
Ottawa Wireless offers connections for laptop and desktop computers (PC or Mac), Playstation2, Xbox, Gamecube, and PDAs with compact flash or smart media adaptors. Customers are also encouraged to directly connect existing wireless Access Points or Routers to the network, however, it must support WPA security. More information on WPA is available on the Ottawa Wireless website.
What is the extent of the coverage area in Grand Haven?
The Ottawa Wireless network essentially brings wireless Internet to the streets, waterways and front door of every building in Grand Haven. Customers can extend the network to their boats, cars or deep within the building through the use of range-extending antennas and repeaters. Coverage is limited within the Grand Haven cemetery and nearby densely wooded area.
What services will Ottawa Wireless offer in the future?
Over the coming months, Ottawa Wireless will launch multiple services it currently has in development, including Voice and Video communications (VoIP), wireless video security and surveillance. For more information on services and pricing, please see www.ottawawireless.net
How are the city of Grand Haven and Board of Light & Power involved in the project?
The city of Grand Haven and its local electric utility, the Board of Light and Power, are working with Ottawa Wireless to provide space on existing power poles for the WiFi antennae. This has been provided in the format of a “wireless franchise.” Both the City of Grand Haven and the Grand Haven BL&P will be using the network for data communications between municipal facilities and employees. The City of Grand Haven and the BL&P also reserve the right to purchase the network from Ottawa Wireless in the future, thereby transforming it into another community-owned utility service.
How can I sign up for the service?
Customers can sign up in one of three ways, online – www.ottawawireless.net , a visit to our office, located at 1051 Jackson, or by phone: (616) 842-2763. Customers can securely pay with cash, check or credit/debit card.
Customers within the Ottawa Wireless network with a WiFi compatible card can sign up instantly. The WiFi adapter will automatically detect the Ottawa Wireless network (SSID = ottawa) and once “tuned in,” will automatically go to the Ottawa wireless sign-up screen after Internet Explorer or Netscape Navigator is launched. More information on subscribing and using the network is available on the website.
If I come to Grand Haven in my boat, do I need to go onshore to get WiFi access?
No. You can access the Ottawa Wireless network from your boat and get started without ever coming ashore.
Are Ottawa Wireless antennas safe?
All Ottawa Wireless antennas operate at 3-25x, a lower power than existing cell-phone networks. The system operates well within current FCC power restrictions.
While security is often a concern for self-deployed wireless networks, Ottawa Wireless uses the most advanced security technologies currently available to ensure a protected environment. These technologies include Virtual Private Networks, WPA, 802.11i, encryption, firewalls, filtering, RADIUS authentification and VLANs. WEP, the failed wireless security standard, is not employed anywhere within the network.
WiMAX is considered by many to be the next big extension of WiFi. It initially will use the IEEE 802.16d specification and support connections to fixed locations at typical speeds from 300K to 2M bit/sec, over a range of as much as 30 miles. A later version, based on the 802.16e standard, which might be finished in about a year and deployed in 2006-2007, is being designed to support mobility. WiMAX, also known as 802.16a, has been designed to be incorporated into the Ottawa Wireless network. Customers not directly see a difference in the network as they will continue to use standard WiFi adaptors in the network even as the WiMAX technology is incorporated.
Where can I get a WiFi compatible adaptor?
Ottawa Wireless recommends the use of 802.11b or 802.11g WiFi adaptors. You can purchase an adaptor directly from Ottawa Wireless, from any computer store, or directly from a manufacturer. A list of most of the WiFi manufacturers is available in the support section of the website.
What services does Ottawa Wireless offer and at what prices?
Services and current pricing are described at http://www.ottawawireless.net/services/pricing.html.
What's the total coverage area?
The total coverage extends just beyond the complete six square miles of Grand Haven, plus 15 to 20 miles off shore. Boaters and motorists can maintain access up to 55 mph or 48 knots. How's that for mobility!
You can view a LAND coverage map at: http://www.ottawawireless.net/coverage-map.html
How many residents & subscribers are there?
Grand Haven has about 12,000 residents. The network currently has more than 300 users/customers online.
Grand Haven has broadband via cable and DSL already, but many residents have indicated they will switch to the more affordable and flexible WiFi system when contracts are up, according to Ottawa Wireless CEO Tyler van Houwelingen.
Does the city itself use the service?
The police are testing the system in their vehicles with video, for mobile surveillance purposes. A local hospital, North Ottawa Community Hospital, is currently deploying. City administration has 2 buildings connected (via VPN), with 3 more on the way.
How long did it take to implement? What were some of the milestones?
Milestone DatesI have other questions. How do I get them answered?
If you have questions that are not answered here, please email them to glen@walkersands.com. Thanks!