A major advantage of muni wifi is much greater capacity and much lower latency...
The biggest case "for" is one of capacity... It's a matter of trivial mathematics that sharing spectrum over a small geographic area versus over a far larger cell site results in a much larger capacity per user. This is because that same spectrum can be re-used over and over. The result is that Wi-Fi can deliver some two orders of magnitude greater bits per second per square meter than cellular data networks. Simply consider a one-kilometer radius cell site versus a 100-meter radius Wi-Fi access point, and that's a hundred-to-one difference in coverage area.
Because of the simpler CSMA protocols and smaller networks, Wi-Fi also has inherently lower latency, less than 10 msec, whereas 3G networks are struggling to get down to 100 msec. As a result, Wi-Fi provides a better broadband experience and scales better for dense user configurations. Another pro is the prevalence of Wi-Fi-equipped computers, whether notebooks or handhelds. The architecture of mesh makes a lot of sense, too, namely that only a subset of access points need a connection to a wireline infrastructure. With standardization coming through IEEE 802.11s, we'll eventually have interoperable mesh infrastructure. And with VoIP becoming a reality for Wi-Fi, even voice service becomes a possibility.http://www.smallbizpipeline.com/showArticle.jhtml?articleID=175007733
This should all translate into better service at lower cost. Then there's WiMax that will improve the range of muni wireless dramatically.
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