Should New Orleans be deploying a WiFi hookup citywide, or should this be left to the private sector - Essay Example

In the aftermath of the disastrous Hurricane Katrina, the infrastructure of New Orleans was completely wiped out. This meant that traditional wireline phone service and cellular networks stopped functioning. The only communication network that was still intact was the wireless mesh network mounted on electric poles that was used to support the city's crime surveillance cameras prior to the storm. (Greene, 2006). Once power was restored to the storm ravaged city, one of the first steps undertaken by the Chief Intelligence Officer of New Orleans (CIO), Greg Meffert, was to expand the Tropos-based mesh network, link it to the Internet and open access to citizens to make IP calls through VoIP, (Voice over Internet Protocol) software from companies like Skype and Vonage (Greene, 2006).

And thus the idea of a WiFi network for the city took shape, and on November 29, 2005 (just 3 months after the disaster) City Mayor C. Ray Nagin announced the deployment of the country's first free municipally owned wireless internet system in the downtown area. (Krim, 2005). The public Wi-Fi service, was set up with $1.2 million worth of equipment donated by Tropos and Intel (Hamblen, 2006). The case of New Orleans brings to light the increasing trend of municipalities across America and the world to launch their own free or low cost wireless internet service over entire city areas.

As in the case with New Orleans, the arguments for deploying a municipally owned wireless internet are 1) To reduce the digital divide; a term which refers to those (individuals and businesses) who are disadvantaged by the inability to access high-speed internet because of their failure to pay for high speed DSL/broadband or their geographic location (rural America, where low population density ) which makes it infeasible to lay down the infrastructure needed for traditional wireline internet services. 2) Low cost of deployment: A WiFi network makes use of existing infrastructure like electricity poles, lamp posts, municipal buildings etc.

to transmit signals over a sufficiently large area. The proposed cost of the WiFi network for 1.5 m people of Philadelphia was projected at $10.5 million; conversely it cost $ 8.5 million to build the traditional broadband cable and internet network, in Lebanon (Ohio), which is a small town of only 17,000 people. Thus the cost per person would be much lower as compared to a wired network and the time taken for deployment is also comparatively faster (New Millennium Research, 2005). 3) Municipally owned wireless network will bring forth efficiency and increased productivity in the working of the city councils and law enforcement agencies.

This was seen in the efficient working of the building inspectors in New Orleans who were able swiftly process paperwork for reconstruction permits without wasting time in travel from city office to site. WiFi networks can also in the future