According to this article in the Pioneer Press, Frontier Communications has begun to roll out city-wide Internet wifi in Burnsville beginning near Burnsville Center mall. The plan is to eventually have coverage for the entire city by the end of 2008.
While the article touts this as a positive for residents because they won’t be taxed for the installation, as in some other city-wide networks installed and handled by local government, I see absolutely zero benefit for consumers. The network’s rates are cost prohibitive ($5/hour, $10/day, $15/two days, or $23 for a week for visitors or $10/month for current Frontier customers) and the access is slow (1mbit). Burnsville is allowing Frontier to place its antennas on permanent fixtures such as light poles and while it doesn’t disclose how much Frontier will pay for that it mentions that Burnsville will also be provided with some free access for city staff and reduced rates for other accounts.
Now, I hate city-provided wifi for a number of reasons but this plan is fucking ridiculous. This wifi network is more like going to MSP and paying out the ass for it (which I never do in any airport) and I’m not sure what benefit this network will have on the city other than the eyesore of more antennas perched atop tall structures. Are they really thinking that someone desperate for wifi is going to pay $10 instead of heading to any of the 100 businesses that offer it “free” or instead hop on any of the 10,000 open wifi access points in people’s homes (BTW, as I write this, there are 8 open access points with full connectivity around my home in Apple Valley).
They are looking to roll this stupid network out to other neighboring towns in the future but honestly, it’s just not worth it. They can keep their stupid bullshit and should instead continue to expand the services we were promised over a year and a half ago (where is my 8+mbit DSL assholes?)
If you were visiting and area littered with wifi connections and full mobile wireless through providers like T-mobile, AT&T, Verizon and Sprint would you seriously pay $10/day for this?
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August 8th, 2008 at 8:38 am
There are so many reasons why this won’t work. First off, the speed as you mentioned. If Frontier (and other city providers, i.e. Chaska) think that 1-1.5 mbps internet cuts it, they are terribly wrong. This, among other issues, is why America can’t compete with many European and Asian countries. Cut the crap and roll out something that allows people to telecommute and then we may be able to seriously compete.
August 8th, 2008 at 9:16 am
I have to agree on this. Slow expensive internet access does not seem like something that would help any of us. I guess the $10 per month for existing Frontier customers is ok, but /shrug.
This was kinda a chance to do something cool and forward thinking, instead it seems like someone got taken advantage of.
August 9th, 2008 at 8:04 am
Frontier enjoys a effective monopoly in this area. The resulting corporate delusions of grandeur lead them to believe that people will just pay whatever price for whatever crappy service. I mean, c’mon, it’s been working for Frontier so far, right?
And selling stupidity like this is supper easy when your target is a gaggle of luddite city leaders and you lead with your “We’re the technology experts; trust us.” speech.
Smell the FAIL.
August 11th, 2008 at 8:45 am
Two years ago I was on the Burnsville Economic development committee. Our first recomendation was AFFORDABLE wifi for the city of Burnsville using the Chaska/ Minneapolis models as benchmarks as far as price was concerned, between $15.00 and $20.00 per month. Also going on at that time were city council governance meetings concerning internet service. At the “public input” governance meeting AFFORDABILITY was the watchword. Citizens complained that inorder to get a lower price one had to join the ever unpopular “tripple play” programs from local providers. The Burnsville city council lead by our “myopic” visionary mayor ignored the Economic development committe, the citizens of Burnsville and went ahead and signed a NO BID contract with Frontier because Frontier kept the call center open in Burnsville saving one hundred jobs. To this day the city says anyone can put in a wireless network……… NO YOU CAN’T READ THE CONTRACT!! By the way Frontier is charging $50.00 per month for wifi in Burnsville…… That was the price quoted to me… By the way the Chaska wifi system IS paying for itself… thats more that I can say for the 20 to 50 million dollar Burnsville Boondoggle Performing Arts Center that this current city council passed ignoring the will of the Burnsville citizens.