The Future of Municipal Wireless Networks (Review Report)

Local governments are experimenting with municipal wireless networks to provide constituents with wireless internet access in outdoor areas of a community.



Report Highlights
While still a nascent trend, communities around the world are investing in municipal wireless networks to improve government effectiveness, broaden digital inclusion and support economic development. The most successful communities will focus on accomplishing a primary goal before expanding to offer more services over the network. As the market for municipal wireless networks matures, municipalities and technology vendors have developed a variety of business models to deliver the best value for their communities. Three leading business models are the completely public model, the public-private partnership model, and the anchor tenant model. Because communities are developing municipal wireless networks to improve the effectiveness of government operations, it is critical that they select the proper applications to run on those networks


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DATAMONITOR VIEW 1
CATALYST 1
SUMMARY 1
METHODOLOGY 1
EXECUTIVE SUMMARY 2
Introduction 2
Understanding the Emerging Market for Municipal Wireless Networks (Market Focus) 2
Choosing the Right Business Model for Municipal Wireless Networks (Strategy Focus) 2
Applications: Providing the Value in Municipal Wireless Networks (Technology Focus) 3
US & UK Municipal Wireless Spending Through 2012 (Databook) 3
UNDERSTANDING THE EMERGING MARKET FOR MUNICIPAL WIRELESS NETWORKS (MARKET FOCUS) 5
Summary 5
Municipal wireless will change how local governments and citizens communicate 5
Bleeding edge communities lead the market for municipal wireless 5
Successful communities will focus on a primary goal for municipal wireless 7
The need for improved government operations drives municipal wireless initiatives 8
Municipal wireless promises to "bridge the digital divide" 10
Innovation attracts economic development 11
Vendors must work with governments to overcome financial and political challenges 12
Governments struggle to justify the high costs of deploying and operating municipal wireless networks 12
Fear of political backlash may thwart municipal wireless plans 14
Action Points 15
Focus on the community's primary goal for municipal wireless 15
Recognize that digital inclusion involves more than low-cost internet access 15
Involve multiple stakeholders in the planning process 15
CHOOSING THE RIGHT BUSINESS MODEL FOR MUNICIPAL WIRELESS NETWORKS (STRATEGY FOCUS) 17
Summary 17
Business models and ecosystems are critical factors in municipal wireless efforts 17
Success of a municipal wireless initiative depends on its supporting business model 18
The completely public model offers local governments total authority over their municipal wireless network 18
A public-private partnership allows municipalities and service providers to focus on their core strengths 19
An anchor tenant relationship promises the most success for municipal wireless networks 21
Choosing the right partners is crucial for municipal wireless networks 22
Services providers lead the move towards public-private partnerships 23
AT&T extends its DSL business with municipal wireless 23
BT partners with 12 UK cities for municipal wireless 24
EarthLink offers municipal wireless via public-private partnerships with local governments 24
MetroFi partners with local governments for municipal wireless projects 25
The Cloud provides an open wireless network for municipalities and service providers 25
US Internet builds municipal wireless networks in public-private partnerships 25
Networking companies provide the backbone of municipal wireless networks 26
Alvarion provides WiMAX equipment for backhaul 26
BelAir Networks's multi-radio equipment create mesh networks 26
Firetide equipment enables mesh networks 26
Nortel equipment and applications support municipal wireless 27
PacketHop extends fixed mesh networks 27
Proxim Wireless increases focus on mesh networks 27
SkyPilot's primary focus is municipal wireless 28
Strix Systems manufactures multiple-radio equipment 28
Tropos Networks takes a software-based approach 28
Content providers, search engines and systems integrators also play important roles in municipal wireless 29
Google attempts to bring attention to the municipal wireless market 29
IBM acts as a systems integrator on municipal wireless projects 29
LastMile Communications delivers local content over municipal wireless networks 29
Action Points 30
Require the municipality to commit to the network as an anchor tenant 30
Clarify the boundaries of overlapping responsibilities early to ensure end-user satisfaction 30
Enter into an agreement with a joint understanding of the municipality's assets 31
APPLICATIONS: PROVIDING THE VALUE IN MUNICIPAL WIRELESS NETWORKS (TECHNOLOGY FOCUS) 32
Summary 32
The power of municipal wireless networks lie in the applications they support 32
Public works applications allow departments to be more productive 34
Automatic meter reading applications streamline utility data collection 34
Smart parking meter applications enable municipalities to collect more revenue 34
Public safety applications help communities prevent and investigate crime in real time 35
The 4.9 GHz band isolates public safety traffic 35
Video surveillance applications help public safety agencies patrol city areas remotely 36
Field worker applications allow agencies to provide better service to constituents 36
Municipal wireless networks allow case workers to accomplish more work in the field 37
Inspection applications supported by municipal wireless networks eliminate redundant processes 37
Action Points 38
Ensure network usage with the right applications 38
Search for the "killer app" that will push municipal wireless over the tipping point 38
Involve end-users in the decision-making process 38
US & UK MUNICIPAL WIRELESS SPENDING THROUGH 2012 (DATABOOK) 40
Introduction 40
Total US & UK municipal wireless spending, 2006-2012 41
US municipal wireless spending, 2006-2012 42
US municipal wireless spending, 2006-2012 by municipal population 43
UK municipal wireless spending, 2006-2012 44
UK municipal wireless spending, 2006-2012 by municipal population 45
APPENDIX 46
Definitions 46
Acronyms 46
References 46
Extended methodology 46
Further reading 47
Ask the analyst 47

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Table 1: Total US & UK municipal wireless spending, 2006-2012 ($ Millions) 41
Table 2: US municipal wireless spending, 2006-2012 ($ Millions) 42
Table 3: US municipal wireless spending, 2006-2012 by municipal population ($ Millions) 43
Table 4: UK municipal wireless spending, 2006-2012 ($ Millions) 44
Table 5: UK municipal wireless spending, 2006-2012 by municipal population ($ Millions) 45


Figure 1: A handful of communities are on the bleeding edge of the municipal wireless trend 6
Figure 2: The market for municipal wireless networks in the US and UK will explode over the next five years 7
Figure 3: Government efficiency and public safety top localities' expected benefits for municipal wireless 9
Figure 4: A large divide still exists between those with access to the internet and those without 10
Figure 5: Costs are the largest hurdle for local governments to overcome when investigating municipal wireless initiatives 13
Figure 6: In a municipally-owned model, the local government acts as the service provider 19
Figure 7: A public-private model allows each entity to concentrate on its strengths 20
Figure 8: An anchor tenant relationship provides the municipality and the service provider with more influence over the network's design 22
Figure 9: The ecosystem for municipal wireless 23
Figure 10: Improving internal government operations is the top goal for municipal wireless 33
Figure 11: Total US & UK municipal wireless spending, 2006-2012 ($ Millions) 41
Figure 12: US municipal wireless spending, 2006-2012 ($ Millions) 42
Figure 13: US municipal wireless spending, 2006-2012 by municipal population ($ Millions) 43
Figure 14: UK municipal wireless spending, 2006-2012 ($ Millions) 44
Figure 15: UK municipal wireless spending, 2006-2012 by municipal population ($ Millions) 45

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