Re: MetroFi Press Release
Posted by Caleb Phillips on 31 March 2007We recently became aware of MetroFi’s press release on the KGW website concerning our efforts to test the MetroFi network in Portland. We’d like to correct a few factual errors, no doubt unintentional, in the press release:
To evaluate the Proof of Concept network, the City of Portland selected an independent firm, Uptown Services instead of Personal Telco Project, which also submitted a bid in response to a city RFP (request for proposal).
The Personal Telco Project did not bid on the Unwire Portland Testing IRFP. The team which did bid on the project was composed of two of the computer science faculty at Portland State University, along with myself, Russell and several other students from Portland State University. It was in fact, Portland State University and not Personal Telco which bid on the project.
Municipal wireless is still in its infancy, and there are few qualified experts in this new area of city-wide network assessment, which is significantly more complex than local hotspot testing. MetroFi respects the City’s vendor choice, and awaits the results of Uptown Services’ impartial evaluation within the next few weeks.
We also look forward to seeing how the methodologies and results from Uptown Services compare with ours. We feel confident that our methods are rigorous, but certainly welcome any well-founded criticism. We feel that the measurements should speak for themselves.
Personal Telco’s own unofficial testing effort is clearly not independent or impartial, and we can only presume that it’s driven by their perception that we are a competitor in their local hotspot deployment project.
First, our testing was not directly associated with the Personal Telco Project. The organization did not sponsor the activity or even know of its existence until we issued our announcement earlier this week. As explained above, the two authors of this investigation were initally a part of a Portland State University bid. Had that bid won, it would have proceeded under those auspices. It has never been a Personal Telco Project investigation. The results of our study are being published by us at www.unwirepdx-watch.org, not by the Personal Telco Project. It is simply inaccurate to characterize it as a “Personal Telco testing effort”.
Second, the Personal Telco Project itself has no single view of the Unwire Portland/MetroFi network, except perhaps that the City-initiated effort is not a reason to fold its tent.
Third, it might perhaps be wise not to judge the impartiality of our effort prior to seeing details of how we have proceeded in our investigation.
We don’t view Personal Telco as a competitor, but rather as a partner who can offer indoor coverage in locations where perhaps we can’t and can also offer Portland residents an additional option for free Wi-Fi access – a great outcome for Portland’s residents.
Personal Telco is not an Internet Service Provider (ISP). Personal Telco is an educational non-profit corporation whose mission is to “build wireless networks through community support and education”. Personal Telco does not compete with ISPs such as MetroFi, in fact, all Personal Telco nodes have a paid or donated internet service connection. As an organization, Personal Telco would be happy to use MetroFi as “partner”, if MetroFi’s terms of service were such that they allowed this.
(Some) Results are Out
Posted by Caleb Phillips on 29 March 2007As planned, at the March monthly meeting of the Personal Telco Project, Russell and I announced some preliminary findings. We intend to release a full technical report in the coming days/weeks. Rather than
repeat the results reported tonight, I thought I’d give some links to online coverage which has been amazingly speedy:
- Portland Mercury: The Early Verdict on MetroFi is In…
- Oregonian: WiFi-Testing, an Early Read
- Daily Wireless: Personal Telco’s Independent Report on MetroFi’s Coverage
- Portland Mercury: Unwire Portland: Municipal Marvel or Monumental Muckup
- Oregonian: Grassroots WiFi enthusiasts provide grassroots wifi testing
- Furious Nads: Grading MetroFi
- Willamette Week: Portland’s network sucks inside and out…
As our analysis approaches completion, more results will be posted here.
Initial Announcement
Posted by Caleb Phillips on 27 March 2007Preliminary results of an independent evaluation will be presented at the Personal Telco Project Monthly Meeting on March 28 at 6:30pm
During the Summer of 2006, the City of Portland signed an agreement with MetroFi, Inc (Mountain View, California) to build a city-wide wireless network that promised to provide ad-supported, free-of-charge wifi Internet service to Portland. As part of the 82-page agreement, MetroFi agreed to initially deploy their network service in a Proof-of-Concept area. Expansion beyond the Proof-of-Concept network was to be contingent on an independent confirmation that the network performed up to the standards set out in the agreement. The City solicited bids to perform the independent evaluation and awarded a contract to Uptown Services (Boulder, Colorado).
The results of the official Uptown Services evaluation of the MetroFi Proof-of-Concept wireless network are expected in the next few days.
In addition to the official test, two local researchers and community wireless activists, Caleb Phillips and Russell Senior, have performed their own evaluation, and are ready to present some preliminary results Wednesday evening during the monthly General Meeting of the Personal Telco Project, a local community wireless networking educational non-profit organization.
Among the preliminary results presented will be detailed maps showing the boundaries of the Proof-of-Concept network as they compare with MetroFi coverage claims, the locations of the access points, street-level signal levels found in an extensive survey, a statistical assessment of how well the network measures up to the expectation of a connection in 90% of outdoor areas based on a random sample of locations, as well as a general discussion of what they have learned about the MetroFi network during their evaluation.
The preliminary results will be followed by a more complete report when it is finished in the coming days. The report will be available for download at www.unwirepdx-watch.org.
The monthly meeting of the Personal Telco Project will be held at Urban Grind Coffee at 2214 NE Oregon St, on Wednesday, March 28th, starting at 6:30 pm.