Bresnan Tests Wi-Fi in Big Sky Country
Trial Covers Downtown Billings, Mont.
By Todd Spangler -- Multichannel News, 9/17/2007 3:22:00 AM
Bresnan Communications has initiated a test of a Wi-Fi network covering a 1-square-mile area of downtown Billings, Mont., offering free wireless access to its local high-speed Internet customers.
Bresnan spokesman Shawn Beqaj said the Wi-Fi trial is the first the operator has undertaken. At some point, he said, Bresnan may charge a nominal fee to allow non-subscribers to access the wireless network. The Billings system has just under 30,000 total subscribers.
The Wi-Fi network uses wireless routers from BelAir Networks, which connect to Bresnan’s existing broadband network via Data Over Cable Service Interface Specification (DOCSIS) 2.0 interfaces. Fujitsu Network Communications provided professional services to design and integrate the Wi-Fi solution.
Bresnan launched its small-scale test as municipal Wi-Fi networks in San Francisco, Atlanta, Houston and other cities have been thrown into limbo after Internet service provider EarthLink last month announced it would stop investing in Wi-Fi buildouts without having guaranteed sources of revenue.
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Please note that my comment, submitted a few minutes ago, was truncated by the website. It is not complete, and should not be read as being complete.
Jonathan Kramer
Jonathan L. Kramer, Esq. - 9/18/2007 10:59:00 AM EDT -
local governments and others usually don''t. Cable operators can leverage their existing investment in Internet connectivity by adding WiFi, thus adding a major new revenue path for relatively little new capital cost.
As Sprint and others start to deploy what they claim to be national WiMax services, I see cable operators quietly deploying WSANs (wireless service area networks) that are more robust from a capacity standpoint, and locally targeted...and which don''t require users to purchase new WiMax equipment.
Once again, its the vitality and capacity of the existing in-community infrastructure that sets cable apart from satellite; cellular; PCS; WiMax; copper-based telephone services; and private and local government provided WiFi (just to name a few).
Jonathan L. Kramer, Esq.
Kramer Telecom Law Firm, P.C.
Los Angeles, California ;
Jonathan L. Kramer, Esq. - 9/18/2007 10:51:00 AM EDT
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