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| March 14th, 2007 |
March 14th, 2007 |
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Having successfully completed the pilot phase, the Wireless Washtenaw project is now concentrating on the pre-deployment phase.
Pre-deployment is split into two sub-phases: Engineering and Asset Acquisition. It is a combination of these two sub-phases that will determine the much anticipated roll-out schedule.
Today I'll cover Asset Acquisition.
This is probably the most difficult part of the project. 20/20 and Washtenaw County representatives have been working on this sub-phase since the Pilot build began back in October, 2006.
In order to deliver the signal over the entire 720sq. miles of Washtenaw County, 20/20 must mount over 2300 radios on existing and new structures. Existing structures include buildings, light poles, utility poles and towers. These assets could be publicly or privately owned. 20/20 will also construct new towers in areas where there are no existing structures.
Public Assets
As part of the agreement with the county, 20/20 will provide a free 84kbps Internet service. In exchange for the free service, 20/20 obtained mounting rights on publicly owned County and Stakeholder assets (Stakeholders are those municipalities within Washtenaw County which have signed the county's Wireless Washtenaw Master Participation Agreement (MPA)). Even though the agreement states we have rights to the use those assets, it may not preclude the necessity of following the ordinances of each municipality.
What we're finding is no two municipalities are alike. Some have strict ordinances requiring a board review for mounting anything on anything, such as a radio on a house. Others are much more forgiving and require only an administrative review for mounting a radio on an existing water tower.
20/20 is committed to providing Wireless Washtenaw to all Stakeholders. Engineering the network and determining the rollout schedule is directly dependent on how accessible assets are to mount radios and build towers in each signed municipality. We will deploy in the least restrictive areas first. At the same time we will work with the tougher locations to either streamline the processes or comply with existing ordinances.
Private Assets
Then there are the assets not included in the MPA. These include buildings, towers, poles, silos, grain elevators, church steeples and land. They are owned by DTE, MDOT, area businesses, building owners, farmers, congregations and private residents.
Many private residents and small businesses have volunteered assets for the project. We continue to take their information and will contact each of them to negotiate an arrangement if they become necessary for the full network build.
Others larger corporations like DTE (think of all those utility poles) are also cooperating and fast tracking us whenever possible. However, they too at times require extensive contract review and discussion. Our lawyers are reviewing the DTE as well as other contracts as I write this.
Coordinating the acquisition of public and private assets is challenging but not insurmountable. What we've found from both public and private participants is a great deal of anticipation and eagerness to make Wireless Washtenaw a success.
Next week I'll cover the Network Engineering sub-phase of pre-deployment.
20/20 Communications was selected by Washtenaw County to provide county wide Wireless Internet access.
There are four (4) phases to Wireless Washtenaw:
- Pilot
- Pre-deployment
- Deployment
- Customer acquisition and retention
The phases will begin to overlap as portions of them are completed throughout the county.
If you have questions or would like to register for the service when it's in your area, visit our Wireless Washtenaw website.
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