In addition to Minneapolis, Ruckus Wireless is currently the exclusive or preferred supplier of customer premise metro equipment for a number of municipal Wi-Fi networks across the country including networks in Mountain View, CA; Portland, OR; Toronto, Waterloo, Ontario; Vail, CO and St. Louis Park.
US Internet was selected in September 2006 by the city of Minneapolis to build and operate the 60- square-mile broadband wireless network. US Internet is standardizing on the Ruckus MetroFlex as the customer premise equipment (CPE) that will provide subscribers with reliable in-home broadband connectivity to the outdoor Wi-Fi network. The Minneapolis metro Wi-Fi network is being deployed and is expected to be completed by the end of the year.
According to US Internet, the in-home CPE was the single biggest issue in the design and development of the Minneapolis city network. "What we put in the home is key to the success or failure of this network," said Travis Carter, co-founder and VP of technology for US Internet. "You can have the best Wi-Fi radios on every light pole -- and we do - but if users in their homes can't connect to them, who really cares?"
"It gets extremely cold in Minneapolis and people won't be on a park bench connecting to the network," Carter continued. "This means we needed long range and reliable Wi-Fi receivers in the home that could automatically deal with interference and Wi-Fi obstacles. The Ruckus MetroFlex was hands-down the best product in its class for this use case."
Carter noted that unlike other metro Wi-Fi deployments, US Internet uniquely approached its metro Wi-Fi architecture from the "inside out" instead of from the "outside in," focusing on subscriber connectivity first.
US Internet is allocating some $20 million to build and operate the citywide Wi-Fi network, deploying approximately 2,000 BelAir Networks' Wi-Fi mesh outdoor nodes. The city of Minneapolis is the first major anchor tenant of the network and will use it for a myriad of applications. The network will support existing applications for public services such as police, ambulance and fire departments. Future uses will provide remote access and monitoring of devices such as gas, water and traffic meters.
"There are literally hundreds of applications that no one has conceived that will be enabled by this network," said Carter. "Anything that needs or could benefit from some sort of connectivity immediately becomes a possible new application."
Initially consumers and businesses will be able to sign up for wireless accounts that let them use the network anywhere, anytime for $19.99 per month. Access speeds (upload and download) will range from one to three Mbps.
Getting Subscribers Connected
One of the problems that often hamper metro Wi-Fi network build-outs has been the subscriber revenue model that has focused providers on how many outdoor Wi-Fi nodes are needed to reach a critical mass of users. In contrast, US Internet looked to use advances in metro Wi-Fi CPE to solve this problem.
"We quickly realized that these metro Wi-Fi city networks are CPE-driven networks," said Carter. "So we began looking very intently on the device in the home and its ability to provide a consistent and long-range connection that could adapt to any Wi-Fi changes without the subscriber having to do anything.
The Ruckus MetroFlex was selected by US Internet based on three criteria: 1) price; 2) performance/reliability; and 3) dynamic adaptation. Unlike other metro CPE, the Ruckus MetroFlex combines a smart antenna array and advanced connection algorithms to connect to the best outdoor Wi-Fi node, automatically changing the antenna configuration to combat interference as it occurs.
"There are plenty of metro CPE options at $500 a pop, but when you're providing a $20/month service, the math just doesn't work and you merely wind up figuring out how fast you're going to go out of business," said Carter. "The Ruckus MetroFlex was the only purpose-built CPE that delivered the reliability, extended range and adaptation at a price point that allowed us to construct a profitable business model."
In addition to offering broadband wireless access, the Ruckus MetroFlex now offers a dual-zone capability. A single MetroFlex system can simultaneously function as both broadband (receiver) connectivity to outdoor Wi-Fi networks and as traditional access point (sender) functions inside the home (see related release).
Unlike other devices, the Ruckus MetroFlex was designed specifically for wireless operators. The Ruckus MetroFlex proves that broadband operators can deploy a lower-powered Wi-Fi radio with a high-gain, smart directional antenna system to reach farther, penetrate Wi-Fi obstacles and avoid interference while maintaining a consistent connection to outdoor Wi-Fi metro nodes.
US Internet is offering the Ruckus MetroFlex system for a one-time purchase price or a $5 per month rental fee with free support and upgrades
