Planning of Wireless Community Networks

Introduction

Broadband access to citizens, communities, public institutions and developing businesses is a natural need today. However, there is no a straightforward way to provide broadband access to these users. Although today’s technologies (from ADSL via fiber-to-the premises to broadband wireless access) are appropriate for this purpose, telecommunication companies cannot afford their deployment and serve these users due to the large costs and very long return on investment (ROI) period. As an alternative, a so-called community network (CN) can be created and deployed by governments and international organizations worldwide serving strategic purposes, too. Community networks are able to foster economic development, help startups grow, bring new businesses into the region and can alleviate also the problems related to the digital divide. Reflecting these objectives a huge number of community network related initiatives have been launched recently in North America as well as in Europe.

Community network infrastructures can be built by using the common technologies in telecommunication companies’ networks. Fiber has been an attractive solution for many cities, first of all in North America. Building a fiber network is technically viable where a local government or some of its utility companies own ducts and support structures forming “free” assets. However, for economical feasibility it is necessary to have a few large customers, such as ISPs (Internet Service Providers), which use and pay for a substantial share of fiber capacity. On the other hand, wireless technologies (e.g., Wi-Fi, WiMAX or 3G mobile) are almost always appropriate for building community networks because they are relatively easy to install, expand and operate in a cost effective manner.

Planning, deployment and operation of community networks have been challenging tasks. As opposed to telco networks, there is a specific set of services that the city or region wants to implement. These services and built upon applications are to be made accessible for a wide range of geographically diverse users regardless their locations. Moreover, cities can more freely choose communication technologies, including emerging ones, as they do not have the stringent business requirements the telecommunication companies have to meet, such as short ROI or totally risk-free adaptation of new technologies. However, suitable business models have to be defined with clever constructions of involving both the public and private sectors, while satisfying legal and regulatory requirements.

The objective of this chapter is to discuss the applications, state-of-the-art technologies, planning methods and business models for wireless community networks and provide an integrated presentation of these essential parts with examples. This integrated approach has been rarely found in the technical literature. Our previous works (Szabó et al., 2007; Szabó et al., 2008) address the issue of wireless community networks. A recent edited book (Chlamtac et al., 2005) attempts to bring together the most important aspects – technical, legal, regulatory and economic – of community networks into one book. Within the framework of an ongoing European Network of Excellence project called OPAALS (OPAALS, 2008), the social side, information technologies and economic models are being investigated by a large inter-disciplinary international team, also putting community networks in a wider context of digital ecosystems and digital business ecosystems.