Mountain View To Partially Replace Google Wi-Fi

itwbennett writes "Google launched the citywide Wi-Fi network with much fanfare in 2006 as a way for Mountain View residents and businesses to connect to the Internet at no cost. It covers most of the Silicon Valley city and worked well until last year, as Slashdot readers may recall, when connectivity got rapidly worse. As a result, Mountain View is installing new Wi-Fi hotspots in parts of the city to supplement the poorly performing network operated by Google. Both the city and Google have blamed the problems on the design of the network. Google, which is involved in several projects to provide Internet access in various parts of the world, said in a statement that it is 'actively in discussions with the Mountain View city staff to review several options for the future of the network.'"

ADD -- Billionaire Edition

[rudy_wayne]

Google, which is involved in several projects to provide Internet access in various parts of the world,

There's a pattern here. They launch dozens of new products and then kill them a short time later. The roll out WiFi to their home town and then neglect it.

Advertising brings in 98% of their revenue. Everything else is just playthings for a company with too much money and no idea what to (usefully) do with it. Maybe instead of worrying about balloons in Africa you should work on the things in your own back yard..

Google is competing with local businesses by providing a multitude of services to its staff. Living in the shadow of the Googleplex is causing job losses and hurting rather than boosting the local economy.

Silicon Valley towns continue to suffer from terrible public schools and broken communities. East Palo Alto is a violent urban ghetto in every sense of the definition. And its smack-dab in the heart of Silicon Valley, right next to Facebook and Google.

Silicon Valley has all these "visionaries" saying they are "changing the world" yet they can't / won't change their own neighborhoods. The local schools should be showcases instead they are basket cases; the local communities should be healthy and thriving, but instead they are suffering from unemployment and all the other problems that communities across the country have to deal with on a daily basis.

What's the point in having these high tech giants in our midst when there is little or no advantage to the communities that surround them? They want special treatment; they want to pay little or no taxes; they would rather be a burden on their neighbors than ease the burden of others.

Re:It never worked

[Anonymous Coward]

same here, live in mountain view and can attest google wifi is a piece of garbage. give us google fiber, not this garbage wifi. here's a company that only knows how to take from the city, and never give back.

Early design that was never updated

[chipperdog]

It looks like their system was based on Topos MetroMesh in-band mesh backhaul, so someone using 1Mbps on one access point is tying up 1Mbps on multiple APs. This was at a time when 256 Kbps could have been considered "high speed". Not sure how many APs are connected to a fiber/copper/microwave backhaul, I guessing just a few to cut costs, but it would seem to me that as many APs as possible should have an out of band backhaul (ideally fiber to every AP)...Also APs antenna/RF might have to be tuned down to reduce coverage and a higher density of APs is likely needed with the increased usage - or multiple APs with sector antennas ( 3 x 120 degree, or 6 x 60 degree) are placed at locations instead of single AP with omnis - I'm thinking something LIKE the Ubiquiti NanoStations [ubnt.com] could be placed around a light pole to act as combination AP and 60 degree sector antenna and be more ascetically pleasing than the box with whips attached found right now, electronics to feed the NSs could fit inside most poles at the base, or in a small box near the AP/Antennas.