What is a municipal wireless network (MWN)?
A municipal wireless network (MWN) is a town or city-wide implementation of a wireless network funded or supported by local government bodies. The goal of a municipal wireless network is to provide wireless internet access to residents, travelers and businesses across public areas.
MWNs are commonly structured as municipal Wi-Fi networks that provide free or low-cost internet access across a commonly trafficked city area.
An MWN can be treated as a public service or utility. It can be a social service for those who cannot afford private high-speed internet access and a more economical choice for households and businesses than paying an internet service provider (ISP) for wireless access. MWNs can also improve the efficiency of municipal services, infrastructure and public safety.
In practice, an MWN can use any wireless network, such as Wi-Fi, 5G or LTE. The city installs a series of wireless access points or base stations across a defined area to which users can connect. These access points are typically installed on utility poles, buildings and other structures. A wired infrastructure behind the municipal wireless network is also required to ensure availability and quality of service.
How do municipal wireless networks work?
The wireless connection in a municipal wireless network can be any wireless technology like Wi-Fi, 5G or LTE. Wireless access points, like Wi-Fi transmitters or base stations, are set up on structures such as utility poles or other elevated spots so they can send and receive data to end-user devices. The wireless access points can be set up as a wireless mesh network topology, in a point-to-point topology or in a star network -- also called hub-and-spoke -- topology. The network can also be integrated with other municipal services if desired.
A wired infrastructure like fiber is needed to carry all the data from the initial access point, where the user is connected, to a central hub or the internet provider's network. In this case, a wired backbone is needed to ensure speed and reliability under high traffic loads.
A central system is also needed to monitor, control and manage traffic and security. Once the infrastructure is installed, municipalities might choose to partner with an ISP to run the service.
Access to an MWN is usually free but might sometimes be paid if it is treated as a utility or a revenue source for the municipality.
The implementation of a municipal wireless network can be broken down into the following three distinct steps:
- Identify goals. Both the local government and community need to ascertain the goals for the MWN. Is it primarily intended to be a public service or utility? Is the goal to improve municipal and public services or to ensure everyone has equal access to the internet? Is the purpose to be more tourist-friendly? This helps determine whether the service is free or paid and can further inform funding decisions.
- Establish the MWN infrastructure and funding. This is where the type of wireless technology, the type of network topology that will be used, the placement of wireless access points, desired integrations, and management and funding decisions are made.
- Implement the network. This is where the network is built and made available to users. The municipality must also promote its adoption and usage.
Benefits of municipal wireless networks for businesses and governments
Businesses, local governments and individuals can benefit from MWNs in the following ways:
- Widespread deployments. Governments deploy these networks over wide or commonly trafficked areas, enabling anyone to connect to them without having to rely on private cellular data. This is useful for both individuals and businesses.
- Improved public services. MWNs can help improve health and social services by providing increased connectivity for emergency services, maintenance teams and other governmental bodies.
- Enables smart cities. MWNs enable internet of things (IoT) devices like sensors to connect to them for environmental monitoring, traffic monitoring and other data-driven services.
- Cost. MWNs are normally made available to users at little to no cost.
- Social benefits. A municipality can provide internet access to those in need who otherwise would not be able to afford it.
Challenges and risks in deploying MWNs
MWNs can come with a host of challenges, including the following:
- Security and privacy. Open networks are often an avenue for cyber criminals to prey on targets through breaches such as man-in-the-middle attacks.
- Network maintenance. Access points and backend infrastructure require consistent upkeep and updates to maintain performance and security.
- Regulatory and policy hurdles. Some U.S. states have laws against establishing an MWN, due to lobbying from ISP and telecommunications networks. In Pennsylvania, for example, telecommunication providers successfully lobbied for a law that restricted most of the state from creating an MWN.
- Scalability. Covering large areas with a wireless network can be costly. In some cases, it is more common to see wireless access points placed within highly trafficked areas of a city.
- Funding. Municipalities need proper funding to deploy and maintain MWNs.
Common use cases and examples of municipal wireless networks
Some common use cases and purposes for municipal wireless networks include:
- To provide public internet access. For example, the City of Boston's Department of Innovation and Technology offers its MWN Wicked Free Wi-Fi. Its goal is to ensure that individuals have fair, equal and free internet access.
- To support tourism. San Francisco's SFWiFi offers free Wi-Fi connectivity in several local recreation and park locations.
- To enable smart city applications. Barcelona, Spain, has its own MWN that is optimized for different use cases but shares parts of the same municipal infrastructure. One network is aimed at public use, while another is optimized for smart city IoT devices, like traffic and environmental sensors. The Sentilo Platform is the open source software used to collect and manage data.
The future of municipal wireless: Trends and innovations
Municipal networks are unlikely to replace existing private networks. Private networks hosted by ISPs already provide high-quality wireless services through developed and established infrastructures. ISPs will likely continue to provide core networks to paying customers, while municipal wireless networks can act as a social service or tool to enable smart cities throughout municipalities.
MWNs also face an uphill battle in the U.S. due to continued lobbying against them by existing commercial ISPs and telecommunications companies. Several states now have laws banning or restricting MWNs.
Municipal wireless networks are not the only type of city-wide network option available. Learn about different types of networks, including metropolitan area networks.
