A local government in southeast North Carolina is the first entity to deploy a “Super Wi-Fi” white-spaces broadband network. New Hanover County, North Carolina, owns the network that was developed by Spectrum Bridge.
New Hanover County and The City of Wilmington do not plan to charge people to use the WiFi capability made possible by the new network. As long as the service is free neither they nor other municipalities deploying the technology are likely to run afoul of anti-municipal network legislation that has been adopted in some areas.
Recall that North Carolina passed a law last year to limit local authority to build networks that could threaten Time Warner Cable or CenturyLink’s divine right to be the only service providers in the state (even as they refuse to invest in modern networks).
These white spaces are sometimes called “Super Wi-Fi” because the public knows that Wi-Fi is wireless and therefore anyone can quickly grasp that “Super Wi-Fi” is newer, better, and perhaps even wireless(er).
GovTech also covered the announcement:
According to the FCC, these vacant airwaves between channels are ideal for supporting wireless mobile devices. The FCC named the network “super Wi-Fi” because white spaces are lower frequency than regular Wi-Fi and, therefore, can travel longer distances.
New Hanover County is deploying the super Wi-Fi in three public parks, starting with a playground area at Hugh MacRae Park on Jan. 26, followed by Veterans Park and Airlie Gardens. Other locations in Wilmington, N.C. — located in the county — will also have access to the new network.
Apparently the newsiness of this story derives from its official launch – MuniWireless covered many of the details about this network in early 2010:
According to Wilmington Mayor Bill Saffo, the city has a fiber network to support municipal applications, and they are now using wireless technology (over the TV white spaces) where they cannot deploy fiber, for example, in environmentally sensitive areas such as wetlands where they want to monitor water quality in real time. The city is also using the wireless network for Department of Transportation cameras which monitor a parkway (where there is a drawbridge) for traffic accidents and heavy traffic flows. With wireless cameras streaming live video to DOT offices, they can send emergency vehicles and adjust the timing of the traffic signals to manage the flow of vehicles.
The benefits of the network appear to mainly center on more efficient government:
Another application is the ability of the city to turn off the lights in sports fields (ball park, soccer field) shortly after a match. They have installed wireless cameras to see if people are still using the ball park and if not, they turn off the lights remotely (for example, an employee can do this from his home). In the past, the lights would remain on even hours after a match is over. The city expects to save $800,000 per year in energy costs alone.