The Wireless Washtenaw pilot phase is nearing the end. Over the past three months, 20/20 Communications constructed, operated and maintained pilot networks in the Cities of Ann Arbor and Saline. 20/20 also conducted a rural pilot in the Southwest Washtenaw Council of Governments community (which includes the Village of Manchester and the Townships of Bridgewater, Freedom, Manchester and Sharon).

Construction of the pilots began in October, 2006 and took approximately three weeks. The network then underwent a series of acceptance tests, which involved network engineers disrupting service periodically to test system functions such as fail over, backup systems and monitoring systems. Starting in early December, a limited number of users were allowed access to the network to help the project team evaluate network performance. In the Manchester area, 30 users were selected both within the village and the surrounding townships.

General performance and user satisfaction have been good. Since the pilot was designed to be a test of equipment and signal penetration, problems were anticipated. Three significant problems were discovered, and later corrected, by 20/20 Communications.

• Network Timeouts: Users who remained connected to Wireless Washtenaw for over a twenty-four hour period experienced network timeouts, and were periodically required to re-authenticate with the system. To accommodate businesses and users who require an “always-on” connection, a solution was implemented to extend the log-in session to infinity.

• Signal Penetration: The 5.7 GHz network, which was deployed in Saline and Manchester, was experiencing limited broadcast range for the first month of the pilot. Technicians discovered an error in the programming script, and were able to implement a solution to double the broadcast range so that the 5.7 GHz network can now reach distances over two miles.

• Data Transfer Rates: Offering a blend of free and for-fee services requires speeds to be capped at fixed levels, to ensure a quality, consistent performance for all users. For the first month of the pilot the network was uncapped, resulting in users experiencing download speeds ranging from 36 kbps to 2 Mbps. Alterations were made to the Network Operation Center (NOC) to ensure consistent performance for all levels of service.

20/20 Communications will continue testing and monitoring the network throughout February. The tests will include a further analysis of the Customer Premise Equipment (CPE), as well as the implementation of a new billing system. All testing should be complete within the next two – four weeks.

After reviewing the reports and feedback collected during the evaluation period, the Wireless Washtenaw Steering Committee has authorized 20/20 Communications to begin preparations for county-wide deployment. The next phase of the project, dubbed the Pre-Deployment Phase, is expected to begin within the next two weeks and last approximately two months. During this phase, 20/20 Communications will expand the Network Operations Center (NOC) to handle the expected customer base and conduct a full 720 square mile county-wide “Radio Frequency Survey” (RF Survey). The survey is expected to take approximately 60 days. Results from the survey will be used to develop a detailed deployment schedule, showing when communities can expect to receive service.

During this time 20/20 Communications and the project team will meet with the local municipalities, to discuss the utilization of both public and private assets for the purposes of Wireless Washtenaw. Potential assets may include tall buildings, communication towers, water towers, grain elevators and farm silos, among others. These potential assets will be mapped against the results from the RF Survey to determine their usability for the project.

During the pilot testing, several studies were made of radio signal strength into the surrounding areas. Servicing the local SWWCOG area in the early part of the system rollout remains a high priority for the project. The full deployment schedule will be published in the next update.

Please see www.2020comm.com/ww for updates, as well as the county’s web site http://wireless.ewashtenaw.org.

Prepared by Ray Berg