|
|
|
Uploaded: Tuesday, June 2, 2009, 8:09 PM
Readers weigh in on Google WiFi
After nearly three years of providing free Internet in Mountain View, Google WiFi draws mixed reviews
|
|
by Daniel DeBolt
Mountain View Voice Staff
Photo
 | It's been almost three years since Google installed free WiFi Internet access across Mountain View's 12 square miles in a one-of-a-kind project for its hometown.
Today, some local Web surfers are happy being able to use the network in their homes and offices while others have been disappointed. And some said they would be willing to pay a small fee if reliability was improved.
Google spokesperson Andrew Pedersen says the company continues to add bandwidth in efforts to meet demand. The network launched in 2006 with 380 access points, called nodes, on city-owned light poles. Today, Pederson said, there are 500 of them, including some on private property.
Despite the increased bandwidth, many readers on the Voice's Town Square forum spoke of connection problems, and some said they abandoned it altogether due to lack of reliability. No criticism was too harsh, however, as the service is free.
User growth appears to be petering out. The network's once-rapid growth of 10 percent more users a month after its August 2006 debut has slowed to less then 1 percent a month since August 2007. There are now 16,000 "unique users" per month, Pedersen said, up from 15,000 in August 2007.
For those who haven't spent about $100 to install a signal amplifier in their home or office, Google WiFi works best as an outdoor network that can be used in parks, on the street and in the library and City Hall. Trees and walls can block access inside buildings — even with a signal amplifier — while dense neighborhoods have seen slower connections during peak evening hours as Web traffic logjams at the local node.
Pedersen says an increasing variety — 180 different kinds — of devices have accessed the network, including iPhones and other cell phones, WiFi routers and laptops.
Google maintains a WiFi help forum at wifi.google.com. An anonymous Google employee who posts under the name Wifi4all@gmail.com posts network updates and helps people with problems. This person says that Google's light pole-mounted one-watt radios have plenty of power, and that in general, the problem is that typical WiFi enabled laptops and phones put out 200 times less power than the radios do. The Web site lists several routers that can be purchased to help devices access WiFi indoors, along with information on making a secure connection.
Pedersen says residents can still request a node in underserved areas, especially if a city-owned light pole is near. Some homeowners have had them installed on their homes.
The network initially cost Google an estimated $1 million, and the company pays the city $36 a year for each pole used by its nodes. A team of Google employees constantly works to maintain the network.
Prompted by a question on Town Square, Mountain View residents have shared their own experiences using Google's free Wifi network. (The entire thread can be viewed here.) Following are some excerpts:
"I use an iPhone out and about in Mountain View and have had only minimal luck in accessing Google WiFi. It is completely random when you can get it and when you can't. This makes it much less useful in my view. Google got much hype and good PR out of "providing" Mountain View with "free WiFi" when it was introduced. However, the reality has been so much less than the hype. Assessing how this experiment really worked on the ground is a good thing."
— Rowena Dodson, Shoreline West
"Used it for quite a while (canceled my DSL for it). Loved it for quite a while, then it became very erratic. Sometimes blazing fast, other times slower than dirt — and often we couldn't connect at all. Finally gave up and went to a cable modem."
— Martha, Waverly Park
"I love that Mountain View has so many trees. In my neighborhood though, they block Google's WiFi signal so much that connecting, even outdoors, is difficult at best (I usually get just one or two signal bars)."
— AG, North Whisman
"Inside our neighborhood there's no signal and after three years I doubt there ever will be."
— Phil Aaronson, The Crossings
"Overall, I've been very happy with the service and speed. I would even pay a small fee for it."
— Dave, Shoreline West
"I use it every day. I'd say it works fine 80 percent of the time."
— Mr. Cheapskate, Old Mountain View
"Where/when you do get a good signal, it works OK, but the service isn't much faster than my cheapo 768K DSL line ($10/mo.). The latter is far more reliable."
— MV resident, another community
"I think wistfully about those few short months when the service was useful from my little place. Those days are long gone, the bright shiny future giving way to a tarnished and rusted reality."
— MV resident, another community
"There are a lot of unshielded microwave ovens around which disturb the WiFi signal. Performance really tails off around dinner time and even at lunch time on weekends."
— Bernie Brightman, North Whisman
"My bandwidth needs justify my need for Comcast. But still, I am glad to know that the Google WiFi is there if I should need it."
—AC, another communityAre you receiving Express, our free daily e-mail edition? See a sample and sign-up for Express.
|
|
| Comments
|
Posted by moorpark mobilehome, a resident of the Sylvan Park neighborhood, on Jun 3, 2009 at 12:20 am Please stick another node near the entrance of our mobile home park, Google. thanx
|
|
Posted by Ada Park resident, a resident of another community, on Jun 3, 2009 at 2:26 pm Can't get service inside, even after I spent $120 for a Ruckus signal amplifier. Service outside and in the neighborhood when I'm walking around is very, very spotty. Anyone wanna buy my useless Ruckus signal amplifier? It makes a poor bookend.
|
|
Posted by Common Cents, a resident of another community, on Jun 3, 2009 at 3:29 pm You get what you pay for ... it's free, how can you "complain" about something that is being given away
|
|
Posted by Where to go, a resident of another community, on Jun 3, 2009 at 3:35 pm I've parked in the Wal-Mart parking lot with my laptop to use it.
|
|
Posted by Laura, a resident of another community, on Jun 3, 2009 at 3:39 pm Google wi-fi is available inside Mountain View Public Library. Check it out.
|
|
Posted by Robert, a resident of the Monta Loma neighborhood, on Jun 3, 2009 at 5:41 pm We love it! We have had dial-up for years. This new Google wifi is like getting a present every day. Thank you for making this possible.
|
|
Posted by kanan krishnan, a resident of the Shoreline West neighborhood, on Jun 3, 2009 at 5:50 pm i live near sierra and rengstorff. i have never been successful in ever connecting to this so called free service. it is apparent that they set all these things up but never tested inside people's homes. its really not free if no one benefits from it. its a useless.
|
|
Posted by RTFM, a resident of another community, on Jun 3, 2009 at 9:29 pm If you read the Google WiFi Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ), Google says it was designed as an outdoor network. While some people may be able to receive a signal indoors (either with their normal equipment or with signal boosters like the Ruckus as mentioned in the FAQ), the network was not intended to principally be an indoor network.
|
|
Posted by Pat, a resident of the Monta Loma neighborhood, on Jun 3, 2009 at 11:20 pm I have a Ruckus which is placed in my garage. I have had more than 90% success indoors and appreciate the WIFI service so much.
|
|
Posted by Neil, a resident of the Rex Manor neighborhood, on Jun 4, 2009 at 9:50 am I love the Google connection. It works about 99+ percent of the time, which is no worse than what I used to get from the Comcast cable connection, for a lot more money. It's true that sometimes the transmission rate drops way down; but the Comcast wire often became overloaded and very slow as well. It probably helps that in the winter, when there are no leaves on the trees, I can see the Google antenna from my window.
|
|
Posted by Kevin, a resident of the Cuesta Park neighborhood, on Jun 4, 2009 at 10:02 am It's a great service. At home I can connect from inside my house without a booster. I use it as a backup at home and often at the library or coffee shops. I have a ruckus MM211DX that I use at the YMCA to get connected while working out. Occasionally I have problems and it's not quite as fast as my DSL, but a very nice service.
|
|
Posted by scott, a resident of the Shoreline West neighborhood, on Jun 4, 2009 at 1:14 pm I've climbed to the top of my roof with an extension cord and a peplink signal booster and couldn't get anything. There is a node just down the street but the tall trees completely block any hope of getting a signal. $169 down the drain ... that's what I get for being an early adopter I guess.
|
|
Posted by JB, a resident of the Martens-Carmelita neighborhood, on Jun 4, 2009 at 2:22 pm I live near Grant/Martens (on Carmelita) and cannot get any signal, inside or out. You get what you pay for.
|
|
Posted by Mr. Big, a resident of the North Whisman neighborhood, on Jun 10, 2009 at 8:38 am I'm glad Google has been generous enough to provide Mtn. View with WIFI.
It may not be the most robust service, but I am hoping that they will improve it over time.
It has replaced my $48/month Comcast service and I have finally obtained a very good connection by using a 200 mW Expressnets USB WIFI dongle ($60) with an Airlink directional antenna ($10). Don't forget to update/upgrade your Realtek WLAN client software when using the Expressnets USB WIFI device (current version has some wake from sleep issues, but it's fast).
I'm getting about 98-99% up time in my area, not bad for a free service.
|
|
Posted by Luca, a resident of the Cuesta Park neighborhood, on Jun 10, 2009 at 5:34 pm I live near El Monte, and with my Pep Wave wireless retransmitter (see the help page on the Google wifi site), using GoogleWifi is a pleasure. The service is down a couple of days every month, so I don't use it as my main internet connection, but as a fall-back for the days when ADSL misbehaves, it is great.
|
|
Posted by kabrook, a resident of the Rex Manor neighborhood, on Jun 13, 2009 at 12:23 pm I just love it! Don't have a laptop, I use it inside and its been very very good to me! Thank you GOOGLE.
|
|
Posted by hannah, a resident of another community, on Jul 15, 2009 at 9:49 pm I live at corner of Rengstorrf and Latham. Was discouraged from purchasing a Ruckus by one of the suppliers based on very weak connection.
Would love to switch from AT& T if I could get even 60% connection. Will not give up hope...
Thanks, Google...
|
|
Posted by M Benezra, a resident of the Castro City neighborhood, on Jan 14, 2010 at 1:57 pm I live in the Castro Park neighborhood of Mountain View, and I finally broke down and bought a booster. I still get hopelessly slow screens changes, so from that perspective I've wasted about $130. Also, I have not had any better luck in the Mountain View Library. Funnily enough, I don't recall anything about "outdoor-only service" when the PR hoopla was going on, and Google was basking in the glow of positive publicity.
|
|
Posted by google enthusiast, a resident of the Old Mountain View neighborhood, on Jan 16, 2010 at 3:11 am Google should be allowed to add amplifiers closer to the base of the poles so that the largest mass aspect of a tree does not impede the signal.
|
|
Posted by Bo, a resident of the Whisman Station neighborhood, on Feb 17, 2010 at 2:01 pm I wish they added more access points in Whisman Station.
There is only 1 access point at Whisman Park and it works when you sit in the park, but I live on a street 1 block next to the park and it does not work.
|
|
|
| |
|
Send this story
Print this story
