Microsoft, MetroFi Team Up on Free Wi-Fi in Portland

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Microsoft and MetroFi pronounce a strategic alliance to bring locally relevant MSN content and services to MetroFi’s advertising-supported, free Wi-Fi network throughout Portland, Ore. The two companies also plan to use the Microsoft adCenter platform to help advertisers reach local Wi-Fi users. The free Internet service for residents and visitors is expected to launch with coverage around Pioneer Courthouse Square later this year and, when completed, cover 95 percent of the city.

The Portland Wi-Fi network will be operated by MetroFi and will be modeled on wireless broadband networks that MetroFi built and currently operates in Foster City, Cupertino, Santa Clara, Sunnyvale, downtown San Jose and Concord, Calif. This collaboration with Microsoft marks MetroFi’s largest citywide Wi-Fi network project and will bring free wireless Internet access to Oregon’s largest city, which boasts a population of more than half a million.

As in other communities, the Portland MetroFi network will operate by transmitting data via access points mounted on street light poles throughout the city. Portland residents or visitors with a Wi-Fi enabled desktop PC or laptop will be able to access the broadband network that will deliver broadband-like speeds while online, including up to 1 Mbps downloads and up to 256 Kbps uploads. The network will be coupled with a suite of Internet services designed by Microsoft to help consumers find locally relevant information.

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