Abstract

Site Selection and Network Optimization for Outdoor Wi-Fi
Track: Telecommunications and Location-Based Services
Authors: James Baber

Comcast has launched an outdoor Wi-Fi network that provides out-of-home Internet access to in-home Internet subscribers. The MSO has recently begun using GIS and statistical technologies to conduct regional site selection and optimization studies with an emphasis in understanding spatial and temporal attributes contributing to Wi-Fi usage and to enhance the site selection algorithm for future markets. The results have significantly reduced the site survey process, increased the efficiency of resource allocation , and provided better service to customers. Ordinary least squares, recursive partitioning, and geographically weighted regression were used to investigate patterns in network utilization. This presentation will describe the methodology and demonstrate the benefits of spatial modeling.