City Trees and Municipal Wi-Fi Networks: Compatibility or Conflict?    (View PDF)

Igor Lacan and Joe R. McBride

Abstract: Conflict between city trees and infrastructure remains a problem in urban forestry. Municipal Wi-Fi, a citywide wireless computer network, may become a part of urban infrastructure, and because trees can diminish Wi-Fi signals, potential exists for conflict between urban trees and municipal Wi-Fi. This study examines attenuation of Wi-Fi signals in the City of Mountain View, California, U.S. by positioning a wireless-equipped computer so that trees obstructed the line-of-sight (LOS) between the computer and a Wi-Fi access point. Signal attenuation ranged from < 2 dB to 19 dB (mean: 5.6 dB), depending on the number and types of trees present. Although trees significantly attenuated signals, they did not diminish the average signal strength below -75 dBm (the minimum for a Wi-Fi connection) in any of the tests. A general linear model (r2 = 0.55) indicated that some tree characteristics (tree size, canopy depth, leaf type), but not others (number of trees in LOS, presence of leaves, leaf size, and shape) helped explain variation in signal attenuation. As long as the effect of urban trees is taken into account during planning of Wi-Fi networks, trees should not interfere with municipal Wi-Fi operation.

Keywords: Interference; Urban Infrastructure; Wireless Network; Wi-Fi

https://doi.org/10.48044/jauf.2009.034