Plan a Public City Wi-Fi Network: Goal, Target Users, Rollout and Success Metrics
Company: Google
Role: Product Manager
Category: Product Design & Strategy
Difficulty: medium
Interview Round: Other
You are a product manager asked to design a public Wi-Fi network for the city where you live. Approach it as a product rather than a wiring diagram: decide whom the network should serve and why, how it should be built, rolled out and kept running, and how you would tell whether it is succeeding.
```hint Where people are when they connect
Before choosing any equipment, decide whose day the network should improve and where they are standing when they need it. That choice drives how many access points you need, where they go, and how much traffic each one must carry.
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### Clarifying Questions
- Who is building and paying for the network: the city government, a private provider, or a partnership between them, and is it free for people to use?
- Is the main aim to connect residents who lack reliable home internet, to support visitors and local businesses, or to connect city services such as transit and sensors?
- Should it cover the whole city from the start, or begin with specific places such as downtown, transit hubs, parks and libraries?
- Which existing assets can we use, such as city-owned fiber, street lights and public buildings, and is there a budget or deadline?
### What a Strong Answer Covers
- A stated goal and a reasoned choice among user groups (residents without home internet, commuters, visitors, small businesses, city operations), including which groups mobile data already serves.
- A coverage-versus-capacity decision based on where the chosen users connect, and a phased rollout rather than citywide coverage on day one.
- A build, funding and operating model: partner or build, how the network is paid for over time, and who monitors and maintains it.
- The user experience and trust: sign-on, dependable speed, security on an open network and privacy of usage data.
- Success metrics tied to the goal, with guardrails on cost, reliability and privacy.
### Follow-up Questions
- The first zone shows heavy use, but most of it comes from people who already have mobile data plans. What do you conclude, and what would you change?
- The city council proposes paying for the network with ads on the sign-in page. How would you decide?
- How would you choose which neighborhood gets the next phase?
Overview: A product sense prompt asking a product manager to plan a public Wi-Fi network for their own city. It tests choosing a goal and a priority user group, deciding where coverage or capacity matters, picking a build, funding and phased rollout model, and defining success metrics with cost, reliability and privacy guardrails.