Free Wireless
October 12, 2005
BY MIKE WENDLAND
FREE PRESS TECHNOLOGY WRITER
So you're still using dial-up access to the Internet, not by choice, but because cable or DSL is too expensive or just not available in your neck of the woods.
That, says a trio of
"It is simply unacceptable today to be stuck with dial-up," says
His counterpart in
"Broadband is essential for government, for industry, for education," he says, a staple as necessary as electricity in a global economy.
The same thoughts come from Bob Filka, who runs the Michigan Broadband Authority and is charged with extending low-cost loans aimed at putting broadband within reach of everyone in
"It's not a luxury anymore," says Filka. "It needs to be more affordable and available across the state."
"This is rapidly becoming a statewide movement," he said, noting that similar wireless initiatives are either under way or being actively discussed in
All three officials appeared last week at the annual State of the Net meeting of GLIMA Southeast, a regional group that once was known as the Great Lakes Interactive Marketing Association but now just uses the initials.
I helped moderate the event and, in separate conversations with all three before their presentations, came away convinced that the wireless Internet boom has only just begun.
Filka, for example, told me that up in the Tri Cities of
"They have close to 7,000 customers now," said Filka, whose agency provided a $1.5-million loan to the company. "This technology has great potential for all sorts of areas around
With traditional Wi-Fi wireless broadband service, trees, building and geographic obstacles limit connectivity or cause dead zones. SpeedNet's system uses a wireless technology known as NLOS, for non line of sight.
The system is able to bounce signals around and through the obstacles, making access available to almost every area in its region.
Customers need only a small modem, similar to a DSL or cable modem, to get the service, which sells for $34.95 a month and delivers speeds of about 1.5 Mbps -- megabits per second.
Both Behen and Bertolini say NLOS technology, a type of improved wireless delivery system called WiMax because of its wider range, is also under consideration as they work to roll out wireless access throughout their counties. Both systems will have a free, entry-level broadband service that anyone can access. Users can sign up for higher speeds by paying extra.
Bertolini says five
"We did our first major test of this last month at Arts, Beats and Eats in Pontiac over the Labor Day weekend, and we had 15 square blocks of the downtown connected," he said. "It worked flawlessly."
He says it worked so well that the system was left on and is still up and running.
Behen says Washtenaw is not far behind
The public is also anxious for wireless countywide Internet, Behen says. In a survey of 3,500 Washtenaw residents, 96% said they would use such a service, he says.
The three broadband leaders agree that one key technology hurdle that must be worked out is interoperability, meaning that, as cell phones roam among service areas, so should wireless connectivity.
"What makes wireless broadband so attractive is that it doesn't require any taxpayer investment," says Bertolini. "All of these efforts are public-private partnerships where government provides access to things like towers and telephone poles and the private companies provide the equipment expense and network maintenance."
That just may enable a lot of people to dump dial-up.
And I'm predicting that with the extra competition from wireless, the rest of us who already have broadband just may see those DSL and cable Internet rates come down. That's the beauty of competition.
Contact MIKE WENDLAND at 313-222-8861 or mwendland@freepress.com
