Municipal ISP?

[SGT T.]

There are other big city's that have this in place over the entire metro area, but I think thats kind of overkill. You should check to see if there is a market for these things before you invest the money in it. Let's face it, SW Kansas is not exactly a hotbed of emerging techno savy population. If you set this kind of thing up in Dodge, set it up in Downtown and see if you get any takers, and then see if buissness increses for merchants in that area. If that goes well, then by all means, hook the entire town up.

[Highwayman]

Anyone think WiFi friendly would be good for tourism?

[Army_of_One]

Originally Posted by Highwayman

Anyone think WiFi friendly would be good for tourism?

Sure then people here could get on their laptops while visiting, pull up the crime stats, the fact that the water is poison and ........find out where to go when they pull in Dodge and get disappointed.

It would be very helpful!

[SGT T.]

Army is such a ray of sunshine.

[Detector]

Anyone have any idea how much this "free Internet" is going to cost someone? About 8 months ago I priced a OC12(622.08 Mbps) which is what our corporate WAN is and it was around $500,000 a month plus several $100,000 setup costs. The price has probably gone down some but that still a huge fee someones got to pay.

Guess who that someone would be?

[lurker]

123

The invisible connection

Businesses tap into wireless phenomenon with free Internet access for customers


The Hutchinson News


By Dave Stephens

dstephensAThutchnews.com

Coffee shops have it. The pancake house does, too. And downtown. And the library. And the hospital.

Free wireless Internet access points - called Wi-Fi hotspots - are beginning to appear all over town.

The phenomenon isn't new. Wireless Internet access has been a common technology for more than five years, and many computer users have established wireless Internet networks in their homes.

But now, businesses - especially those wanting to encourage patrons to stay awhile - have begun establishing their own wireless networks.

Downtown, Sanford Computer Works has established a wireless hotspot by broadcasting an open access signal from a tower on its roof - providing free wireless access to a two- to three-block radius from its location near the corner of Main and Avenue A.

"One of the intentions was to give people another reason to come to the downtown area," said Stanford Yoder, the store's owner.

Isaiah Salmans, a Hutchinson Community College student, takes advantage of free wireless Internet access Tuesday in Hastings' Hardback Café.

Yoder said people using Avenue A Park or sitting on benches along south Main Street would have little problem connecting to the site, but that the signal wasn't strong enough to penetrate the brick or stone walls of many businesses.

Using the service does require a registration, Yoder said, and directs users to the store's Web site. A content filter is in place to prevent people from viewing obscene material, but Yoder said use of the wireless signal had few limits.

"It's a wide-open signal," Yoder said. "There's no charge for it, and I don't think we're going to charge for it at any point."

Three Hutchinson coffee shops also offer wireless Internet access, although one, Starbucks, requires users to pay a fee. Hastings' Hardback Café, in the Hastings store at 30th and Plum, and Einstein's Perk, 119 S. Main, offer free Internet service.

"It's pretty popular," Einstein's employee Erin Hill said. "A lot of people in the morning will stop in and get coffee and use it before work."

Other spots with free Internet access include the Hutchinson Public Library, Hutchinson Hospital and the IHOP restaurant.

Wireless Internet access in Hutchinson, however, is not limited to just stores and coffee shops - it may someday be available across the city.

Hutchinson city manager John Deardoff said a Wichita-based company, Syntracom, has a contract to install wireless Internet antennas on utility poles throughout the city.

In October, Syntracom told the city it had about 100 customers and was continuing to develop a wireless mesh network in various parts of the city.

"I think they've established 19 or 20 wireless antenna on streetlight poles, plus some on other structures," Deardoff said.

Deardoff said there has been some informal talk among city leaders about the advantages of creating a citywide wireless Internet network, but there probably won't be a city-led effort to start an initiative.

"Some communities have created a program where it becomes a free utility for the city," Deardoff said, "but that's probably a little bit beyond our means."

Getting the signal

Hutchinson Wi-Fi hotspots

Einstein's Perk coffee shop

Hutchinson Hospital

Hutchinson Library

Hastings' Hardback Cafe

IHOP

Sanford's Computer Works

Starbucks (paid service)
01/10/2007; 02:38:39 AM

[K C Muffin]

Last weekend, hubby and I were taking a little jaunt. We were about 3 blocks from the house and I was already bored. So I hit the 'connect' botton on my phone and it asked me which network to connect to - apparently, at the stoplight where we were, there were 5. Not all were public networks, of course, so I wouldn't have been able to connect without a password, but the example is still there - everybody (almost) has the capability, why not harness it and make it available? If they can do it in coffee shops, they should be able to do it anywhere. Imagine your college or high school student being able to log on almost anywhere to do their homework? All the managers at the office have been given Sprint wireless cards, so the laptops will work anywhere instead of having to find a wireless signal. Now, that's a nice baby to have. Except anywhere I usually go, there is a wireless connection.

[Highwayman]

Originally Posted by K C Muffin

....Imagine your college or high school student being able to log on almost anywhere to do their homework?....

Imagine your high school kids actually doing homework!

[K C Muffin]

I was thinkin' that as I was typin' - thought I'd TRY to raise the consciousness of the high schoolers out there! By the way, did you guys ever dig out of the snow? I can bet none of you that have high school students actually got them to do any shoveling!!!

[Highwayman]

Yeah, we got dug out in time for the next round. Here's my daughter's place at Christmas.