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Local Governments Deploy Wide-Area Wi-Fi Networks
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Other Wireless Networking Stories
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June 28, 2004 (Computerworld) -- Wi-Fi hot spots are starting to morph into hot zones as local governments adapt the technology to provide broadband service for police and fire departments, in addition to wireless Internet access across areas ranging from downtown districts to hundreds of square miles.
Last week, the government of Spokane, Wash., turned on a dual-use Wi-Fi network in a 100-block area of the city's downtown. And over the weekend, the city of Rio Rancho, N.M., was due to launch the first phase of a network for public safety workers and general Internet access. Once it's completed in December, Rio Rancho's network will cover 103 square miles.
Meanwhile, Cook County, Ill., which includes Chicago, this month received $12.1 million from the U.S. Department of Homeland Security for the first phase of a public safety Wi-Fi network that eventually will cover all of the county's 940 square miles. The network is expected to provide mobile data services at speeds up to 54Mbit/sec.
Joel Hobson, network services manager for the city of Spokane, said the downtown hot zone there is a mile long and a third of a mile wide. It's covered by five 802.11b Wi-Fi base stations plus high-gain antennas from San Francisco-based Vivato Inc.
Public safety users access the network through virtual private network connections. Hobson said Spokane has equipped roughly 50 vehicles with rugged mobile computers from local vendor Itronix Corp. When users roam out of the Wi-Fi hot zone, they automatically switch to a cellular data network, using Itronix's iCare mobility software. Over time, the city wants to put Itronix systems in up to 1,250 police, fire and emergency services vehicles.
The hot zone cost between $50,000 and $75,000 to develop and deploy, according to Robin Toth, Spokane's economic development project manager. Spokane officials hope the Internet access capabilities will help attract businesses to the city, Toth said.
Rio Rancho, which is home to an Intel Corp. chip plant, also wants to use "cutting-edge technology" to lure new business, said city manager Jim Palenick. Intel helped evaluate bidders for the municipal network, Palenick said, and last month the city tapped Usurf America Inc. in Colorado Springs to build it under a contract that doesn't include any infrastructure costs. However, Rio Rancho will have to pay fees for data services.
Ken Upcraft, Usurf's president, said his company intends to blanket the city with a mesh Wi-Fi network that includes about 600 access points. Communications between city agencies will be handled over a firewalled network with 128-bit encryption, Upcraft added.
Cook County's public safety network plans are similar to those of New York City . County CIO Katherine Maras O'Leary said the network infrastructure will include about 150 access points.
Dudley Donelson, Cook County's deputy director of IT, said the access points, which should be installed by next year, will be mounted on 200-ft. towers to boost their range to three miles.
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