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Decatur to build Wi-Fi network
Citywide Internet system to be first in metro area
By TY TAGAMI
The Atlanta-Journal Constitution
Published on: 06/25/07
Mobile Internet users in Decatur will soon be able to order their lattes to go.
The 4-square-mile city is building an outdoor wireless Internet network that will allow access in the town square, in parks, at curb-side benches and even on residential porches - freeing laptop luggers from Internet "hot spots" like the local coffee shop.
Decatur will be the first community in metro Atlanta to deploy a citywide Wi-Fi network, state officials said. Limited slow access will be free, with fees for faster service.
The plan was good news to Ben Ostrowsky, who was tapping away on his laptop outside a Decatur restaurant Wednesday, using the restaurant's local network to register his wife for classes at Georgia State University. The Florida resident plans to move to Decatur, and said he could imagine telecommuting while lying in the grass at a park or sitting on the steps of the gazebo in the town square.
"I would probably love to sit somewhere downtown and get work done," Ostrowsky said.
The city recently secured permission to mount 18 wireless network radios atop the DeKalb County Courthouse downtown. Other transmitters are being mounted on power poles and traffic lights across the city. The transmitters will talk to laptop computers and mobile devices, allowing people to check their e-mail or surf the Web on the go.
"It's very, very exciting," said Andrea Arnold, assistant city manager. "I think it just says a lot about Decatur - that we're willing to do something that's new and innovative."
Decatur plans to go live downtown this fall, she said. Citywide service should be available early next year.
Most of the start-up cost is covered by a state grant. The Georgia Technology Authority selected Decatur and five other communities from among 17 applicants for its "Wireless Communities Georgia" initiative. The city will receive $427,500 toward the $620,000 first-year cost.
The grant requires Decatur and the other communities to farm out operation of their systems to private providers. The radio transmissions might penetrate homes and offices, allowing some Decatur residents an alternative to their current Internet service providers.
Decatur police officers and building inspectors will be able pull up data in the field or file reports without going to the office, and the city is working with Agnes Scott College and the city schools to provide access to students. The network also is supposed to spur economic development by attracting Internet-dependent businesses.
"You've got to have access because the customers are demanding it," said Rich Calhoun, the project manager for the state technology authority.
Decatur hasn't yet established a fee schedule for the Wi-Fi, or "wireless fidelity," service, but Arnold expects a sliding scale based on service speed. The city will provide two hours of free service per day at slower speeds, while subscriptions at moderate speeds could cost around $30 a month, she said. Businesses could pay more for yet faster service. The city plans to include a discount rate for low-income residents.
Cities around the country, such as Chaska, Minn., and Corpus Christi, Texas, have built public access Wi-Fi. There are several Wi-Fi networks in Georgia, such as the system in Athens over the University of Georgia, and the tiny network in the city of Smyrna, which has about a dozen access points.
Gwinnett County, the only other metro area government to receive one of the technology authority grants, hopes to follow Decatur. The county wants to offer Wi-Fi service in about 30 square miles in Buford and Lawrenceville, but doesn't anticipate completion for at least a year, said Barry Puckett, manager of Information Technology Services for Gwinnett.
It's unclear whether the Wi-Fi investment will pay over the long term. Other, faster technologies could come along to displace it. And Arnold, the Decatur official, said it's unclear how well the system will work as a replacement for home service, since trees and other obstructions could block transmissions in many parts of the city.
"I'm not unplugging my DSL yet," she said.
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