The city is close to a signing a 21st-century agreement to build a citywide wireless network. Anyone with a laptop computer equipped for wireless access will be able to connect to the Internet from virtually anywhere in the city with the purchase of a $21-per-month account. The wireless connection will be free in two dozen designated zones -- which include King Street in Old Town, major parks and Landmark Mall.
The Alexandria City Council last week unanimously approved a proposal to allow EarthLink Inc. to build the network. Under the plan, expected to win final approval after a public hearing Dec. 16, the Atlanta-based Internet service provider will construct and maintain the network at no cost to the city.
City and EarthLink officials said they believe the awarding of a franchise to EarthLink will make Alexandria the first city in Virginia and the Washington region with a citywide wireless network available to the public. Many cities provide wireless access in designated "hot spots," but only a handful offer it citywide, said Bill Tolpegin, EarthLink's vice president for development and planning.
"This helps put Alexandria as one of the cities on the forefront of this technology wave," Tolpegin said.
Alexandria officials were receptive in part because they have wireless experience. The city began a one-year pilot program last year that provided free wireless Internet access in an eight-block stretch of Old Town from Washington Street to the Potomac River along King Street.
Craig T. Fifer, Alexandria's e-government manager, said the project was "an extremely successful pilot."
"We got tremendous positive feedback from the public."
One woman, he said, reported that she had written most of her doctoral thesis on her laptop sitting outside in Old Town.
Starting next summer, those who buy into the service will have the wireless option in about 99 percent of the city, excluding only signal-poor areas such as narrow alleys, Fifer said.
The free wireless zones will include a stretch of Mount Vernon Avenue and Metro stations. Computers equipped for wireless access, as most new ones are, communicate with the Internet with no need for wire tethers tied into cable or telephone lines. Wireless access is also known as wireless fidelity, or WiFi.
Other benefits to the city include 500 free accounts for municipal employees, such as police officers and housing inspectors, who are frequently on the road. Police officers already have laptops in their cars. The city will be able to buy additional government accounts at deep discounts.
EarthLink also will provide discounted accounts of $9.95 per month to 2,700 low-income city residents. Fifer said he is unsure how people will qualify for the discounted accounts, but the city hopes to find interested residents by partnering with community agencies that already work with low-income residents.
Alexandria City's public schools, which already provide laptops to all ninth- through 12th-graders, also will benefit. Students now can connect to the school network to have access the Internet, turn in homework online or perform other functions, but only at school. EarthLink will connect the schools to the wireless network, giving students access the school network from their homes.
"This essentially extends the school network to every student's home," Fifer said. "It means all students can access the Internet for free if they don't have an existing Internet connection."
Fifer said the city selected EarthLink from among 10 private-sector aspirants because of the company's financial strength, its wireless experience and the benefits it will provide to the city and residents.
"Alexandria is a progressive city, and we try to pay close attention to how technology can benefit our residents and businesses," Fifer said. "This is just another amenity we can offer."
Building the network will be relatively easy: About 500 devices the size of breadboxes will be installed, mostly on street lights, but also on traffic signals, poles and roofs.
"They're very unobtrusive," Fife said. "Most people won't even notice the construction."
EarthLink is hoping to recover its $2.7 million capital investment and to make money by selling accounts. Tolpegin said the company sought out the city because of Alexandria's attractive demographics and its proximity to the District.
"It's a great market," he said. "It can act as a base for expansion in Northern Virginia."
Autor(en)/Author(s): Jerry Markon
Quelle/Source: Washington Post, 07.12.2006
