Looking for the right connections – Spokane poised for the wireless frontier

Smart today, smarter tomorrow?

Having conquered the wired world, public and private officials are pushing Spokane to the frontiers of wireless connectivity.

Bert Caldwell
The Spokesman-Review

They hope to have a Wi-Fi network encompassing the downtown core operating sometime early next year. By fall, the blanket could cover the city from the University District to Spokane International Airport, and from the South Hill hospitals to the Spokane County Courthouse.

There will be nothing like it on the same scale anywhere else in the United States.

Not all the agreements that would put the network in place have been worked out. Backers had hoped to finish that work before disclosing their plans, but the wraps slipped at the Monday "Cybertoast" celebrating Spokane’s designation as one of seven Intelligent Communities in the World for 2003 based on its innovative use of broadband-related technologies.

Again, there’s nothing comparable in the U.S. But that’s already becoming old hat.

Wi-Fi networks replace the cord between computer and Internet with high-speed data connectivity anywhere within reach of an appropriate antenna or switch. Broadband plus Wi-Fi creates not just a comprehensive communications system, but a powerful economic tool as well. Potential applications, for example, would allow conventioneers to stroll anywhere downtown, yet constantly monitor the latest schedule and speaker updates with a hand-held computer.

Office workers would be able to take their sandwich and laptop into Riverfront Park for a working lunch.

Some cities, Long Beach, Calif., and Roanoke, Va., among them, feature limited Wi-Fi networks, but nothing as comprehensive as that envisioned for Spokane.

Just Tuesday, the Los Angeles Times ballyhooed plans by the city of Cerritos, population 50,000, "to become the biggest Wi-Fi hot spot in the nation." Oh, really?

The Spokane system would initially combine the assets and services of the city of Spokane, OneEighty Networks, Vivato and the Downtown Business Partnership. Others could participate later.

Some of the team members coalesced during this year’s Hoopfest, when Vivato switches allowed participants with wireless-capable handhelds or laptops to browse the Internet or check the latest scores. Those switches alone have more capacity than the other municipal Wi-Fi networks. The proposed expansion would add at least five more.

Plans call for a three-layered system; one for police and fire units who might be able to view streaming video from security cameras, one for crews that need to see a warehoused utility drawing, and one for civilian use.

Joel Hobson, the city’s technical services manager, says system developers must assure that each layer remains secure.

Business and visitor use of the system would be limited to one hour of free time. The system would then prompt them to switch to their own carrier or, if they have none, to subscribe to one. They might still be able to access some sites, the one for the Spokane Convention and Visitors Bureau, for example.

"We don’t want to intrude on a service provider," says OneEighty President Greg Green, noting that several isolated Wi-Fi hot spots already exist downtown. OneEighty fiber would link the Vivato switches, and provide a direct, one-gigabit Internet link to Seattle.

Robin Toth, an official in the mayor’s office, says Wi-Fi would keep Spokane out front of other communities in the race to attract leading technology companies.

"We’re selling a product that is Spokane," she says.

"We could bill ourselves as America’s best-connected downtown," says Steve Simmons, the Eastern Washington University professor who conceived the Terabyte Triangle that became the community’s broadband centerpiece.

Weaving that into the "Tapestry" that led to Monday’s award gave civic and business leaders valuable experience building alliances, he says. Wi-Fi would just be the next phase.

"We’ve got everything any other city has," Simmons says. "This would put us over the top."

http://www.spokesmanreview.com/news-story.asp?date=120403&ID=s1450426&cat=section.business

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Why go to ‘WiFi’?

By John McCluskey – IR Guest Columnist

Once in a while, in the world of computer technology, a shift takes place that quickly renders a whole family of products obsolete — and often provides a great buying opportunity. That’s happening in wireless networking or "WiFi" right now. Here’s the story of the shift and why you might want to take advantage of it.

If you’re interested, further information, relevant links and more data on Wi-Fi can be found on my Web site http://www.BusinessTechComputers.com. Click on "Bonus feature: Wi-Fi Wireless Networks" on the home page.

Wi-Fi — known to techies as 802.11 — occupies the 2.4GHz or 5.0GHz radio frequency spectrum, which is both short range and unlicensed. Radio waves, rather than wires, carry the signals permitting computers to share files, printers and the Internet without cable connections.

The technology was first used in large offices to enable mobile workers to use company networks as they traveled from one location to another. In each office a wireless access point (WAP) was attached to the wired network. As the mobile worker entered the office and turned on his or her notebook, they would automatically be joined to the company network. Freedom from the tether of a network cable made Wi-Fi very popular.

The first 802.11 standard had a maximum data transfer speed of 11Mbs (megabits per second — not megabytes) and was designated 802.11b. All things in the computer business must get faster and WiFi was no exception. Soon a new standard, 802.11a (yes, "b" came before "a") bumped the wireless throughput to a theoretical 54Mbs. Devices utilizing 802.11a are required to support speeds of 6, 12 and 24Mbps. Optional speeds go up to 54 Mbps. One big problem with 802.11a: it’s not backward compatible and doesn’t work with 802.11b devices.

Not many jumped on the "a" bandwagon, especially those with an investment in "b" equipment. The ultimate answer came in a third standard, 802.11g, which had the speed of "a" but was compatible with "b" (albeit with a slight performance penalty in mixed environments). The first "g" devices were expensive, but a fast-growing market has attracted many players and prices have dropped significantly this past year.

The great buying opportunity comes from the huge inventory of "b" equipment still around. Vendors, trying to blow out their remaining stock of "b" devices, have reduced their prices in many cases to less than half what they were a year ago. 802.11b is plenty fast enough for most uses. Homes and small offices wanting to connect several computers and not requiring speedy network throughput, can easily get by with the older "b" standard wireless devices and do so much cheaper than by installing a traditional, wired network.

Wi-Fi is not painless to install. To work with any wireless network device, knowledge of TCP/IP protocols is essential. If you don’t know what that means, call an expert to help.

If you want to create a simple, two computer Wi-Fi network you can buy the hardware for as little as $75. A business with four or five computers or an existing wired network will spend more and the setup is a bit more complicated.

Just remember, when you score that $20 Wireless Access Point or a $10 wireless notebook card, who let you in on the secret.

John McCluskey is the owner of Business Tech, a Helena computer sales and service company. His Web site is http://www.businesstechcomputers.com.

http://www.helenair.com/articles/2003/12/05/business/e01113003_02.txt