Denver moves to wireless system

An agreement
between the city of Denver and Ricochet
Networks Inc. has made Denver the nation’s first
city with complete wireless Internet coverage.

By Brent Boyer, Special to The
Denver Post

In exchange for granting a use permit to
Denver-based RNI, the city and county of Denver
will receive 1,000 wireless modems and unlimited
service for its law enforcement agencies.

The service also is available to commercial users
for a monthly fee.

City and county agencies will use the modems
and service for a one-year trial basis, then
evaluate whether to continue the partnership.
Free service will be provided for the length of the
partnership.

"We’ve been testing it since February, and we
feel it’s a communications tool that holds great
potential for the city," Mayor Wellington Webb
said at a news conference Thursday.

City officials said the wireless technology will give
police quick access to suspects’ photos, criminal
backgrounds and alert bulletins. These were not
previously available with the slower
radio-transmission systems used by the
department.

"Another big advantage is with missing children,"
Denver police technician Dan Saracino said. "Now
a picture can be scanned into the system right
away." Police officers would then have immediate
access to the photo instead of relying on a
physical description.

Fire departments and emergency medical services
also expect positive benefits from the service.

Ricochet technology was used at the World Trade
Center disaster site for rescue efforts and in a
disaster exercise during the demolition of Mile
High Stadium in February.

The service costs $44.95 per month for
commercial customers and provides unlimited
access and use in all of Denver.

RNI chief executive Morton Aaronson plans to
extend service to the entire metro area.

Ricochet allows users to connect to the Internet
at speeds up to 400 kilobytes per second.
Standard phone-line connections typically achieve
speeds of 28.8 kbps, while broadband and DSL
services can connect customers at speeds ranging
from 400 kbps to 1 megabyte per second.

The technology depends on radio transmitters
placed on rooftops every few blocks across the
city. RNI acquired the equipment from Denver
after the city took control of the towers when the
original Ricochet provider, Metricom Inc., went
bankrupt.

Radio-frequency transmitters have sparked health
controversies around the nation as cellular
networks have expanded. RNI spokeswoman
Kabira Hatland said emissions from Richochet’s
transmitters comply with federal safety standards.

Denver-based Aerie Networks purchased Ricochet
from Metricom for $8.25 million in bankruptcy court
last November. Since then, Aaronson has been
working to relaunch Ricochet.

http://www.denverpost.com/Stories/0,1413,36%257E53%257E798641%257E,00.html