BY RYAN SLABAUGH
Summit Daily News
Summit County, CO
January 12, 2007
SUMMIT COUNTY - Summit County is ramping
up efforts for a community wireless network, nearly two years after its first
attempt deemed "The Beanpole Project" failed to bring reliable
service to the county.
New technology and a partnership with a company called
WisperTel has increased the confidence of county planners, after watching a
$480,000 state grant originally funding the "Beanpole" network waste
away.
When Netbeam, the original grant recipient, and then its
sister company, Peak Speed, filed for bankruptcy in 2005, the county received
criticism for not taking control of the network's assets. It stepped back and
began talking with WisperTel, who services 4,000 internet customers throughout
much of the state east of Summit County.
WisperTel, who presented its WiMax technology Thursday night
at the Our Future Summit gathering, is entering the market to compete with
giants like Comcast and Qwest. The goal of the new network is to give reliable
access to towns and government, and to help increase options for private
citizens and businesses.
According to Don Whitlow, director of product development for
WisperTel, technology advancements will allow for about 80 percent of county
residents to be covered by its network, which is nearing completion. Rates for
private residents would vary, and the county sees potential for free access in
town core areas. The company will also be working on "dark spots"
this summer, and says increased competition will only lower prices.
Summit County customers should be able to join a plan by the
end of the month, according to Whitlow.
The town of Vail recently began a community wireless service,
and chose WiFi and not WiMax. Representatives said they chose WiFi because it
was unsure of the future of WiMax technology, and it wanted portability within
the network. WiMax only serves fixed locations - like a desktop computer in a
home - and a portable version - similar to WiFi "hot spots" - won't
be available in at least 2 to 3 years, according to Ron Braden, Vail's
technology director.
"We're not exactly looking at apples to apples,"
Braden said Thursday night, comparing Summit's goals of a countywide network
with Vail's goals of servicing a small geographic area. "We think we made
the right choice with WiFi, because it fit our needs and through partnerships,
we were able to build this nearly cost-free, because we didn't want to spend
any money."
More than 40 locals and technology experts attended Thursday
night's discussion at the Summit County Community and Senior Center near
Frisco. Gary Sadler from the town of Breckenridge also attended, and reported
Breckenridge is investigating its own wireless network for the town core.
For more information, visit www.wispertel.com.
What the heck is ...
• WiMAX? A wireless digital communications system, also known
as IEEE 802.16, that is intended for wireless "metropolitan area
networks". WiMAX can provide broadband wireless access up to 30 miles for
fixed stations, and 3-10 miles for mobile stations. For fixed stations, a user
would need an ethernet cord to connect.
• WiFi? A term shortened for Wireless Fidelity, which is used
to broadcast internet connectivity, also known as WiFi/802.11. A wireless local
area network standard is limited in most cases to only 100-300 feet, but allows
a user to move from room to room, or anywhere that receives a signal.
Ryan Slabaugh can be contacted at (970) 668-4618, or at rslabaugh@summitdaily.com