http://www.nytimes.com/2006/04/28/nyregion/28suffolk.html
April 28, 2006 Suffolk County Plans to Offer Free Wireless Internet Access By BRUCE LAMBERT Suffolk County is planning a wireless system to provide free access to the Internet to the 1.5 million residents who live throughout its 900 square miles. It would be one of the largest government-sponsored wireless networks in the nation. The system would allow anyone to use computers and P.D.A. devices with wireless capabilities anywhere in the county, and would also be available to visitors, businesses, government agencies, institutions and groups. County officials hope to start installation next year. "People could connect to the Internet anytime, any place," said Suffolk County Executive Steve Levy, who proposed the plan. A private company selected by the county would build the system at no cost to taxpayers and finance it by selling Internet advertising or by charging a fee for connections with a faster speed. Mr. Levy has appointed a 15-member committee to draft the details of the plan. There is strong support for the idea in the county legislature. The potential uses are virtually endless, proponents say. People could flip open a laptop and surf the Web while at the beach, pull over and park to check their route on MapQuest, get a head start on office e-mail while commuting to work on the train or pause on the golf course to track stock prices by glancing at a P.D.A. device. With Suffolk's extensive shoreline and the popularity of boating, officials are even exploring beaming signals over the water. "It's something we're thinking about," said Sharon Cates-Williams, Mr. Levy's information technology commissioner. As envisioned, the combined area and population of Suffolk's network would make it bigger than any other local network now in existence in the nation, experts say. But many other cities and counties are pursuing similar projects, including an even larger proposal pending in Chicago that would cover 940 square miles where five million people live. San Francisco and Philadelphia, much smaller in area and population, are also working on plans for wireless networks. The scramble to create municipal wireless or Wi-Fi systems has provoked sharp debate. Critics question whether the systems should be run by government or private industry. Some cities with networks have allowed private companies to create the networks on public property with an agreement that the cost to users would be minimal or free. Telephone and cable television companies have blocked some efforts, calling them unfair competition with their own business of selling wired connections. But now some of those same companies are bidding to build and operate the new government-sponsored systems. On Long Island, Cablevision offers some paid wireless service to its subscribers but says it will explore Suffolk's proposal Other concerns have been raised about privacy and security for users of the new networks. And some skeptics dispute the popular model of free service as being ill-advised. Typically, wireless systems have caught on in remote areas without any other Internet access and in urban centers with high population densities that concentrate potential users. But Suffolk is distinctly different, a sprawling county with heavily developed suburbs, gilded estates, horse farms, semi-rural sections with potato farms and vineyards, strip malls and seashores. It stretches from the office and retail corridor along Route 110 on its western border to the Montauk Lighthouse on the East End and beyond to Fishers Island. Covering that area would require hundreds or thousands of transmitting devices that cost up to $5,000 each, experts say. The broadcast range varies, and more transmitters are needed in areas of heavy usage. The entire system could cost tens of millions of dollars, experts say. Government agencies are eager to use wireless networks for themselves. County officials also say the network will help promote the local economy by providing easy Internet access to businesses and especially to mobile workers. Another goal is to close the so-called digital divide for low-income people who cannot afford computer connection fees. While the signals generally do not penetrate buildings, booster devices costing about $100 up to $200 can extend the service inside. Adapters enabling the wireless connection are included in many new computers or can be added. "Wireless is an incredible tool that every community needs to look at if not endorse," said Craig J. Settles, a consultant in Oakland, Calif., and author of "Fighting the Good Fight for Municipal Wireless" (Hudson House, 2006). "We're in an economy that is increasingly Internet-centric. 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