HERMOSA BEACH GOES WI FI!
Among the First City in the Nation To Offer Free Broadband Wireless Service,
Hermosa Beach Launches Its Free Citywide Wi Fi Service on August 11th
HERMOSA BEACH, CA (July 21, 2004) � Hermosa Beach changes the way the
Internet is delivered to its city by launching the first hi-speed citywide
free wireless service in the nation (www.wifihermosabeach.com). On August
11th, 2004, the beach town of 21,000 will launch Phase 1 of the Citywide
Plan that will cover approximately 35% of the City, initially centering
around the Downtown, City Hall, and adjacent neighborhoods. Residents will
now have free Internet access available at their favorite restaurant, or
watching the sunset.
Hermosa Beach resident�s now have a choice to surf the Internet just as they
surf the Pacific - with Rad Speed (up to 6 Mbs per second �5x the speed of
dsl) and glassy conditions. The city will provide the FREEWAY to the
Internet for the public � just as it provides other basic services to its
residents.
The quest for free Municipal Wi Fi began a year ago, as the
brainchild of City Councilman Michael Keegan. Keegan�s two years of
experience with a Hotspot at his local bakery/caf� led him to this dream of
free municipal wireless connectivity for the city. Following several
discussions in council chambers, the plan was accepted. �The vision is to
provide the Internet to the city in the way that other basic services are
offered, as a public amenity and convenience,� says Keegan.
Hermosa Beach put the project out to bid in May and the successful system
Integrator was LA Unplugged. This Los Angeles based business designed and
will install the system Its President, Eric Black, recently stated,
�Hermosa Beach will deploy the most advance municipal Wi Fi system in the
country. It has the highest throughput, the strongest security, and the
broadest coverage available in the WiFi marketplace today. Each
communication node consists of multiple radios, advanced mesh networking
software, AES encrypted wireless backhaul links, and multi-polarized
antennas. This system will be the model for others to emulate.�
With local business sponsors to help offset the cost of the available
bandwidth, the Hermosa Beach Council is nurturing relationships with local
merchant to expand the system and make this a model for the region.
How Does It Work?
In Phase I of the Hermosa Beach Internet signal deployment, 9 access
point/nodes will be placed up and down Pier Ave with coverage extending to
35% of the land area in the city, allowing users with line of sight of these
elevated antenna locations to access service. Those outside this initial
area can also tap into the signal if they have line of sight to the City
Hall. The commercial areas of Pier Ave, along with City Hall and the
Library will be �lit up.�
Residents and Merchants can use this signal on laptops with built-in Wi Fi
or using Wi Fi cards, or they can put a PCI adapter onto their desktop
models, which have an antenna that can pick up the signal. Key system
component are provided by Calabasas-based Strix Systems and Brunswick,
Ohio-based WiFi Plus.
Let�s Celebrate!
The kick-off celebration for the citywide Wi Fi will take place on
August 11th, from 4:00 p.m. � 6:00 p.m at the beautiful 1935 Art Deco-style
Hermosa Beach Community Center, located at 710 Pier Avenue, with a reception
following at Sangria Restaurant, located at 68 Pier Avenue. Refreshments
and food will be available to all attendees. Hundreds of residents and city
council members will be present to celebrate the event.
Hermosa Beach will activate its free Municipal Hi-Speed Wireless
(802.11a/g WiFi) signal at the event. All guests are encouraged to bring
laptop computers and Web enabled devices to test the new system at both
locations.
The Hermosa Beach Wi Fi Program offers free broadband wireless
service to all city residents and businesses. Using the highest technology
available, the program will be the most advanced wireless mesh Wi Fi system
in the country. For more information, please call (310) 318-0216 log onto
www.wifihermosabeach.com.
Additionally, Hermosa Beach was the feature story in this weeks issue of:
http://www.muniwireless.com/archives/000400.html
Michael Keegan, Mayor of the City of Hermosa Beach spoke about his city's
vision of free wireless blanketing the city at SOCALWUG:
http://www.socalwug.org/february_26th_2004.htm
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Frank Keeney
http://www.wlanparts.com
IM: Yahoo: wlanparts, AIM: wlanparts, MSN: frank at pasadena.net
VOIP: Skype: wlanparts
