Wireless networks slated for 2 areas of city

0 Comments | Gazette, The (Colorado Springs), Sep 30, 2005 | by JIM BAINBRIDGE THE GAZETTE

Colorado Springs is about to go unplugged.

SkyTel Corp., a subsidiary of MCI, has reached terms with the city on a pilot program that will create a pair of wireless Internet networks in town starting next month.

The lease agreement to install 35 wireless-access points -- boxes -- on the top of Colorado Springs Utilities light poles takes effect Saturday, and installation downtown and in the Chapel Hills region should begin by midber.

"From our talks with city officials, we knew we were close, so the equipment is already ordered and about to be shipped from Mississippi," SkyTel president Bruce Deer said. "We should have the system up and running by the end of October."

Each of the two zones covers about two square miles with wireless boxes able to reach customers at a range of 200 to 1,700 square feet, depending on topography, foliage and building locations.

Under the agreement, subscribers can get a wireless Internet connection from anywhere in the network zones, paying an hourly, daily or monthly rate.

The downtown zone is centered on Tejon Street with service extending just past Platte Avenue to the north and Cimarron Avenue to the south, in roughly a rectangular shape with mostly business users.

The northern zone, although meant to be a more equal split between businesses and residences than the downtown site, centers on North Academy Boulevard from south of Woodmen Road to near the intersection with I-25 and includes all of the Chapel Hills Mall.

There will be 25 light-pole attachments downtown and 10 in Chapel Hills. SkyTel will pay Colorado Springs Utilities $434.35 a year for the use of the poles. It is the standard pole attachment rate of $12.41 per pole, per year according to Ed Martinez, the IT Services director for Colorado Springs Utilities.

SkyTel has not yet set a price structure for its customers, either here or for the pilot program that is 10 days from launching in Lexington, Ky., but Deer said it will be competitive with other wireless options.

There will be four pricing levels based on the sort of usage the customer wants.

Typically, wireless service in the Colorado Springs area -- utilizing dishes or cellularphone towers -- is priced around $50 to $70 a month.

"These networks will be in place for the foreseeable future," Deer said. "Our agreement with the city is that we will provide service for one year. We want to prove the utility of it and go from there. It is our desire that the service be very successful and we make it permanent, but we are not forcing the city into a long-term commitment."

In Intel's last survey to determine the nation's most "unwired" cities, Colorado Springs was ranked 15th -- up from 20th in 2004. Local wireless hot spots included those at The Colorado College, Colorado Springs Airport, four Pikes Perk Coffee and Tea locations, Boulder Street Coffee, Starbucks cafes, Antlers Hilton hotel and some McDonald's restaurants.

SkyTel, which specializes largely in paging services, got into the wireless business this year. Now the Clinton, Miss., company is providing emergency Internet access in Louisiana and Mississippi, including for FEMA to process aid applications.

CONTACT THE WRITER: 636-0126 or jim.bainbridge@gazette.com