Staus update from City of Milwaukee

[WiFi.com]

This information has been provided by the City of Milwaukee at their website.

Midwest Fiber and the City of Milwaukee signed a contract in September of 2006. The plan is to have the network rolled out by March of 2008. Below you will find the stats update offered by the City of Milwaukee, as of January 2, 2007.

"On Wednesday, September 27, 2006, Mayor Tom Barrett announced the signing of an agreement with Midwest Fiber Networks, LLC, to build a wireless network covering the entire City of Milwaukee. The network will be built with private funding provided by Midwest Fiber, using no City tax dollars. The entire City is to have wireless service operating within 18 months, or by March 17, 2008.

Work in the demonstration area (bounded by I43 [10th St.] on the east, US41 [47th St] on the west, Canal St. on the south and Vliet St. on the north) is proceeding. Several rooftop antennas have been installed and will be connected directly to an "optical fiber backbone" which provides access to the Internet. These rooftop antennas will provide a wireless signal covering most of the demonstration area.

Lower-level pole-mounted wireless antennas ("access points") will be added starting this week. Eventually, they will create a high-capacity "mesh" over the area to serve customers of the system. As the antenna mesh becomes denser, reception will improve, but may not be optimal at the outset of the project. A limited number of temporary access accounts will be provided to the public for testing this month. These accounts will be distributed through various channels to get a cross-section of people testing the network, and providing feedback.

It is expected that paid accounts will be available sometime after the demonstration area has been built and the City gives Midwest Fiber approval to proceed. Paid accounts will be provided by one or more ISPs (Internet Service Providers) who set up systems on the wireless network to sell access to customers. However, there will continue to be free access to specific web sites ("walled garden") for anyone who can establish a wireless network connection.

Mayor Tom Barrett will soon announce the formation of a "Digital Inclusion Action Team". In creating the Milwaukee Wireless Initiative, Mayor Barrett directed that a program be developed and structured to provide opportunities for all Milwaukee citizens to participate in the digital society. The goal is universal and affordable access to the benefits of technology for all segments of our community. The Digital Inclusion Action Team will make that goal a reality.

Progress reports on the wireless network build-out will appear regularly on the City of Milwaukee web page. If you have questions or comments for future progress reports to address, please send them to Wifi@milwaukee.gov "