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Addison, Texas, to Work With Broadband Firm to Build Wireless Network

Posted on: Wednesday, 24 August 2005, 12:00 CDT

Aug. 24--For the past year, the Addison city manager's office has been peppered with phone calls from residents and business owners about holes in the city's high "speed Internet coverage.

Some residents had no access to DSL service provided by phone companies. In other instances, Comcast, the dominant cable operator, didn't provide high-speed Internet access to their streets. There were even a few residents who ran businesses from their homes, and the only high-speed option they had was a connection costing $400 to $600 a month.

"We needed to do something," said Lea Dunn, deputy city manager.

The city announced Wednesday that it selected RedMoon Broadband, a Plano company, to build a wireless network that included all of Addison at no cost to tax payers.

The city solved its residents' problem, and it also stepped into a policy debate that has ensnared other municipalities. Legislators have taken notice of Philadelphia's plan to roll out free city wide wireless access and have taken steps to blunt similar moves.

Cities such as Addison, Southlake and Granbury don't offer the service, but they've facilitated cheaper services. And that still rubs critics the wrong way. Their principal argument: Why should tax dollars be used to compete against private companies?

"I've had some municipal folks say, ' Well, we want to bridge the digital divide, and the Internet is too expensive,' " said Rep. Phil King, R-Weatherford. "Well, cars are too expensive. Should cities open up car dealerships and sell them cheaper? What about groceries? Should the city get involved with that? I think they look at it as a utility. It's just such a slippery slope."

King questioned how fair it was for a company to invest heavily in a region and then have a city recruit competition that charges reduced rates.

In introducing legislation that would overhaul much of Texas' telecommunication laws during the last legislative session, King spearheaded a movement to include a ban of municipal wireless networks. The ban was struck from the bill, which the Legislature has since passed and is awaiting Gov. Rick Perry's signature.

"Talk about opening a can of worms," King said. "We did not realize a lot of cities were already doing this. From a legislative perspective, it was like the tooth paste was already out of the tube."

RedMoon said it is offering Addison residents unlimited monthly service for $16.95 with no contract, unlimited single-day use for $9.95 and a pay-as-you-go service for $5.95 an hour.

Addison chose the company in March. The city explored rolling out the network itself but found the move too costly. Hamid Khaleghipour, information- technology director for Addison, said high-speed data lines would have cost the city too much to install. The company opted for wireless instead.

"We signed a franchise agreement with RedMoon granting them the right of way to our streets," Khaleghipour said. "An agreement that is no different with TXU or Comcast."

Cities cultivating partnerships with wireless network providers is a new phenomenon. Many have sought out such relationships not solely to fill gaps in its broadband network but also for the benefits to the government.

In Southlake, which approved testing of a limited wireless network this month, engineers will operate wireless cameras throughout parks and on some city streets. In Granbury, police officers will use wireless computers in squad cars. Granbury's Fire Department will be able to access 3-D photos stored in city databases of a property while on the way to put out a fire. Because so few people will use either city's network, excess capacity will be available to city residents as well.

The information could save lives, said Tony Tull, Granbury information "technology director.

"It may turn out that because this is so new and so much you can do with it that all the bumps haven't been mapped out," Tull said.

The Federal Communications Commission has not stepped into the debate yet.

But states and the Congress have taken measures to restrict cities. Illinois, Indiana, and Pennsylvania, in addition to Texas, have tried to ban city-sponsored wireless. Measures in Illinois and Indiana failed, but Pennsylvania granted large phone companies like Verizon and SBC the ability to prevent cities from creating and charging for wireless networks.

Philadelphia was able to proceed with its plans.

"We are not trying to tell a local government how to spend its money," said Bill Kula, a Verizon spokesman. "To be clear, we do not support bans on municipal networks. However, we strongly encourage municipalities to examine the expenditures. Of course in some instances it's necessary, but maybe not in every case."

In late June, Sens. John McCain, R-Ariz., and Frank Lautenberg, D-N.J., introduced the Community Broadband Act of 2005. T he bill would prevent states from banning city-sponsored broadband service. It would also require municipalities to regulate their own broadband services the same as they regulate competitors.

In contrast to the McCain-Lautenberg bill, the Preserving Innovation in Telecom Act of 2005, introduced by Rep. Pete Sessions, R-Dallas, would ban city-sponsored broadband services in areas where competing commercial services exist.

Industry experts say that because the networks are so new, unforeseen inventions could come along and make a major dent in the phone companies' business plans.

One scenario would be a city resident downloading free Internet phone software from Skype Communications and making phone calls using a free wireless connection.

"Verizon and SBC want the option of stopping a city from moving forward," said Julie Ask, a research director at JupiterResearch, based in Connecticut. "It all depends on how threatening the service is."

She said that the phone companies have concerns about the rollout and that cities need to be cautious with pursuing a wireless network. Ask said she wondered whether a startup or a city would be able to offer the same quality of service as a large phone company.

"It's so new that a lot of this is unproven," Ask said. "It remains to be seen."

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Copyright (c) 2005, Fort Worth Star-Telegram, Texas

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CMCSK, TXU, VZ, SBC,

Source: Fort Worth Star-Telegram (Fort Worth, Texas)

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