The Manchester Enterprise
A Heritage Newspaper
Weekly Publication
Washtenaw wired
Forum finds residents excited about countywide wireless Internet project
By Edward Freundl, Heritage Newspapers
PUBLISHED: March 29, 2007
An estimated 250 to 300 people had their questions answered this week about the long-awaited Wireless Washtenaw project.
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The first of several town- hall-style public forums on the countywide wireless high-speed Internet access system took place Monday at the Manchester High School auditorium.
Key personnel involved in the partnership between the county, Ann Arbor-based 20/20 Communications and Siemens USA answered a variety of technical and practical questions about the rollout of the new technology, which is projected to be complete by the end of this year.
Before entering the auditorium a long line of residents picked up informational brochures and signed up for 20/20's e-mail list for automatic updates and other news about the project.
"A temporary antenna was placed on top of the building just for this event," said 20/20 Vice President Debbie Peterson, explaining to people in line what they could expect from the wireless system.
"Ann Arbor has lots of chances (for wireless Internet); they can wait."
The total budget for the project is $26 million, of which approximately $2 million has been spent so far, said 20/20 Project Manager Dan Skratek.
Deputy County Administrator David Behen welcomed the crowd and gave them a little history on the project, which began as a series of discussion sin 2005.
"We were concerned rural areas were not going to be served by Internet providers," he said, and touted the project as "a model of cooperation" between government, schools and the private sector.
"No taxpayer money will be involved in the construction and maintenance of the system," Behen said.
Skratek echoed that theme of cooperation in describing the partnership behind the project.
"I've worked on a lot of big projects, but I've never seen one kick off this quickly," he said, but noted that asset acquisition will be the toughest part of the deployment.
"We are working with about 1,100 or 1,200 people throughout the county to use their grain silos, antennas, light poles or anything else we can mount a transmitter on," he said.
Skratek displayed an "asset map" showing the locations of possible transmitter placements throughout the county.
A very dense concentration is clustered in this corner of the county, as well as a large arc curving southwest from Lyndon Center to Ann Arbor to Saline.
"We are using private asserts wherever possible," Skratek said, noting the heavy response in the Manchester area.
He added that the installations will take a patchwork approach, because they have to work with individual township, village and city governments.
"The faster we can get through the permits and ordinances in your area, the faster we can install," he said.
Skratek used several pieces of equipment on display as visual aids when answering questions.
The radio transmitter, or "pony keg," as he referred to it, was a cylindrical object about 10 inches in diameter and about 12 inches high.
This receives the radio signal from the Ann Arbor hub, and relays it to a receiver mounted on the roof of a home or business.
The receiver is rectangular, about 10 by 15 inches and 2 inches thick. The signal travels by wire into the home to a router and is dispersed to computers inside.
The equipment and installation will cost about $250 to $300 in most cases, Skratek said.
Wireless Washtenaw will offer two levels of service: one at no charge, similar to dial-up speed at 84kbps; and 500kbps for a monthly fee of $34 to $50 for residential users.
Demonstrating each for the audience, at 500k the pages opened almost instantly, and video downloaded and played back in a smooth, even stream.
On the other hand, there was about a 2-second delay in opening a page at 84k, and downloading streaming video was not possible.
Bob Wolff, 20/20 president, made predictions about where technology would take us in the future, and about the capabilities of devices that are now in development.
"Broadband access should be more than a dream and we're going to make it a reality," Wolff said.
While Skratek answered operational and administrative questions from the audience, Wolff jumped in on the more technology-oriented queries.
"Weather doesn't really affect it, it's not like satellite TV," he said. "The radios are below the cloud line."
Security was a big issue for many questioners.
"In any wireless environment you're taking a risk if it's in an open area," Wolff said.
Added Skratek: "Make sure your router is encrypted, and don't give out credit card numbers or other sensitive information over an unsecure connection."
The forum seemed to satisfy many who attended.
"I learned a lot more than I expected; this was really informative," said Michael Winalis of Freedom Township.
"I'm definitely interested - with only dial-up in my area, like most people I'm asking 'When?' and 'How much?'" he said.
Sharon Township resident Jim Sewell said he was anxious to get started and enjoyed the forum format
"I'm looking forward to this; I can't wait for the wireless," he said. "I'd probably come to another forum if it's kind of in the area."
Village President Pat Vailliencourt said she hoped county officials took note of the strong turnout, and singled out one Manchester resident for his efforts on the Wireless Washtenaw team.
"I think this level of interest will help push Manchester to the top of the list for the buildout," she said. "Ray Berg deserves so much thanks from the community, He's represented us well."
For his part, Berg was satisfied with the results of the forum.
"I really appreciated the depth and range of the questions, from the 'when' and 'how much' to the very technical aspects of the system," he said. "I believe the strongest support for this is here in the Manchester area."
He also was pleased at the public participation and cooperation with local governments.
"This has gone from 'let's build a tower' to people offering their silos and grain elevators," he said.
"All the local units of government have agreed to support the program, so it's almost a public works project."
County Commissioners Jessica Ping Mills, R-District 3; and Mark Oiumet, R-District 1 agreed that Wireless Washtenaw would be a boon to the community in many ways.
"This is going to be such an asset for the community," Ping Mills said. "It will not only help people, but it will help the economy."
Ouimet said it would be a great tool for commerce.
"It's going to put us ahead of a lot of communities when they go countywide," he said.
"The key is to continue to educate the public on how important it is."
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