Originally published November 27 2005
City-wide WiFi for Madison, Wisconsin
by Mike Adams, the Health Ranger, NaturalNews Editor
The free WiFi network will initially cover the downtown area of Madison, with coverage for the entire city by 2007. When AOL withdrew from the project in September, WFI teamed up with Cellnet and MGE.
Madison Mayor Dave Cieslewicz announced yesterday that a group of high-technology companies has committed to building and operating a wireless Internet ("Wi-Fi") network in Madison with no expense to city taxpayers.
The network will initially cover the downtown area, and eventually extend to cover the entire city.
Deployment downtown is expected to be completed by March 2006 and, after successful deployment downtown, coverage will be completed for the rest of the city by early 2007.
"This is exciting news for Madison residents, businesses and visitors," said Cieslewicz.
"In my Healthy City plan I identified WiFi as a goal for our community, and I am pleased that we are soon going to see that goal become a reality.
In addition to providing an important new service for Madison residents and businesses, it will further strengthen Madison's national reputation as a highly-livable, business-friendly, technologically savvy community."
Two companies -- Cellnet and WFI -- will build and operate the new network, in cooperation with MGE, which is providing access on its streetlights for the placement of WiFi transmitters.
Internet access will be provided on a wholesale basis to retail Internet Service Providers, which will in turn sell access to the public.
Pricing will be competitive with other high-speed Internet options, with the added benefit of being available in public spaces such as parks.
The announcement is the culmination of months-long process that began with the release of a joint RFP in December, 2004 by the City, Dane County and State of Wisconsin.
An AOL-led consortium was the leading respondent to that RFP, but AOL withdrew from the project in September.
Following that decision, WFI, which had partnered with AOL and invested significant resources in the project, sought out a new partner and identified Cellnet, forming the partnership that was announced yesterday.
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