[JHeath]

http://thenewsdispatch.com/main.asp?Sectio...amp;TM=39699.93

5/9/2008 10:43:00 AM
City Wi-Fi Officially In Place
Laurie Wink
The News-Dispatch

MICHIGAN CITY - Michigan City took a major leap into 21st century communications technology with the opening of a Wi-Fi Zone in the city's North End Thursday afternoon.

At a ribbon-cutting ceremony in front of Maxine's Restaurant, 521 Franklin St., the system was lauded as a key to future development by Michigan City Mayor Chuck Oberlie, Chamber of Commerce President Tim Bietry, NetNITCO Community Development Manager Mike Bucko and Michigan City Economic Development Director John Regetz.

Wi-Fi access, provided at cost by NetNITCO, now extends from 11th Street north to the Washington Park marina, and from Wabash Street east to Pine Street. Oberlie said this is the first step in developing a "major infrastructure" to enable communications across the entire county.

"Our second project is to take the fiber networks from schools and to connect all the government complexes to them, and ultimately businesses," Oberlie said. "There has been interest from other businesses in expanding the network."

Bucko said the current system is "an outside, outdoor Wi-Fi" that can be connected to the inside of restaurants, bars and other businesses with a signal booster device called "EnGenius." Bucko said the device costs less than $50 and will be available for purchase at the Entrepreneur Center Michigan City, 422 Franklin St. Proceeds from sales will be used to support center operations.

Bietry said the Wi-Fi zone will give Michigan City a competitive advantage in economic development. He said boaters will be informed about the Wi-Fi zone at a 10 a.m. meeting Saturday at the marina.

"It will be a lure to reel in more development," Bietry said. "It will provide our businesses a competitive edge and provide them with another tool to attract customers."

NetNITCO has installed antennas in strategic locations in the North End, including one at NIPSCO's generating station and one at The News-Dispatch office building. Publisher Rick Welch said he was pleased to be part of the partnership that has made the Wi-Fi system possible.

" We're excited and thrilled to be able to help open the information superhighway to all citizens of Michigan City," Welch said.

For more information about the new network, see www.netnitcoWiFi. com/michigancity.


Contact Laurie Wink at lwink@thenewsdispatch.com.

[Roger Kaputnik]

I am gonna take a laptop downtown and try it!

[JHeath]

I am gonna take a laptop downtown and try it!

You have a laptop? When did that happen?

[Southsider2k12]

You have a laptop? When did that happen?

Its a Tandy on a rolling cart.

[Roger Kaputnik]

I got one of the cop surplus laptops from the store fka PC Depot--cop harddrive, cop RAM, cop battery, cop screen (apologies to Elwood).

No leftover stuff on the the C:, by the way!

[Ang]

Yeah!! Rog is with times. No more DOS-a-saurus for you my friend!

[Roger Kaputnik]

I am here, real time 1612 cdt, and on line using Carlisle network; the Netnitco one did not work.

[Ang]

Awesome! That's good to know that when I come home for vacation, I'll be able to use my laptop to connect with you guys instead of having to go to the library, or wait till I get back here.

[Roger Kaputnik]

When I have a few minutes, I am gonna take this thing and map out where the signal reaches.

[Dave]

We tried looking for the signal, and couldn't get it. We were trying from inside the house, though, and we are on the far side of Pine Street, so it may not reach this far. I'll have to try it from my front porch.

[edgeywood]

Call me cynical, but I think this whole deal was set-up to benefit the boat slip owners and NetNitco. "Free" WiFi is not going to get any business to re-locate to the north end. Muni WiFi has been a bust in other cities.

http://www.slate.com/id/2174858

I wonder how much the city is paying for this?

[Roger Kaputnik]

Isn't Slate a suck-up to the big computer companies?

[Southsider2k12]

Isn't Slate a suck-up to the big computer companies?

Slate is on M(ICRO)S(OFT)NBC....

[edgeywood]

Slate is on M(ICRO)S(OFT)NBC....

Regardless of Slate's affiliation, Muni WiFi is a bust. Who are the beneficiaries of this project in Michigan City? It is not economic development driver. No one will relocate to the North End based on "free" WiFi.

http://www.betanews.com/article/Philadelph..._out/1195487302

[Roger Kaputnik]

A-HA!

[Dave]

I wonder how much the city is paying for this?

I would hope not very much. It shouldn't be more than a couple of grand, seeing as I considered doing something like this from my house. There is a company (can't remember all the details) that. for a fee, allows folks to set up their home wifi for common use for a nominal user fee. I considered doing this myself, but decided that to do so I'd have to get a business account for my internet server, which impressed me as being too much of a bother (Comcast doesn't like people just giving away their service from household accounts).

[edgeywood]

I would hope not very much.

Yeah, me too, but I fear otherwise. The MC WiFi is being provided by NetNitco. I'm sure there is an ongoing cost for the service, not to mention the hardware and antennas associated with the network, and any maintenance required for the hardware.

[Dave]

We tried looking for the signal, and couldn't get it. We were trying from inside the house, though, and we are on the far side of Pine Street, so it may not reach this far. I'll have to try it from my front porch.

So, I tried it from my front porch.

My machine showed six wifi signals -- mine, two other secured networks, and three unsecured networks including NetNITCOWifi, which came in at four out of five bars, actually a stronger signal than I was getting there from my own wifi system.

Which is pretty cool, but the signal doesn't seem to like coming in through the walls of the house, so I'm going to stick with my own.

[Roger Kaputnik]

Good, useful info. Is this put on the web's hotspot map?