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HarborLink Network News & Events
November 19, 2004
Dayton Considering Wireless
Network
Brian Womack
DBJ Senior Reporter
City of Dayton officials may create a free, public wireless Internet network, a move that could make Dayton a national
leader in wireless Web services.
If the plan moves forward, people with wireless laptops, cell phones or other portable Web-enabled devices could
log on to the Web in public areas, such as parks and sidewalks. The network would provide Internet access at close
to T-1 speeds, said William Hill, director of the city's information and technology services.
Not only would a move like this give more Internet access to city residents and people who work in the city, the
network could help spur economic development and distinguish Dayton as a technology leader, officials said.
"It really shows a commitment on our part that we really are serious about being a player in the technology
space and that we are going to do everything we can to attract technology companies and technology-minded people,"
City Commissioner Joey Williams said.
Hill said the "wi-fi" offering, which would begin as a pilot program in the downtown area, could become
available in the "near future," declining to be more specific.
Hill said the city is trying to establish private/public partnerships to fund the venture so the service could
be provided at no cost to users, declining to be more specific. He said he didn't anticipate any additional costs
for taxpayers.
Already, Hill said other municipalities around Dayton have been in discussions with him about the possibility of
joining the wireless network, which would be transmitted through local towers, if it were to become a reality,
he said.
Hill said Dayton may have little company among Midwest cities if it installs the network. Also, few cities, if
any, Dayton's size have even considered the idea of providing the services without cost, he said.
"This is one of the most cutting-edge concepts around," Hill said. "Since there's no burden on the
taxpayer, this (would) be the model everyone else wants to emulate."
Julie Ask, analyst with JupiterResearch in San Francisco, said only a dozen or so larger cities, such as Philadelphia
and San Francisco, are trying to get large-scale wi-fi networks off the ground. She said the cost-free model could
work, but with so few models out there, it's hard to say which one could become the best formula for success.
"I think Dayton would definitely be at the forefront," Ask said. "They're kind of like pioneers
in the space, I think, any way you look at it."
Wi-fi, she added, is still a very young technology. Only about 10 percent of Americans have used the technology
in places such as coffee shops and restaurants, she said. In Dayton, wi-fi is available at retail stores such as
Boston Stoker and Buffalo Wild Wings.
But Hill said the payoffs of a public network could be large -- and could help make the city be more efficient
and effective. The city would be able to provide wireless meter readers, make digital pictures available to police
officers in the field instead of just text, and be able to easily track the city's vehicle fleets.
Another major driver for this idea is tearing down the often-called digital divide, or the barriers between rich
and poor and their access to the Internet. With a wireless computer, a Dayton resident could log onto the Internet
by sitting in a park or even on their porch steps -- without the burden of another monthly bill.
"If we manage to provide this concept to our citizens, then it pretty much levels the playing field as much
as we're capable of providing," Hill said.
Hill said the idea has been in the works for about a year, and he's not surprised something as big as a citywide
wi-fi network could come to Dayton before other cities get on board.
"We've been at the center of innovation for years; we were the first in flight," Hill said. "It's
just another one of those things where creativity in this region came bubbling up."
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