Township-Wide Wireless Network Coming To Brick?



Free wireless Internet, anywhere in Bricktown: that's what the township's tech committee hopes to bring to all city residents.

Township Councilman Joseph Sangiovanni, a member of the tech committee, said it is looking at how WiFi(wireless fidelity) technology can be used at township schools, for emergency personnel and for township operations, but also by the general public.

The idea is to create a wireless Internet network in Brick from border to border, allowing anyone with a wireless Internet card on their computer to log onto the township network and surf the World Wide Web for free.

The committee is planning a feasibility study investigating the ways and costs of incorporating WiFitechnology, free and citywide in Bricktown.

Sangiovanni said the network could allow students sick and absent from school to still participate in classroom discussions via the Internet. It would give township officials access to online codes as they are on the road inspecting properties or responding to calls.

"Imagine fire officials pulling up floor plans of houses on fire," Sangiovanni said. "There's endless applications."

The issue is not just allowing users to access the Internet, he said. Instead, the technology could allow for wireless readings of a home's water meter to speed utilities billing.

He expects that if Brick were to get WiFi, it would not just bring more Internet traffic, but also foot traffic as users travel to within the township borders to catch the signal and log on.

However, there are areas in town that already provide wireless Internet, in "hotspots" where the networks are owned by private individuals or businesses. Not all are free or even open to the public, instead requiring a special password or payment to log on to the wireless network.

For example, Brick Barnes & Noble is a hotspot, but it charges those who attempt to sign on. To put free, wireless Internet everywhere in town would mean competition for networks such as Barnes & Noble.

Elsewhere, proposals for citywide free WiFihave resulted in lawsuits from companies seeking to block the plans. The United States Internet Industry Association also comes out strongly against municipal WiFinetworks.

In one 2005 report by the New Millenium Research Council, which the USIIA director contributed to, its authors write that municipally held WiFinetworks will likely have a detrimental affect on city budgets and on competition in the telecommunications industry. The plans drive out private networks, and often create a monopoly, according to the report.

However, Sangiovanni said the tech committee is continuing to pursue the idea. Members meet regularly and invite vendors and experts to explain WiFiand other technologies.

"This is the future. WiFiis coming," Sangiovanni said. "Many places are moving toward free. Even AOL changed its policies, going free."

Cities that have already built WiFinetworks include Corpus Christi, Texas, and Cleveland, Ohio. Citywide WiFiis also planned for Philadelphia, San Francisco, Anaheim and Minneapolis.