Subject: [NEXTEL-1] Wireless almost ready to fly at airport

From: [email-masked]
Date: Tue, 14 Oct 2003 13:58:51 -0400

Tallahassee Airport Reviews Plans for Wi-Fi
The Tallahassee Airport might soon go wireless. City officials are reviewing plans
to install a wireless network in the airport that reportedly could be up and
running by the end of the month. The service would provide visitors to the airport
with Wi-Fi access, similar to that currently available in parts of downtown
Tallahassee. After approving the plans for a hotspot in the airport, city
officials will have to put support services in place that will act as a
point-of-contact for users to call if their cards don't work properly or if there
are problems with the system.
================================================================================

Posted on Tue, Oct. 14, 2003

Wireless almost ready to fly at airport
By Juana Jordan
DEMOCRAT STAFF WRITER
The headline goes here
The next stop: Tallahassee Regional Airport.

That's where city officials hope to have the next Digital Canopy wireless network
up and running.
It could be ready in the following weeks, say city officials.

"We still have to sit down with airport officials to talk about the system," said
Gary Brinkworth, manager of strategic planning for Tallahassee's electric utility.
"But we think it could be up pretty soon, maybe before the end of this month."

The Digital Canopy, which has been in operation a little more than a year in parts
of downtown, allows people in the area to access the network through a laptop or
PDA (Personal Digital Assistant).  The canopy uses "wi-fi" - short for wireless
fidelity - technology.

Wireless antennas throughout downtown allow users to connect to the Internet
through their PDA or laptop computer. City fiber-optic cable support the antenna
system and its power supply.
To use the system, users need a wireless card to access the network. They can be
found at any store that sells computer products.

City officials say they still have to put the support services in place, figuring
out who users will call if their cards don't work properly or if there are
problems with the system.

"It's operating out there," Brinkworth said of the airport's network.  "If someone
has a wireless card, they could pick it up, but they would be doing so at their
own risk."

City officials are working to have a self-registration location near the airport.
"There are a lot of pieces that go into whether a public network is up and
running," said Sarah Wilson, project manager for Mainline Information Systems,
whose subsidiary NCGi, is heading the development for the Digital Canopy. "The
original goal was to provide public Internet access within the concourse of the
airport.  From a technical support that has been accomplished. Now, it's simply a
matter of getting the service rolled out."

The Digital Canopy is still in the pilot stages, so there is no cost currently to
use the system. But that won't always be the case, particularly as the network
expands.

There have been talks of the network being available to places such as south-side
neighborhood centers , which don't currently have high-speed Internet access.

To date, some $350,000 has been spent on the project, including purchasing
hardware and studying the feasibility of a network.

Rick Kearney, chief executive officer of Mainline Information Systems, came up
with the idea of a Digital Canopy. When it started, businesses, government and
educational institutions donated equipment, labor and access to get it going.
Currently, the network has more than 200 downtown users, Brinkworth said.

http://www.tallahassee.com/mld/democrat/business/7005445.htm
--
    "NEXTEL-1 IT'S NOT JUST NEXTEL"
  Note The New address
Subscribe to Nextel-1: http://www.groups.yahoo.com/subscribe/NEXTEL-1

  "NEXTEL2 FOR iDEN SOFTWARE DEVELOPERS"
Subscribe to Nextel2: http://www.groups.yahoo.com/subscribe/NEXTEL2

  "WIRELESS FORUM HOMELAND SECURITY GROUP"
     The Complete Resource for Wireless Homeland Security.
Subscribe to WFHSG:  http://www.groups.yahoo.com/subscribe/WFHSG

------------------------ Yahoo! Groups Sponsor ---------------------~-->
Buy Ink Cartridges or Refill Kits for your HP, Epson, Canon or Lexmark
Printer at MyInks.com. Free s/h on orders $50 or more to the US & Canada.
http://www.c1tracking.com/l.asp?cid=5511
http://us.click.yahoo.com/mOAaAA/3exGAA/qnsNAA/61FxlB/TM
---------------------------------------------------------------------~->

Your use of Yahoo! Groups is subject to http://docs.yahoo.com/info/terms/