This is the second part of a series examining the changing face of downtown Madison.

The plan

By the spring semester, students could be sitting on the Capitol lawn checking e-mail or finishing online homework at a State Street coffee house.

Mayor Dave Cieslewicz is proposing a wireless network surrounding the Capitol Loop, Martin Luther King Drive and State Street. But the plan may not stop there.

Still in the preliminary stages, the WiFi plan will provide a free wireless Internet connection throughout the downtown area, according to Melanie Conklin, the mayor’s assistant.

The mayor’s office, along with members from the police and fire departments, began background work on a city wireless plan about a year ago.

Cieslewicz’s initiative is part of his Economic Development Plan, which he proposed last spring. The plan focuses on his goals for economic growth in the city.

The city is considering two tracks to carry out the plan, Conklin noted.

The first is to create WiFi connections in some areas, such as the downtown, the Dane County Airport, the Metro Bus Lines and other key business spots.

The second plan focuses on a citywide mesh network that would provide wireless availability for the entire city, following Philadelphia’s recent leap into the wireless world.

“Evolving the city into a mesh network would take longer than doing certain areas, and it’s biting a big chunk,” Conklin said. “But we’re looking at both alternatives.”

The mayor’s office is analyzing all the information from local providers as well as information from Philadelphia, the first city to jump into the wireless world.

For now, the focus is set on a smaller downtown network, Conklin said.

“The mayor has it as a goal; he definitely wants a smaller downtown wireless system sometime next year,” she said. “We’re not promising, but it would be wonderful.”

City costs and legal issues abound

Supporters of the plan still have to determine the costs for the extensive project. The addition of a large wireless network could put another $3 to 4 million on the mayor’s already-tight budget, Conklin said.

“How much is this going to cost? We are absolutely keeping that question in mind,” she added.

Philadelphia’s addition of a wireless network ran around $10 million, so Madison’s estimated costs seem low, Conklin added.

The first step toward implementing the WiFi network is to determine the legal issues, which the city attorney is currently examining. For example, if the city contracts one company to network and excludes other, that could be illegal.

“If you let Sprint on, can you let Verizon on?” Conklin questioned. “These are legal issues we have to look at. We need to know if the city can pick one provider.”

No opposition has been expressed, but if the mayor’s proposal receives citywide support, an area network provider could object to the addition of an urban wireless connection, said City Information Services Director Dick Grasmick.

“Any person or business using a certain provider doesn’t have to change providers,” Grasmick said.

Once legal matters are determined, companies will lay out designs for city costs, needed ports and possible resident costs. From there, the bidding process to undertake the project may begin.

After legal issues and the bidding process are settled, the city must determine how to mount and structure wireless servers.

“The issue is how we’re going to do it,” Grasmick said. “We are determining how many sites there will be and how much costs will be.”

The implementation of free wireless connections is set for spring 2005, Grasmick said.

A plan for everybody

The availability of a downtown wireless connection would help more than the local business owner or the student studying on the Capitol lawn. This type of citywide service will help connect all city agencies, Conklin said.

“A WiFi downtown has very practical implications with city government because there would be constant access and connections between agencies,” Conklin said.

Members from the police department agreed.

“We’ve already been experimenting with equipment in police vehicles,” Capt. Luis Yudice said. “We have laptops that can be outfitted with wireless connections.”

During emergency situations, officers rely on both their cell phones and radios, but the availability of wireless Internet could be another communication medium, Yudice noted.

Some officers use personal palm pilots and laptops to access e-mail and contact police databases, he said, adding that a wireless connection would be helpful for such matters.

Both Conklin and police officials noted constant connection and communication between the Madison Police and Fire departments would be not only helpful, but practical during large city-wide events such as the Halloween party and the Mifflin Street Block Party.

Communication between officers during those events could be the next step to controlling riotous behavior, Conklin said.

Pay a little, get a lot

Like the city, resident costs still have not been configured.

If Madison were to go entirely wireless, residents using the service would pay a small fee. The costs to log into and access the network are uncertain at this time.

“Without signing onto a company like SBC, for example, what could you access?” Conklin questioned. “Could you check movie times? Read your email? What could you do and would it be free, or would there be some costs?”

SBC is one company that has come forward with a downtown canopy network plan, Conklin said.

Their plan would not cost the city anything, but it would cost any user a small amount. This way SBC and the city would bring in small amounts of revenue while providing a wireless connection strong enough for any company, resident or small business to use as their sole provider.

The monthly cost would only be a few dollars per person. This cost would be much lower than the average $50 spent on DSL or cable connections, Conklin noted.

“In some ways, this is certainly something to consider,” she said. “But until we decide the route we’re going to take, costs are hard to say.”

Changing the face of downtown

“When we first started talking, people weren’t even talking about mesh citywide networks,” Conklin said. “But now that Philadelphia has done it, it is being actively discussed, and that has really opened up some things.”

City officials agree the plan is a positive step for the downtown.

“I commend the mayor on this plan,” Ald. Austin King, District 8, said. “I think this idea is fantastic, and State Street is the best place to start it. State Street is the place to draw people downtown, both for businesses and anybody else. It is a valuable link to downtown growth.”

The concept of wireless availability was incorporated into the recent facelift of the 100 and 200 blocks of State Street. The new street-light fixtures have been outfitted for wireless servers, according to King.

But the recent outburst of news coverage has left the mayor’s office swamped with e-mails and calls from companies, business owners and local residents, Conklin said.

“We’ve taken a step back from the issue because we had no idea there was such a huge interest,” Conklin said. “But in getting a lot of interest, people are pushing us to do what Philadelphia has done, which is create a whole citywide mesh network.”

Proponents of the citywide WiFi network say it would draw in business and provide an expansion base for existing companies, which are rooted in high-tech enviro-business, Conklin said.

Growing economic development is part of the mayor’s Economic Development Plan, but WiFi isn’t just an amenity for big business. The availability would be great for visitors, students, employees and residents, Conklin added.

“I use wireless anywhere I can get it,” University of Wisconsin sophomore Michael Johnson said. “If the city or State Street went wireless, I would use it all the time.”

Johnson, like many students, carries his Mac Powerbook G4 around to the numerous campus libraries. But Johnson said he particularly likes studying in coffee shops on State Street, noting wireless availability would provide more studying outlets for students.

Many students already use the Wireless Wisc-World free connection at the Memorial Union and the WiFi connection at the University Book Store.

“So many people frequently use State Street, and having a wireless connection there would be convenient for not only students, but businesspeople too,” Johnson said.