Register for free to join our community of investors and share your ideas. You will also get access to streaming quotes, interactive charts, trades, portfolio, live options flow and more tools.
T does a lot for wifi , Q , TWX , DIS
http://finance.yahoo.com/marketupdate/inplay
On The Wires (WIRES) : Qiao Xing Mobile Communication (QXM) announces its Chairman plans to purchase up to aggregate of $2.0 mln worth of shares pursuant to a 10b5-1 plan.
http://finance.yahoo.com/marketupdate/inplay
Gilat Satellite provides update on merger transaction; cos questioning whether all of the conditions of the merger agreement have been met (GILT) 9.12 : Co announces that it has notified the consortium of private equity investors that had entered into an agreement with the company for its acquisition, that Gilat has fulfilled all of the conditions precedent for the closing of the transaction. The consortium members, The Gores Group LLC, Mivtach Shamir Holdings, companies affiliated with Roy Ben-Yami, Ami Lustig and Eytan Stibbe and DGB Investments, have notified Gilat that they are questioning whether all of the conditions of the merger agreement have been met. The consortium has not provided a formal response to Gilat at this time. The parties are engaged in ongoing discussions on this issue in an effort to complete the transaction in the timeframe contemplated by the merger agreement.
http://finance.yahoo.com/marketupdate/inplay
On The Wires (WIRES) : American Electric Power (AEP) subsidiary Appalachian Power has signed a long-term power purchase agreement for renewable wind energy with Beech Ridge Energy, a subsidiary of Invenergy Wind. Through the 20-year agreement, Appalachian Power will purchase all of the output, between 100 and 147 megawatts, from the first phase of the planned 186-megawatt Beech Ridge Energy wind project currently under development in Greenbrier County, WV... SatCon Technology (SATC) says it is a key member of a team of best-in-class clean energy industry leaders recently awarded the Solar Energy Grid Integration Systems contract by Sandia National Laboratories... General Moly (GMO) announces that it has entered into Electrical Transmission Service Agreements with Mount Wheeler Power and Sierra Pacific Power to provide the Mt. Hope Project in Eureka County, Nevada with sufficient power transmission capacity to satisfy its projected electrical needs.
http://finance.yahoo.com/marketupdate/inplay
NDS Group: News Corporation, Permira and NDS announce signing of agreement to take NDS private (NNDS) 60.50 : News Corporation (NWS), two newly incorporated subsidiaries of funds advised by Permira Advisers and NNDS announce that they have signed an agreement pursuant to which NWS and the Permira Newcos would acquire all issued and outstanding NNDS Series A ordinary shares, including those represented by ADS traded on NASDAQ, for the previously announced per share consideration of $63 in cash. The consummation of the transaction would result in NNDS ceasing to be a public company, and the Permira Newcos and NWS owning approximately 51% and 49% of NNDS, respectively. Approximately 67% of the NNDS Series B ordinary shares held by NWS would be cancelled in exchange for $63 per share in a mix of cash of approximately $1.52 billion and a $242 million vendor note. The independent committee of the board of directors of NNDS has approved the agreement and will recommend to the holders of the NNDS Series A ordinary shares that they vote in favor of the scheme of arrangement implementing the transaction. The independent committee has received an opinion from Citi that the per share consideration of $63 in cash is fair, from a financial point of view, to holders of the NNDS Series A ordinary shares, including those in the form of American Depositary Shares.
http://finance.yahoo.com/marketupdate/inplay
Scopus Video Networks announces that the BBC has chosen Scopus' MPEG-4 encoders for use at the Beijing Summer Olympic Games (SCOP) 4.70 +0.10 :
http://finance.yahoo.com/marketupdate/inplay
PHBR.PK 0.17 0.00 News
View Detailed Quote
Delayed 20 mins
Providers - Disclaimer
Related News Stories
· OTC-Network Announces a One Million Share Common Stock Open Market Purchase Representing Well over 25 Percent of the PhoneBrasil Float - Business Wire (Thu Jul 17)
· New Comprehensive Report Released on PhoneBrasil Including Highlights on Hot Latin American Telecommunication Markets - Business Wire (Mon Jul 14)
· [video] WallSt.net's '3 Minute Press Show' Features Executive Interviews and Highlights Recent Press for the Following: EXOU, PHBR, BWDT - PR Newswire (Thu Jul 10)
· PhoneBrasil Retains Paradise Capital Group to Source Funding and Handle Future Acquisitions - Business Wire (Tue Jul 8)
More
http://biz.yahoo.com/bw/080814/20080814005684.html?.v=1
PhoneBrasil Announces Growth in Its Headquarters in Brasil
Thursday August 14, 11:24 am ET
MIAMI--(BUSINESS WIRE)--PhoneBrasil International, Inc. (Pink Sheets:PHBR - News) announces today new plans to capture the extreme market boom in the Brazilian Economy. PhoneBrasil now has over a half dozen engineers and one secretary at their headquarters in Curitiba, Brasil and looks to come online in the near term.
PhoneBrasil will use its billing system and fiber optic cable connections in Brasil for their traffic and minutes to service new and future clients. The company plans to have one fiber optic line in Curitiba, Brasil, one in Sao Paulo, Brasil, and one fiber optic line in Rio De Janerio.
The company’s technical office in Brazil is owned by the CEO, Mr. Anderson Dias, and is a two story Technical & Engineer department building. We have been housing our engineers, technical support, and secretaries here as well.
PhoneBrasil Technical/Engineer Building Rua Vereador Augusto Stabin 360 Cep: 85515-240 Curitiba, Brasil.
About PhoneBrasil
PhoneBrasil International, Inc. is an American-based company specializing in Hybrid VoIP, cellular, Broadband and WIFI Technology in the Latin American market, as well as servicing the International Telecommunication Markets. PHBR offers prepaid VoIP calls and equipment, and remains focused on dominating technological aspects like software, billing, supply, and cost savings for the new VoIP industry.
PhoneBrasil New Corporate Website www.phbrinc.com
PhoneBrasil New Investor Website www.phonebrasil.info
"Safe Harbor" Statement under the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995: This release includes forward-looking statements intended to qualify for the safe harbor from liability established by the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. These forward-looking statements generally can be identified by phrases such as PHBR or its management "believes," "expects," "anticipates," "foresees," "forecasts,""estimates" or other words or phrases of similar import. Similarly, statements in this release that describe the Company's business strategy, outlook, objectives, plans, intentions or goals also are forward-looking statements. All such forward-looking statements are subject to certain risks and uncertainties that could cause actual results to differ materially from those in forward-looking statements.
Contact:
PhoneBrasil International, Inc.
Anderson Dias, CEO, 305-600-4156
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Source: PhoneBrasil International, Inc.
Email Story
Set News Alert
Print Story
additional reading.
below is link for i.p.o. dates.
http://moneycentral.msn.com/investor/market/ipomain.asp
side by side charts 180 days / 90 days readings.
[chart*]stockcharts.com/def/servlet/SharpChartv05.ServletDriver?chart=XXXX,uu[s,a]daclyiay[dc][pb50!b200!f][vc60][/chart*][chart*]stockcharts.com/def/servlet/SharpChartv05.ServletDriver?chart=XXXX,uu[s,a]daclyiay[db][pb10!b20!f][vc60][/chart*]
Formerly, the term "Wi-Fi" was used only in place of the 2.4GHz 802.11b standard, in the same way that "Ethernet" is used in place of IEEE 802.3. The Alliance expanded the generic use of the term in an attempt to stop confusion about wireless LAN interoperability.
Links For Wi-Fi
http://www.google.com/custom?domains=www.investorideas.com&q=wi-fi&sa=Search&sitesearch=....
kind of what we like,
PARENTS ARE FROM BBCMF ,,,#Board-3665
http://www.webopedia.com/TERM/W/Wi_Fi.html
Short for wireless fidelity and is meant to be used generically when referring of any type of 802.11 network, whether 802.11b, 802.11a, dual-band, etc. The term is promulgated by the Wi-Fi Alliance.
Any products tested and approved as "Wi-Fi Certified" (a registered trademark) by the Wi-Fi Alliance are certified as interoperable with each other, even if they are from different manufacturers. A user with a "Wi-Fi Certified" product can use any brand of access point with any other brand of client hardware that also is certified. Typically, however, any Wi-Fi product using the same radio frequency (for example, 2.4GHz for 802.11b or 11g, 5GHz for 802.11a) will work with any other, even if not "Wi-Fi Certified."
WiFi is us
The world’s largest chip makers have been rolling up their sleeves ahead of the approval of advanced wireless standard 802.11n. Tsutomu Tsuboi of Japanese chip giant Renesas came Israel in search of a trump card. He found it in Israeli company Metalink.
Shmuel Shelah 4 May 06 15:44
The battles at the conferences of the Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers, Inc , are among the most well known in the technology world. Despite this, the battle last year over the new 802.11n standard for wireless communications set new records.
The argument during 2005 was between two groups comprising representatives from IT and telecommunications giants, who had differing ideas as to how exactly the standard should work. Although the differences between the two sides were comparatively small, the battle raged on for more than six months with each side failing to “throw out” the proposal of the other.
(#msg-10959083)
Dubi
Hi Mick,
Wow, an endless source of information.
Thanks
Dubi
this is rather cheap.
http://www.PeoplePC.com
July 2005
Wireless broadband: What it takes
to go public
CYBERCITY Brittany Chase uses a free, public Wi-Fi
network soon to be available throughout St. Cloud, Fla.
Photo by Bill Bachmann
The wireless technology known as Wi-Fi has already widened Internet access through “hot spots” at businesses such as Starbucks and at airports. Now it’s enabling cities to create public broadband networks that turn entire neighborhoods into wireless access zones.
Those municipal networks are spurring debate over whether Internet access is an essential utility, like water, or, as the communications industry contends, just another telecommunications service, and whether governments should provide it.
The New Millennium Research Council, an industry-supported think tank based in Washington, D.C., says municipal networks have resulted in financial disaster in California, Georgia, Iowa, and Ohio. But those networks were built using older cable and fiber systems, not the wireless approach now being adopted.
An uncertain future. More than a dozen states have passed laws to prevent or discourage municipalities from offering Wi-Fi or any Internet service. Laws are pending in nearly a dozen other states. And a Congressional revision of the Telecommunications Act of 1996, expected this session, may determine whether municipal service becomes more widely available.
But at least a dozen communities, from remote towns to Philadelphia, already offer municipal Wi-Fi or plan to soon. Their experiences indicate what its costs and benefits are likely to be for other towns and cities.
Filling a need. In cities we contacted, the circumstances giving rise to a public Wi-Fi network were similar. Consumers and businesses demanded broadband, often for the health of the local economy, but existing providers were too expensive or wouldn’t service the area.
Municipal leaders cite economic benefits from the lower fees they charge--as low as $16 monthly--when compared with commercial DSL or cable, which typically runs $30 to $40 monthly. Commercial hot spots, which deliver access to those without service at home, run about $30 monthly. In some places, the residents’ main benefit is not cheaper service, but having service in an area that commercial providers don’t cover.
costs and benefits
Going public entails costs for site assessment, purchase and installation of wireless equipment, plus ongoing maintenance. Despite those hurdles, some cities have found the effort worthwhile. In Scottsburg, Ind., broadband providers decided the community of 6,000 was too small to make the service pay.
Estimates from several consultants were prohibitive. So, according to Jim Binkley, superintendent of the city’s Electric Department, the community built its own wireless broadband system by erecting a network of antennas and towers, instead of laying down an expensive fiber network. That kept installation costs down to $385,000. The town now charges each household signing up for the service $35 monthly.
According to Binkley, the municipal network saves the school board $6,000 monthly in telecommunications costs.
In 2004, the city of St. Cloud, Fla., installed a free Wi-Fi network for its historic district. Hewlett-Packard designed and installed it, absorbing the $25,000 start-up cost. Service will soon extend to the entire town, covering 15 square miles and 28,000 people for about $1.5 million, with projected annual maintenance costs of $300,000.
Jonathan Baltuch, president of MRI, the company that managed the project, says service is provided free of charge because the $1.5 million comes out of the city’s economic development fund, while maintenance costs will become part of the operating budgets of the city’s municipal, fire, police, and public works departments.
“We’re basically giving the citizens of St. Cloud free high-speed Internet for no more than the cost of a road intersection,” Baltuch says. Consumers who can drop costly cable or DSL service, he says, save more thanks to free Wi-Fi than they pay in city taxes.
PHILADELPHIA STORY
In the most ambitious municipal Wi-Fi project to date, Philadelphia plans to deploy a $10 million network by summer 2006. The project will provide computers and training to low-income families, and free service in parks and other public spaces. Dianah Neff, the city’s chief information officer, says business groups and convention authorities are calling for citywide broadband access to help increase business visits.
What you can do. To learn more about municipal Wi-Fi, visit www.hearusnow.org/internet and www.muniwireless.com.
To find a wireless network near you, or to compare the prices of various carriers, visit www.jiwire.com.
For complete Ratings and recommendations on appliances, cars & trucks, electronic gear, and much more, subscribe today and have access to all of ConsumerReports.org.
HP Helps Cities Reap Benefits of Wireless Broadband
http://www.webwire.com/ViewPressRel.asp?aId=3884
HP
8/31/2005 11:55:51 AM
WebWire Related Industries
• Computer Networks
• Consumer Electronics
• Electronics
• Entertainment
• Telecommunications
HP and alliance partners bring metro-scale Wi-Fi to Franklin, Tenn., and St. Cloud, Fla.
PALO ALTO, CA, Aug. 31, 2005
HP today announced that the cities of Franklin, Tenn., and St. Cloud, Fla., have selected HP technology as the basis for their municipal wireless broadband systems.
The HP Metro-scale Wi-Fi solution will enable the cities to take advantage of the simplest, fastest, most cost-effective way to increase broadband availability for their citizens while also creating and improving public services.
The solution leverages HP’s global portfolio of wireless services and products to enable large communities to meet rapidly changing demands and provide their citizens and stakeholders with greater flexibility and adaptability.
Elements of the portfolio used in these rollouts include a wide range of HP mobile access devices, including the HP iPAQ Pocket PC; industry-standard HP ProLiant servers; consulting and integration services; financial and support services; and the HP OpenView management software platform.
In Franklin, the solution will include broadband capabilities for the city’s first response unit, including police and fire departments. In St. Cloud, HP is expanding an initial Wi-Fi "hot spot" to provide wireless broadband across the city.
As part of the HP Metro-scale Wi-Fi solution, HP forged an alliance with Tropos Networks and Aptilo Networks to help large communities of all kinds - cities, government agencies, large medical center and universities - achieve significant new wireless capabilities, including enhanced collaboration and simplified secure access control through a standard high-speed Wi-Fi network. The Franklin and St. Cloud networks use products from Tropos and Aptilo as part of their overall network solutions.
"We are seeing a global explosion in the demand for large-scale Wi-Fi implementations," said Enrique Barkey, worldwide director, Civilian Agency Solutions, HP. "There is a powerful recognition that large-scale Wi-Fi capability enables the sort of pervasive access that spurs collaboration, innovation and productivity. HP’s 25-year track record in building both wired and wireless network infrastructures enables us to deliver a comprehensive solution that is dynamic, flexible and adaptable."
HP’s broad portfolio meets growing demand for metro-scale Wi-Fi
Franklin, Tenn., has deployed a wireless broadband solution throughout the city, including its historic district, to provide wireless, mobile capabilities for its first responders. The second phase of the project will roll out additional wireless broadband capabilities to the 35-square-mile city.
"Wireless broadband will mean a faster, more comprehensive first response unit and wireless access for departments across the city," said Fred Banner, director, Municipal Information Technology, City of Franklin. "We chose HP because they offer a flexible approach and cost-effective solution that combines world-class technology, services and partners."
St. Cloud, Fla., initially selected HP to deploy a Wi-Fi umbrella as part of their city-wide broadband access program. In 2004, HP and a partner helped the city to develop the "Cyber Spot," a wireless LAN hot spot, and expanded wireless broadband capabilities across the 590-acre Stevens Plantation community. The second phase, which is in progress, includes expanding and providing ongoing support for its current wireless capabilities across the entire city.
"Ubiquitous high-speed wireless will bring lifestyle, educational and economic advantages to St. Cloud," said Glenn Sangiovanni, Mayor of St. Cloud. "With HP’s help, St. Cloud is set to become one of a handful of cities with a city-wide municipal wireless network offered free to our citizens as a public service, which will enrich our education system, grow local commerce and better equip our local law enforcement and emergency response teams."
According to The Wireless Internet Institute (W2i), hundreds of U.S. cities are setting up metro-scale wireless networks and more than 1,000 local governments worldwide have plans in the works. In addition to the many small and mid-size U.S. cities that have implemented metro-scale Wi-Fi or are presently working to do so, recent news reports have spotlighted the plans being launched by large cities such as Philadelphia, San Francisco, Boston and Minneapolis to add metro-scale Wi-Fi to their municipal infrastructures.
More information on the HP large-scale wireless solutions is available at http://government.hp.com/solutions_detail1.asp?agencyid=0&solutionid=31.
About HP
HP is a technology solutions provider to consumers, businesses and institutions globally. The company’s offerings span IT infrastructure, global services, business and home computing, and imaging and printing. For the four fiscal quarters ended July 31, 2005, HP revenue totaled $85.2 billion. More information about HP (NYSE, Nasdaq: HPQ) is available at http://www.hp.com.
This news release contains forward-looking statements that involve risks and uncertainties, as well as assumptions that, if they ever materialize or prove incorrect, could cause the results of HP and its consolidated subsidiaries to differ materially from those expressed or implied by such forward-looking statements and assumptions. All statements other than statements of historical fact are statements that could be deemed forward-looking statements, including the expected development, performance or rankings of products or services; statements of expectation or belief; and any statement of assumptions underlying any of the foregoing. Risks, uncertainties and assumptions include the development, performance and market acceptance of products and services and other risks that are described from time to time in HP’s Securities and Exchange Commission reports, including but not limited to HP’s Quarterly Report on Form 10-Q for the fiscal quarter ended April 30, 2005, and other reports filed after HP’s Annual Report on Form 10-K for the fiscal year ended Oct. 31, 2004. HP assumes no obligation and does not intend to update these forward-looking statements.
Related Links
HP
www.hp.com
Contact Information:
Press Hotline
HP Media Relations
HP
(866) 266-7272
Don't Miss these Key Conference Sessions:
http://www.broadband-wireless.com/bww06/
Service Provider Case Study: Lessons Learned from Early Deployments
Netago -- the leading national wireless broadband network in Canada – details its model, deployment experience and more in this case study with solutions partner Nortel.
Terry Ducherer, President, Netago Wireless Bruce Gustafson, Director, WiMAX Marketing, Nortel Networks
Opportunities for Service Providers in Personal Broadband
Performance gains and intelligence in the handset/device, combined with true ubiquitous and high-speed connectivity made possible by WiMAX and other wireless broadband protocols, may usher in a new era in “personal broadband” services. What exactly is “personal broadband?” How is it different than mobile wireless or 3G? These questions will be answered by this industry roundtable session, as will be key question: How can competitive network operators and service providers benefit from a personal broadband service offering?
Case Study: Municipal Network Deployment with Mesh
’’Wireless Alexandria,’’ which went live in April 2005, is the first free, outdoor, wireless Internet zone in the Washington, DC region, and still one of very few of its kind in the U.S. City officials are evaluating a host of Metro Wi-Fi applications, from wireless IP-enabled video cameras to monitor traffic, to Wi-Fi laptops in police cars for mobile investigative services. Learn how Alexandria plans to roll out its network without using taxpayer dollars, and without competing with existing or new service providers. What are the economics, and what are the business model alternatives?
Craig Fifer, E-Government Manager, City of Alexandria, Virginia
Ed Taulbee, Director of Carrier Markets, Tropos Networks
New Business Growth Opportunity for VARs and Integrators!
Hosted by
A Special Invitation to VARs and Integrators….
VAR and Integrator SUPER SESSION: Growing Your Business through Community Access Network Deployment
VARs and systems integrators: the growth of community access networks in municipalities large and small is a trend that shows no signs of slowing. What’s more, municipal leaders require the expertise of the VAR/Integrator community to design and deploy networks that meet the unique business model criteria of municipal governments. This 90-minute Super Session outlines the expectations and requirements of the community access network, and offers a toolkit specific for Integrators to grow their businesses by serving the needs of the municipality.
WHEN: Thursday, April 27
8:30 AM– 10:00 AM
Continental Breakfast Included, Seating is limited.
To pre-register for this SUPER SESSION, please call
Shellie Ruth at 408-542-3373.
Broadband Wireless World Offers Practical and Useful Information for Today’s Broadband Network Operators
The emergence of WiMAX has only increased the stakes for other Broadband Wireless players. The battle has just begun as other 3G alternatives continue to grow their base and improve capabilities. Broadband Wireless World will take you to the front lines, highlight solutions across licensed/unlicensed frequencies, fixed/mobile capabilities and private/municipal networks.
No matter what your business model, or what type of network you operate -- if you're a CLEC * LEC * MSO * Mobile Carrier * Municipal Network Owner * ISP * WISP * Utility * or Integrated Carrier -- you'll find all broaband wireless access technologies, and more, all under one roof, in one place for all types of network operator.
Municipal and City Governments:
If you’re serious about implementing Broadband Access -- attend the only educational conference and exhibition that provides a full array of wireless broadband access technologies and potential partners.
Take advantage of the expertise and vendors on site at to determine the best technology solution for your market size, expectations, and network rollout schedule.
Develop partnerships with the local, regional and national service providers eager to collaborate in public/private partnerships with your community.
Deploy the right strategy and network architecture the first time. Build a network that supports a wide variety of high-bandwidth applications, including voice, video conferencing and other kinds of business and entertainment applications.
Maximize Your Time at the Show with These Specialized and Timely Workshops
Mesh Wireless Networks Workshop
Mesh Wireless Networks are one of the hottest topics in communications today. This one-day instructor-led and vendor neutral course is important for all companies or agencies contemplating deploying Mesh Wireless connectivity.
Workshop for Competitive Wireline Providers
Hear leading wireline network operators discuss their demands for wireless equipment, the opportunities to partner with wireless broadband carriers, and the services they can offer for backhaul and transport.
Applications and Services Driving Revenue for Wireless Network Operators Workshops
In this half-day workshop, Parks Associates’ analysts will provide insight about the opportunities to competitive service providers utilizing wireless broadband networks to provision revenue generation applications and services to residential consumers.
Registration is Now Open! Register Today and Save.
The Leading WiMAX and Broadband Solutions are in Las Vegas!
For more than eight years, Broadband Wireless World has been the place senior executives from all categories of communications carrier go to learn more about the business model and technology solutions to design and deploy fixed wireless broadband networks.
For More Information and Program Details
Visit the pages on this site or call 949.600.7070
St. Cloud, Fla. Goes Live With Free Wi-Fi
3/6/2006
The city of St. Cloud, Fla. has activated free citywide high-speed wireless Internet access as a public service for its residents, city departments, schools, hospitals and businesses.
St. Cloud's network plan called for the use of approximately 300 of Tropos Networks' 5210 outdoor Wi-Fi mesh access points. That mesh network would be connected to City Hall using Motorola's Canopy wireless broadband system.
The entire wireless broadband network was planned to serve 28,000 residents, covering the city's 15 square miles.
St. Cloud, an Orlando suburb, contracted with HP and MRI to develop the wireless solution. In addition, HP Services provides network monitoring, operational services and support services on a 24/7 basis to the city.
Users log into the Cyber Spot portal using Wi-Fi-enabled computers to gain access. The portal page requires registration, but there's no fee to use the network.
-- Kurt Mackie
this is something of interest for us. it doesn't show the link.
Pioneering Wi-Fi City Sees Startup Woes
Email this Story
Apr 23, 3:18 PM (ET)
By TRAVIS REED
Google sponsored links
PeoplePC - Official Site - Only $4.97/mo. Free Pop-Up Blocker, Spam Controls and Virus Protection.
www.PeoplePC.com
Covad DSL in Phoenix - Low-Cost DSL Service for Small & Medium Business - Learn More!
www.covad.com
ST. CLOUD, Fla. (AP) - Joe Lusardi's friends back in New York couldn't believe it when he told them he'd have free Internet access through this city's new Wi-Fi network. It's free all right, but residents are, to some extent, getting what they pay for.
More than a month after St. Cloud launched what analysts say is the country's first free citywide Wi-Fi network, Lusardi and others in this 28,000-person Orlando suburb are still paying to use their own Internet service providers as dead spots and weak signals keep some residents offline and force engineers to retool the free system.
"Everybody's happy they were going to have it, but I don't know if they're happy right now," said Lusardi, a 66-year-old retired New York City transit worker.
The same troubles with the small town's big Internet project could be lessons for municipalities from Philadelphia to San Francisco considering similar networks.
St. Cloud officials are spending more than $2 million on a network they see as a pioneering model for freeing local families, schools and businesses from monthly Internet bills. It also promises to help the city reduce cell-phone bills and let paramedics in an ambulance talk by voice and video to hospital doctors.
Instead, what they have so far is a work in progress.
"All technology has its hiccups, and sometimes more than hiccups," St. Cloud Mayor Donna Hart said. "I think that it's going to be a major challenge, and it'll probably be a major challenge for some time until the technology is such that it works properly."
Wi-Fi is the same technology behind wireless Internet access in coffee shops, airports and college campuses around the country.
Several cities have Wi-Fi hotspots, but St. Cloud's 15-square-mile network is the first to offer free access citywide, said Seattle-based technology writer Glenn Fleishman, who runs a Web site called Wi-Fi Networking News.
Other cities like Tempe, Ariz., have networks over a larger area (187 square miles), but access isn't free. Planned projects in places like Chicago and Philadelphia would also dwarf St. Cloud's network, but also require a fee for access.
Google Inc. (GOOG) and EarthLink Inc. (ELNK) are teaming up to build a $15 million Wi-Fi network across San Francisco, and their proposal is entering final negotiations. EarthLink's faster offering would cost $20 per month, while Google would provide a slower, free service financed by advertising.
St. Cloud launched the network on a trial basis in May 2004 in a new division of town to help give businesses an incentive to relocate. After further exploring the benefits, officials decided to expand it citywide.
Project supporters say increased efficiency in city government will cover the network's $2.6 million buildout and estimated $400,000 annual operating expense.
For example, phones that use the Wi-Fi network will allow it to cut cell-phone bills for police and city workers. The city can avoid adding 10 more building inspectors because the network will existing employees to enter and access data onsite instead of driving back to the office.
The network also could keep the estimated $450 that St. Cloud households now spend each year on high-speed access in the local economy.
As of last week, nearly 3,500 users had registered for the network, logging 176,189 total hours of use. St. Cloud contracted with Hewlett-Packard Co. to build the project and provide customer support.
"HP is working with the city and its partners to optimize the solution and install additional access points to help improve signal strength in isolated areas of the city," the company said in a statement.
So far, there have been plenty of calls from frustrated residents. Some can see receivers from their homes and still can't sign on - even on the porch. Others have tried to connect countless times.
Still, HP said that there were only 842 help-line calls out of more than 50,000 user sessions in the first 45 days of service.
At first, a desktop computer in Lusardi's house could use the Wi-Fi network with no problem, but his laptop would only work outdoors. Even then it was too slow and unreliable, so he kept his $20 per month Sprint DSL service.
Now the desktop doesn't even work, and he's completely abandoned the idea of dropping his pay service and using the network.
"It's just total frustration," Lusardi said. "I'm going to stay with the DSL and just forget it, because I don't think it's going to work. Very few people are going to use it, and they're going to say it's underutilized and they're going to shut it down."
Lusardi didn't shell out the money for a signal-boosting device St. Cloud recommends for those having trouble connecting - City Hall sells them for $170.
Fleishman said the fact that others share Lusardi's frustration is a crucial technical and public relations problem for the vanguard project. He said residents should understand many won't be able to use the free network without additional equipment to strengthen the signal.
"It's very large and it's very ambitious, so they're going to hit some of these problems before some of the marketing and technology is out there," he said. "Products have to catch up to this new market."
Fleishman said other cities would likely have the same problems - in bigger cities, even larger ones - if they didn't fully inform the public of necessary equipment and network limits.
Former Mayor Glenn Sangiovanni, who spearheaded the project, stressed that kinks were still being worked out, but noted that not everyone was having problems.
"There's a lot of variables, and that's part of it," Sangiovanni said. "It could be the block construction you have, it could be the tin roof you have. There's lots of different things that could be unique to your environment as opposed to my environment.
"We went into this with the expectation that it's really a year plan that we're going to implement," he added. "You don't know what you're going to get into when you take on the whole city because you can't stress test that."
Ashley Austin, a freshman at nearby Florida Christian College, said she likes using the network to do homework on the city's picturesque downtown lakefront. She said it's also the only way to get online if Internet service is down at the wireless telephone store where she works.
"So far I haven't had any problems with the use that I've gotten out of it," she said.
Resident Chuck Cooper, a former city commissioner, bought an antenna, but still gets a shaky connection. Navigating from one site to another still produces errors.
Generally, he says, it's slightly faster than dial-up access. But even critics like him are quick to praise the endeavor in between grumbles over early problems.
"All in all, I guess it's a good idea," Cooper said. "I equate it to cell phones 10 to 15 years ago. You used to have a lot of dropped calls, but now they're substantially better. Hopefully, this will get a little better a lot quicker."
i really like that. never tried it before as i did yesterday.
this will be good for us. i placed the template in the ibox too for the pink chart.
i had to go back and add it because it is in better use this way.
Unless the system is down, it is actually a live counter
Dubi
hi dubi, i was surprised it updated to the click after one is done.
Thanks Mick,
very useful for those who do pinks
Regards,
Dubi
hi dubi, i updated the ibox for a easy click to for most 100 asked for.