Closing the Digital Gap
County Officials Plan to Set Up Affordable Wi-Fi Network  

Setting up a wireless network, Feuer recognizes, is a huge task.

By Ryan Brown

Studies conducted by Miami-Dade County show that roughly half of its residents are without Internet access.

In the name of “erasing this digital divide,” Mayor Carlos Alvarez has proposed a plan to cover the entire 2,000 square miles of Miami-Dade County with high-speed wireless fidelity, or Wi-Fi, Internet access.

However, unlike Miami Beach’s long-awaited citywide Wi-Fi project, Miami-Dade’s service will charge for access. This is how Wi-Fi planners plan to avoid using Miami-Dade funds for the venture, estimated to cost around $200 million. It would mean a fee of $20-$30 a month for users.

According to Ira Feuer, assistant director of the county's Enterprise Technology Services Department, wireless providers including IBM and Motorola are very interested in the task.

Another revenue stream that will help pay for the project is local advertising. Feuer says local businesses will be able to advertise directly to members of nearby communities who log into the network. This is easy to do from a fixed log-in point; for example, someone accessing the network from a Miami Gardens condo would be directed to the Miami Gardens Web page, which would have ample ad space. “It gets more complicated in the mobile environment,” says Feuer, who anticipates using GPS satellite technology and GPS modules built into computers to track mobile users. “So if we see that you’re on Lincoln Road, we can send you all the stores with all the sales on Lincoln Road.”

Before it covers the entire county, the project will begin in three smaller areas in Miami Gardens, Miami and South Dade — “areas in these cities that are blighted,” Feuer says. These locales will receive service first because, according to Feuer, the main purpose of the project is to make Internet access attainable for low-income households.

Of course to gain access to this network, a wireless card will be required, and those who cannot afford computers will gain nothing from the project, unless computers are provided. “Another thing we’re doing with this pilot program is trying to evaluate whether or not we can afford giving computers to those who can’t afford them,” Feuer says.

This will definitely raise the price tag on the project and force the county to seek funding from more sources. “We may also use grants from the Department of Homeland Security, and hit up foundations such as the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation,” says Feuer.

Setting up a wireless network, Feuer recognizes, is a huge task. Fortunately, the county has the Miami Beach Wi-Fi program to learn from.

This undertaking, which is being managed by IBM and estimated to cost between $5 and $10 million, was originally scheduled for completion in mid-2006; the city’s new goal is to have the system running by early 2007. So far, not one of the 30-plus access points (to emit the wireless signal) has been constructed.

One of the main problems the city of Miami Beach is having is that it does not own many of the street lights (some are owned by FPL, some by the county) that house the antenna-adorned metal boxes containing the network access points in a municipal Wi-Fi network, according to Nannette Rodriguez, spokesperson for the city of Miami Beach.

The county’s pilot program was originally scheduled for completion in November of this year, with the beginning of the countywide project scheduled for early 2007, but these dates have been pushed back. The pilot program is now scheduled to begin between January and February, and the countywide project three to six months after that. The countywide setup is expected to take roughly 18 months.

Comments? E-mail ryan@miamisunpost.com.