Jul 24, 2007

City weighs wireless options

By Kristina Peterson / Daily News Staff Writer

Though Palo Alto doesn't yet have citywide wireless Internet access, it's not from a lack of interest by organizations ready and willing to provide it.

To shed some light on the growing number of wireless options, Palo Alto members of the Silicon Valley Regional Interoperability Project today will meet with municipal wireless Internet consultant Craig Settles today to figure out what makes sense for the city.

"Everybody is trying to tackle the high-speed (Internet) issue. It's the critical element on many levels," said Settle, whose services are being provided to the city for free by Northrop Grumman, the systems integrator of the regional interoperability project.

Sheryl Contois, director of technical services for the Palo Alto Police Department and vice chair of the interoperability group's executive committee, said the goal of today's meeting is to figure out whether the regional public safety group should build its own wireless network or join the developing Wireless Silicon Valley regional project.

Founded in 1998 and involving 18 jurisdictions in Santa Clara County, the interoperability project aims to link law enforcement and other emergency first responders across the county so they can communicate more efficiently.

Originally, the group planned to build its own wireless broadband spectrum, "which really doesn't make perfect sense," Contois said. Now it is evaluating whether to join the Wireless Silicon Valley network instead.

Spearheaded by Joint Venture Silicon Valley, the Wireless Silicon Valley project aims to link 41 agencies from South San Francisco to Santa Cruz in one regional wireless network that cities and businesses would pay to join, but would be free to all outdoor users.

Right now Palo Alto pays $65,000 to $100,000 annually to a commercial wireless service to transmit public safety data, Contois said.

Settles said the city will have to evaluate the kinds of services it might want from a wireless Internet provider and the type of business models they should be pursuing.

"There needs to be a detailed analysis of how organizations work and where are all the places where the network can or can't impact that group," he said.

Settles also will be working with Santa Clara County and the cities of Mountain View, San Jose, Milpitas, Campbell and Santa Clara to analyze their wireless needs.

Meanwhile, Seth Fearey, chief operating officer of Joint Venture Silicon Valley, said his group has been meeting monthly with city officials the past two years to discuss what services his network will be able to provide them.

"We welcome the cities doing their own investigations," he said. Fearey said there are no deadlines for cities to select their desired package of applications.

But Contois said that due to a grant application deadline, the interoperability group at least will decide by Aug. 13 whether to join the network.



E-mail Kristina Peterson at kpeterson@dailynewsgroup.com.