Sun, October 12, 2008
Get Mobile Access
RSS Feeds
Word has it that Sahuarita is riding the wave of the future. Town leaders here are pursuing a wireless highway to the future by trying to provide all Sahuarita residents free Wireless Internet service by constructing a system that would bring Wi-Fi service to all town-residents.
Sahuarita Town Mayor Charles Oldham appeared on a KOLD TV 13 Newscast last night and proclaimed that, “We hope to be on the cutting edge of this and we believe that it will be a great economic boom to Sahuarita.”
Monday night’s Town Council voted to proceed with the project and they hope to have it up and running by the end of the year.
What are Wi-Fi’s anyway? Wi-fi’s are wireless networks that use either infrared or radio-frequency transmissions to link mobile computers to networks. Most Wi-Fi networks use radio technologies called IEEE 802.11b or 802.11a to provide a secure, fast, and reliable wireless connection. Wi-Fi functions through a transmitting antenna which is usually linked to a DSL or high-speed land-based Internet connection and uses radio waves to beam signals. Wi-Fi can easily be expanded in the home or business with the simple step of plugging in a card or a USB connection to the new computer or other Wi-Fi certified product. No cords, cables, or wires are necessary.
Costs estimates have the price tag for the installation of a town-wide system at about three million dollars. Annual maintenance of a Town-Wide Wi-Fi System could cost Sahuarita Taxpayers about a half million dollars per year.
If successful in its endeavor, Sahuarita would be the first town in the State of Arizona to offer free wireless internet services to its residents.
Says Oldham, “Now that the growth is here, we need to take advantage of every opportunity we have to make this truly a wholesome family oriented community that can keep up with the pace of today’s society both socially and economically.”
I couldn't agree with you more about the coolness of Sahuarita being the only incorporated town in AZ to provide free Internet access for its residents. The benefits are endless. Just think of the possibilities.... Kids could be Boolean-ing Google for that term paper due tomorrow while they wait for the bus outside at the curb today before class. Companies could come into Sahuarita and save a ton of money on start-up costs by not having to develop a web access infrastructure. I could go on and on....
This is just plain amazing to me and very smart. Sahuarita has the perfect geography to pull this off rather inexpensively. We do not have large geographic or man-made structures within town limits that would impede on a Wi-Fi signal. It is actually do-able and it can be done with minimal investment.
Another point that helps the town justify Wi-Fi is that we have just experienced a gigantic population boom. One of the largest in the country, from what I have researched. The number of new homes built in Sahuarita is staggering-somewhere along the lines of 10,000 in three years. The modern building standards have allowed Sahuarita to grow at a time when form fits function. Most homes here are built in 21st Century fashion. Take Rancho Sahuarita for example, every single home comes standard with Cat5 or 6 wiring throughout. Every single home there is setup for home networking and control wiring capabilities right when you move in. This is a great idea whose time has come. The entire home is ready for Wi-Fi or High Speed Cable the day you “Plug-in”!
The issue of canceling your High Speed Internet Account is feasible but I would wait. Sahuarita’s premiere Internet service is Cox. Cox is very FAST and very established. Wi-Fi is only as fast as the landline it is attached to, which most likely, in this case will be Cox’s service.
The next few years will be interesting. Sahuarita’s Wi-Fi will have to prove itself to the community and offering it for free is a big undertaking on a maintenance level. When it crashes, are we going to be treated as customers who need service or will we just be stuck until the town responds at its convenience? That has yet to be seen, but I hope and I have faith that this endeavor will be something that is revolutionary and will garner nation-wide attention.
Providing free Wi-Fi to local residents will be a wonderful investment. This community benefit will fuel immediate population growth for the town of Sahuarita when new residents are shopping for homes, so long as Town Council succeeds with its hopes that free Wi-Fi is fully implemented by years end. Credibility is key to success.
From property tax and/or sales we the people will fund this feature. Yet schools and city goverment should have the most use of it all. Information on demand for those who need it most. Public and private schools as well as our local leaders.
Although new development is paving the way to free Wi-Fi, attention should be noted to pre-existing residents on what the costs or adjustments required to adapt.
Wow, all of you beat me to the punch. I was working on a blog posting regarding wi-fi and then I noticed it was already up here. It is wonderful to be a part of this proposal as a Town employee and to see residents already getting excited about wireless internet coming here.
The Town strongly believes that wi-fi will result in increased safety from police having up to the minute data while on patrol and cost savings for Town employees who work in the field or remote locations. The best thing about wi-fi, in my opinion, is that it will save taxpayers through a more efficient government AND it will affect people personally by saving households money on the cost of high-speed internet access.
Another important point is that there are several neighborhoods in Town that currently do not have access to high-speed internet and the wireless internet will dramatically improve their quality of life. The resident featured on the KOLD story was one of the residents that can only recieve dial-up internet.
In case anyone is wondering, here is a brief timeline of how the wi-fi will happen:
Staff is currently working on a Reqest for Qualifications (RFQ), which will invite companies to bid on the proposal. We are anticipating completion of the RFQ by April.
Once the bids are received, the Sahuarita Town Council and staff will review the bids and a provider could be selected as early as late June.
If a provider is chosen in June, the wi-fi system could be up and running by the end of the year. Who says government can't work quickly?
In the meantime, the Town will be holding several workshops in May to educate residents and businesses about wi-fi and how it works. If you are interested in attending a workshop or getting more information, please contact me at bdolan@ci.sahuarita.az.us.
KOLD had this as their lead story on the 10 o'clock news Tuesday night. I was surprised there wasn't more coverage from others.
This will be something that will benefit the whole community. I am an avid computer user. Having worked as a Police Dispatcher, I know this will be a great improvement for any agency.
For those who are interested, here's the link to the Star's story on the wifi issue which ran in today's Sahuarita Star print edition: Sahuarita weighs Wi-Fi zone for high-speed Web access
First, I think it's cool that Sahuarita is considering going wireless. I know downtown Tucson has wireless capabilities but I wish they would consider extending the network throughout the whole town (or as much of the town as is feasible). As we saw in New Orleans when many people lost communications because their cell phones went down, a wireless Web is a much greater tool for providing citizens and first responders means of communication during an emergency.
Second, James or anyone else, Steve B. asked in an earlier post if a Town supported wifi would mean people could just drop their ISP. I don't see why they couldn't. Does anyone know for sure? If not I'll try to find this out and get back to you all.
Third, this issue will be the lead story in tomorrow's Sahuarita Star print edition. Look for the section in your paper or online for a full report from Star reporter Andrea Kelly.