Free Hot Zones Aid Ailing Downtowns

"Historically, the city has been losing its 18-to-34 demographic, and we want to keep this population," says Dennis Newman, CIO for Winston-Salem. Offering free wireless Internet access appeals to this technologically savvy group, he says. The service has only been up and running since April 1, so it's too early to report any statistics. But Newman says early evidence shows that the initiative, dubbed "Wi-Fi on 4th" (www.cityofws.org/wifion4th), seems to be working.

The city has deployed Wi-Fi technology to provide Internet access service to the urban center. All students at nearby Wake Forest University are required to have wireless-ready laptops, and they've been seen using the network. "Another one of our targets is professionals from the Piedmont Triad Research Park who come downtown for lunch," Newman says.

Winston-Salem is one of many cities employing free wireless Internet access to attract crowds to revitalized downtown area. "It's a definite trend, a surprising trend to us," says C. Brian Grimm, communications director for the Wi-Fi Alliance, a trade association that promotes the wireless technology formally known as 802.11b. "Free Wi-Fi gives people a reason to congregate; people like to sit outside and use their laptops," he says. "You get a big return for a small investment."

Grimm and others say the free service doesn't pose a threat to commercial Wi-Fi hot spots that charge for service. There are nearly 10,000 commercial hot spots in North America, and the number should rise to almost 39,000 by 2007, according to IT advisory firm Gartner. "City hot spots and other free spots won't take a huge share of the total wireless market," says Ed Rerisi, director of research at Allied Business Intelligence. "For one thing, free sites may not be carrier grade."

Setting up a free Wi-Fi hot zone costs about $10,000 if a fiber infrastructure is already in place. Otherwise, the cost to connect the wireless hot spot to the Internet could be prohibitive. Cities generally deploy coverage over a few city blocks to create a "hot zone." Most commercial hot spots, like those offered for a fee at places such as Starbucks, offer coverage of only 100 to 300 feet.

Fiber was already in place for Winston-Salem and also in Long Beach, Calif., which opened its "Pine Avenue Hot Zone" in January (www.longbeachportals.com). "We can't track how many people are using it," says Chet Yoshizaki, manager of the city's Economic Development Bureau. "But we're getting a fair amount of usage." Although the goal is to attract people to the four-block area, it's also hoped that the initiative will give investors, developers, and companies the impression that the city is ahead of the curve and technology friendly.

"When you consider what you can get, the price is low," Yoshizaki says. The cost is $5,000 a year for maintenance, paid for by sponsors, and Long Beach kicks in about $4,000 annually for the Internet connection. The city expects to open similar free hot zones at the airport, several marinas, and the convention center.

Another city, San Diego, is offering free wireless access in four downtown locations to help revitalize its "Bandwidth Bay" moniker, which was tarnished during the dot-com meltdown (www.bandwidthbay.org). The area was already highly fibered, with more than 71,000 miles of fiber-optic infrastructure in the city, says a spokesman for the Centre City Development Corp., which oversees downtown redevelopment. The CCDC and the city, along with Catellus Urban Development Corp. and Sentre Partners, has already set up hot zones at the Santa Fe Depot train station and the NBC, SBC, and One America Plaza buildings on Broadway. "We hope it will attract visitors and business to the downtown area," the spokesman says. The city's main financial contribution was that it paid for a survey detailing all of San Diego's fiber routes.

Jacksonville, Fla., is taking a broader look at the benefits of free broadband. About two years ago, it installed free wireless access at The Landing, the city's festival area. The Wireless Internet Zone, or Wiz (www.jaxwiz.org), was a big hit with businesspeople doing Internet-based presentations, says Larry Fairman, president and CEO of the Boardwalk Group, a marketing and consulting firm that helped establish the zone. "It wasn't really designed to increase traffic. The Landing isn't that kind of area," he says. "But an important idea grew out of the Wiz. It forced us, as a city, to look at the digital divide."

Jacksonville began a program of placing free wireless access in several of the city's most economically depressed areas, along with free used computers and training for families so they can use E-mail and make use of the Web for education. The hope is that instead of just revitalizing downtown business districts, free Internet access will rejuvenate residential neighborhoods and give children more opportunities to compete in the world of technology. "Durkeeville is a blighted area in which we installed free Internet access, and there's a definite uptick in the neighborhood," Fairman says. "We're creating an educated workforce for the future, which will benefit Jacksonville as a whole."