Case Study: Michigan Solution Provider Helps His Town Go Wireless

wireless broadband

Ottawa Wireless, a wireless system builder and service provider based in Grand Haven, began the service as a small-scale commercial deployment in fall 2003. Installation of the complete infrastructure in the 12,000-person city on the shores of Lake Michigan was completed at the end of July.

Grand Haven Mayor Roger Bergman estimates that more than 300 residents and businesses have signed up. Local public safety agencies are in the process of connecting to the network, with wireless surveillance among the first applications eyed for rollout, said Tyler van Houwelingen, CEO and founder of Ottawa Wireless.

Residential wireless broadband access costs about $20 a month, with citywide wireless access for an additional $5. In addition to fixed/mobile high-speed Internet access, Ottawa Wireless is also offering advanced services such as point-to-point dedicated VPN connections, remote wireless video surveillance and high-speed access for boaters up to 15 miles offshore. Boaters can access the service while traveling up to 55 mph.

"I've heard from people who are using it out on their boats, in their homes, in coffee shops," Bergman said. "It's been nothing but positive."

Citywide mobile voice-over-WiFi telephone service is now in beta testing, with a full launch expected within the next few months, van Houwelingen said. Pricing for unlimited voice-over-WiFi service is expected to be $29.99. Per-day pricing for any of the estimated 2 million visitors each year is also an option.

Van Houwelingen said he has been surprised by the high number of residents and businesses that have opted for the last-mile wireless broadband service, including hotels and marinas subsidizing it and offering it as a free service to guests.

"We've had a lot of converts from DSL and cable because it's just as fast as DSL and cable, but if you've got a laptop you can have one single account and one connection that stays with you everywhere," van Houwelingen said.

The system includes several hundred 802.11a, b and g radios scattered throughout the 6-square-mile city. Products used include Proxim Orinoco AP-4000 tri-band access points and the Proxim Tsunami MP.11a point-to-multipoint wireless backhaul system. Other products and services used come from a variety of companies including Azulstar Networks, Custos Mobile, Grand Haven Board of Light and Power, LogiSense, Ottawa Electric and Winncom Technologies.

"This has the feel of being the next public utility, so the public-private partnership is important," van Houwelingen said.

That partnership has involved a lot of interaction and cooperation between public and private companies to resolve technology, right-of-way and line-of-sight challenges involved in the deployment, van Houwelingen said.

Bergman said the high rate of collaboration on the wireless network made it one of the smoothest transitions the city has ever seen as a government body. And while city departments are just beginning to look into some of the applications available to intergovernmental offices, as well as the police and fire departments, Bergman is excited about the initial response.

"People have been understanding of the fact this is something new and you have to get the bugs worked out, but they're willing to work with it so we've been pleased," Bergman said.

Van Houwelingen said the 2 percent service penetration rates Ottawa Wireless needed to make a profit have already been surpassed, and in some places, particularly in rural areas where last-mile wireless broadband access is even more attractive, it's up 5 percent.

"Now we are talking with the local hospital, and we're adding staff. I think we've found a true winning business model," van Houwelingen said.