City Still Plans To Develop Wireless

Although Cambridge’s proposal to provide free citywide wireless Internet service—which was originally slated to be completed in 2006—has been delayed for two years, the city is still working with various organizations to create a municipal wireless network.

Like the municipal wireless projects in cities like Philadelphia and San Francisco, the Cambridge Public Internet project has lacked the technology needed to support a city-wide network.

“We had the hope that we could wire the whole city, that it would be an easy task to do,” said Councillor Henrietta J. Davis, the champion of the wireless Internet project. “But it turned out to be much more complicated.”

Mary P. Hart, the chief of the Cambridge Information Technology Department, said that the city initially believed that Wi-Fi technology could support a citywide network, but that this has turned out not to be true.

“Our objective was to roll out if it was feasible and financially viable,” Hart said. “That has not proven to be the case thus far.”

Jerrold M. Grochow, the head of information services and technology at MIT, said that the plan has not been dropped completely because the city is experimenting with MIT-developed wireless technology known as Roofnet.

Grochow said that Roofnet, which is now commercially available, is “the way to go” for metropolitan wireless, and that MIT is still committed to working with Cambridge to help the city build a wireless network.

Hart said that while a city-wide network is not yet in place, there is currently a small network at Newtowne Court near Washington Street that relies on MIT-developed technology. There are also installations in all public meeting buildings, like City Hall and the libraries.

Davis said that one of the goals of the project is to provide free computers to low-income families living in areas where there is wireless service, and so far, a program called the Digital Divide Project has provided 50 families in Newtowne Court with computers.

Hart said that while Harvard has been supportive of Cambridge’s wireless project, the city is not pursuing any initiatives with the University.

Instead, the University has been working separately with the Harvard Square Business Association to create a wireless network in the Square. So far, a total of 32 wireless units have been purchased, and 10 have been deployed to provide parts of the Square with wireless connections.

Denise A. Jillson, the executive director of the Business Association, said she was optimistic about the project’s future.

“We hope to have most of the wireless units up and running by this summer so visitors can enjoy wireless outside,” she said.