Fred Hartwell installs WiFi unit on Main Street lightpole this afternoon
So after the spiffy new Cisco wireless routers were installed around town last month, IT Director Kris Pacunas noticed they were not performing up to promised specifications. And when you are paying $75,000 for a new toy, promised specifications matter.
Cisco sent out a crew to try to bring the units up to speed, but could not make it happen. Thus the town did what any consumer would do: sent the items back for a full refund.
The IT department then went into tech-geek mode and came up with their own "access point" gizmo's using component parts from a number of different manufacturers. Now, according to Pacunas, the newest new system, using five antennas, is ten times faster, with three times the coverage, all for $43,000 or a 40% savings over the original system.
Newest units could be painted black to match ornate poles in the downtown
The newest system also has "client link" (version 2.0) so it works well with smart phones and tablets, which more and more Americans use to access the Internet.
As of today 18 of the units have been installed and the entire system of 27 (possibly 28) units should be fully functioning by January 1st. A Happy New Year indeed for all us Internet junkies.
75,000 dollars for internet?
ReplyDeleteThank the lord for state aid...
The original system cost ten times that when first installed five years ago, but was paid for by grants from the Department of Defense and National Science Foundation.
ReplyDeleteWasting more of our town money with so many needs still to be funded, shame.
ReplyDeleteCommunication is a vital need.
ReplyDeleteAnd the Internet is the preferred medium of communication for a majority of folks these days.
Larry said:
ReplyDelete"And the Internet is the preferred medium of communication for a majority of folks these days."
In 15 years we'll add a new social disorder to the DSM related to the newfangled way 'we' "communicate" these days.
What do these modems connect to though? That perhaps is the untold story in all of this -- how the UM students are paying for your "free" wireless...
ReplyDeleteWouldn't that be ironic.
ReplyDeleteKind of like the kid who Googles their own name and then clicks the results link to my Party House post, thereby pushing it up higher in the search results.
While I disagree with idea of this being a waste of money, I am concerned as to why we needed to purchase a 75000 dollar option, find out it doesn't work, and return it, all to then create a faster option, with more coverage, for a 40% savings. Why was this not investigated as an option from the beginning?
ReplyDelete