Henry Beige: I’m gonna give you a rule of thumb. You foller it and you just might hold on to this ranch of yours. All large-scale crime is an inside job. Takin’ fingerprints and sendin’ trash off to the lab just don’t get her done. If you’re dealin’ with people, you gotta be human.
Laura Beige: C’mon Henry, let’s blow this pop stand. I wanna get to Great Falls and spend my cut.
– Rancho Deluxe
Rio Rancho, New Mexico (pop. 60,000), has announced their city-wide WiFi service, one of the larger WiFi networks in the United States, is now operational in various parts of the city. The network covers some 103 square miles (267 square kilometers).
All homes and businesses within the limits of the city should have service in the next 60 days. It’s being provided by Azulstar Networks, and costs from $19.95 a month (for a 256k connection) to $39.95 per month (1500k connection).
Mayor Jim Owen was joined by Azulstar Networks and Intel Corp to herald in the new service, which already is in use by several local residents and businesses. “Rio Rancho is on the air, and we’re grateful to Azulstar and Intel for helping us deliver this valuable new service.” Owen said.
According to Azulstar General Manager Scott Brown, “Rio Rancho is a good example of how the public and private sectors can work together to deliver valuable and affordable Internet service. The entire project is being privately funded.
Azulstar Networks, based in Grand Haven, Mich., is a division of Ottawa Wireless Inc., which designed, deployed and operates a citywide Wi-Fi network in Grand Haven. Grand Haven’s wireless city cloud uses both Wi-Fi and WiMax gear that includes about 60 wireless POPs, usually from Proxim, plus a pre-WiMax 5GHz point-to-multipoint backhaul network with a single fiber connection to the company’s wide area network service provider. The public/private venture between the city of Grand Haven and Ottawa Wireless, used Proxim s Tsunami BWA System, as well as its ORiNOCO AP-4000 access points. 
The Rio Rancho network uses several hundred Wi-Fi (802.11a/g) radios with pre-WiMAX strategically located throughout the city.
After the city passed a resolution in November 2003 to develop a citywide wireless network, Intel provided technical assistance in evaluating vendors and their design proposals. The city originally selected Usurf America in Colorado Springs, Colo., to build its network. USURF’s mesh technology is proprietary but works with any 802.11a/b/g equipment. Under the agreement, Usurf was to pay the $2 million cost to bring wireless to Rio Rancho. The mesh networking approach of Usurf was later abandoned.
A WiFi/WiMax solution from Azulstar Networks, Proxim and Intel eventually was used. Access points are located on light poles, traffic lights and police antennas,” explained Tyler Van Houwelingen, CEO and founder of Ottawa Wireless. “We’ll install between 100 and 125 Wi-Fi POPs [points of presence].”
Ninety percent of the 64,000 people in Rio Rancho already have Internet access. “We want to make that access better, faster and more mobile so that they can do their jobs better,” said James Palenick, city administrator of Rio Rancho.
And may we together utilize our wisdom of the elders to make a better community and future for all.
– Wisdom of the Elders
