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
The Sacramento City Council has approved a privately-financed city-wide Wi-Fi network, with basic service provided free through advertising support, reports Wireless Week. The network, under a contract with a consortium called Sacramento Metro Connect.
Sacramento Metro Connect was created by Azulstar along with Cisco Systems, Intel and SeaKay. The consortium says the Wi-Fi network will cover 90 square miles and potentially serve 400,000 Internet users. Basic service, made possible through ad support, would be free with additional features such as VoIP or video streaming, coming with a fee.
Sacramento will join some 80 U.S. cities with extensive Wi-Fi coverage. Another 300 have smaller coverage areas or plans for Wi-Fi systems.
Construction on the network is expected to start in September, with project completion in about two years. There are about 80 cities in the United States either deploying or planning to deploy Wi-Fi networks but few of them are the size of Sacramento.
Part of the deal calls for the City of Sacramento to buy its Internet service from the consortium, while the city will allow the consortium to install infrastructure on city-owned light poles and other facilities.
Azulstar is the project lead and will own, operate and deploy the network, including its design, billing and maintenance. Cisco will provide the network hardware and outdoor wireless mesh infrastructure. Intel provides advisory support, and SeaKay will handle community outreach.
Sacramento previously had a contract with MobilePro of Bethesda, Maryland, says WiFi Planet, but last summer MobilePro pulled out of the deal, even after the city held a “cutting the wire” ceremony. The reason for the pull out: Sacramento wanted a network with free access for users.
One of Azulstar’s earliest projects was to provide Wi-Fi service to Rio Rancho, N.M.. Same deal there: Rio Rancho wanted a free access option and switched horses mid-stream to Azulstar — but not without problems.
After several years of complaints about slow or nonexistent connections and poor customer service, Rio Rancho deemed Azulstar in breach of its agreement and threatened to terminate its contract at the end of June unless the problems are fixed, reports the Sacramento Bee. Another Azulstar client, Grand Haven, Mich., which is where the company is headquartered, has had no such problems, said Lisa Sutterfield, assistant city manager of the Lake Michigan community.
Azulstar is also involved with some 41 participating entities in Joint Venture: Silicon Valley Network, along with the San Mateo Telecommunications Authority (SAMCAT).
All cities in San Mateo and Santa Clara counties are participating in the huge Wireless Silicon Valley Project with Silicon Valley Metro Connect picked to build and operate the wireless network.
It will serve as many as 2.4 million people in 38 cities in four counties and cover nearly 1,500 square miles.
