TMCnet News
HotZone expansion gearing up: Downtown Spokane's wireless network has $150,000 plan in the works(Spokesman-Review, The (Spokane, WA) (KRT) Via Thomson Dialog NewsEdge) Jan. 2--Imagine tracking your friends on the Bloomsday route via the Web, checking Hoopfest scores in real time and watching First Night Spokane on streaming video downtown. If Spokane HotZone coordinators have their way, it's all just around the corner, along with a planned expansion of service into the city's North Side. Robin Toth, director of funding and community projects for the Spokane Economic Development Council, said she would like the downtown Spokane wireless network to be integrated with many of the city's signature events this year. "We're also working with universities at Riverpoint and beyond to create a wireless University District layer," Toth said. The HotZone is a downtown wireless network that allows anyone to surf the Web free for two hours a day. The $80,000, 100-block network runs from Division west to Cedar, and from Spokane Falls Boulevard south to the railroad viaduct. Secondary coverage includes areas both north and south of the city core, including Riverfront Park. A planned $150,000 expansion for a municipal network should happen by the first or second quarter of the year, said Joel Hobson, network services manager for Spokane. That network will be used by police and other municipal employees. City officials have touted the HotZone as a major economic development initiative to encourage innovation and spur growth. That's why Toth wants to encourage annual events to hop on the HotZone bandwagon. Last year, she contacted Bloomsday director Don Kardong about collaborating with the HotZone, but at the time, it was a little too close to race day, Kardong said. He said identification tags placed in runners' placards were considered so they could be tracked as they ran the race, but the signal is not strong enough to be read from that technology. Instead, he said, a device that can be strapped to the shoes of a runner might help track them via a mat on the ground. "It depends on how much we want to spend on it," Kardong said. That's also where the HotZone comes in. While hanging out downtown, friends and family could watch on their laptops as their favorite athletes shoot through the course, adding another layer of entertainment to the race. The same idea is behind a planned integration with Hoopfest. Brady Crook, new Hoopfest executive director, said although the HotZone was initially used during the annual three-on-three basketball tournament, scores were still a bit slow to be updated on the Web site. By working more with HotZone coordinators, Hoopfest might be able to change that. "(Toth) hasn't contacted me yet this year, but people following multiple teams want results as fast as possible," Crook said. "We want to try to make it as real-time as possible, but there's a bit of a lag right now. So anything we can do to help that is welcome." Hobson said that for this year, the 100-block area of the HotZone will remain as it is. But the municipal wireless network, which is now used downtown for law enforcement and emergency vehicles, will most likely be up and running sometime near the beginning of this month, he said. "It's bigger than just Spokane," Hobson said of the five-phase project, which has also been a collaborative effort with the county and Spokane Valley. The initial phase was the downtown HotZone. The next phases will create a wireless cloud over the entire city so municipal employees will be able to use wireless devices on the job. So far, Hobson said, all phases except phase five – the University District wireless project – have been funded through a $150,000 allocation from the Department of Homeland Security. That means this year, wireless for municipal workers will be installed from the North Division Y to the midpoint of the city at North Foothills Drive, around the Spokane County Jail – known as the public safety campus – and on East Sprague. All of the equipment has been purchased and is ready to be placed, Hobson said. He also said the city will work on obtaining grant funding, including additional money from the Department of Homeland Security. Gonzaga University, Washington State University and Eastern Washington University are responsible for funding portions of the HotZone around Riverpoint, but they are part of the larger University District HotZone, Hobson said. City funding for that project is still in limbo. Eventually, Hobson said, he would like to open the municipal network so residents will also be able to surf the Web and check their e-mail throughout the city. Again, funding is the major obstacle. "No place else has as much fiber in the ground as Spokane does," Hobson said. "So essentially any student, any citizen, any city worker can eventually connect to the same network." Cpl. Elise Robertson of the Spokane Police Department said laptops will be installed in all patrol cars this year so officers can file reports from their vehicles and be linked to other departments around the nation in real time. Robertson said antennas on top of patrol cars also help to read the wireless signal even if a unit is outside of hot spots. The Police Department has two trial laptops, and the Spokane County Sheriff's Office has 12, all purchased from Spokane computer company Itronix. "I love mine," said Robertson, one of two officers to test the rugged laptops. "That's why we chose them. They're kind of cop-proof." at a glance HotZone project Phase 1: Downtown HotZone (completed) Phase 2: North Division Y to the midpoint of the city at North Foothills Drive Phase 3: Public safety campus HotZone via technology placed on the Spokane County jail Phase 4: East Sprague corridor Phase 5: University District |