Anaheim has joined a growing list of cities that are looking to get into high-speed wireless Internet access.
The City Council is expected to consider a proposal this week by Atlanta-based EarthLink Inc. to build networks allowing Internet access via laptops, cell phones and other devices.
Under the proposal, EarthLink would pay to build the wireless network, with Anaheim providing access to telephone polls, streetlights and other city property.
Unlike some wireless network proposals for other cities, Earthlink would charge users for the service, though a price hasn’t been disclosed.
Anaheim, which provides water and electricity to residents, says a wireless network can boost economic development by helping to attract businesses and residents to Orange County’s largest city by area, said spokesman John Nicoletti.
Earthlink’s service could start by 2007, Nicoletti said. It would compete with other wireless service providers in the cable, phone and wireless phone industries. It would start with a pilot program.
Some question whether a city should be involved in providing a telecommunications service that people already can get from Internet service providers.
Internet, phone and cable television provider Cox Communications Inc. doesn’t offer service to Anaheim but opposes city networks.
“We believe government competition is inherently unfair,” said spokeswoman Ayn Craciun.
As regulators of the cable industry, cities have a conflict of interest in being involved in wireless networks, she said. Also, she pointed out cities have little experience in providing Internet access.
Anaheim said the proposal by EarthLink would require minimum city involvement.
Fullerton is offering a wireless Internet network to some parts of downtown, and other OC cities seem open to considering wireless services as well.
Several U.S. cities are considering citywide networks with various revenue models.
Philadelphia was the first large city to announce a wireless service. The issue has been controversial for the city, which initially planned to build the network itself.
But Philadelphia recently tapped EarthLink to build and run the network. Unlike Anaheim, Philadelphia will share in revenue from the service.
Philadelphia’s service is set to cost poorer residents about $10 per month with others paying some $20 or less per month.
In San Francisco, more than 20 companies have stepped forward as possible candidates to build that city’s wireless network. They include Mountain View-based Google Inc., which suggested an ad-based wireless service that would be free to users.
Anaheim wouldn’t spend public money to build its network, Nicoletti said. The price would be determined by Earthlink if the plan is approved.
Nicoletti said Earthlink’s network would give residents more places to access the Internet in Anaheim’s sprawling city that covers 50 square miles.
“It’s one of things where you want to reach as many residents as possible,” he said. “From our standpoint, there’s obviously been demand to help people connect to the Internet at higher speeds.”
It also could be a lure for newcomers and business owners who want access to the Web whether they’re in their cars, at a Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim game or sipping coffee on a patio, the city said.
The network also will serve tourists, Nicoletti said. Tech-savvy visitors could travel from Disneyland to other attractions without losing Internet access, he said.
Not everyone is sure citywide wireless will be the hit some claim.
“People need to have realistic expectations,” said Julie Ask, an analyst with JupiterResearch of Darien, Conn.
The city model hasn’t been tested on a large scale so it’s too early to see results, Ask said. High-profile projects in Philadelphia and San Francisco are at least a year away from actually being up and running.
Smaller wireless hot spots at hotels, coffee shops and other businesses have appealed to a limited group.
Another issue: Wireless networks aren’t always as reliable as cable, phone and other wired networks.
San Antonio-based SBC Communica-tions Inc., the primary phone and broadband service provider for Anaheim, is confident its wireless Internet service, starting at $14.95 a month, will be competitive.
“The telecommunications marketplace is a highly competitive market,” said SBC spokesman Steven Smith. “That environment provides the consumer with savings, more choices,and I think our position is that it’s good for consumers.”
Fullerton’s wireless network covers the downtown’s 24-block area, said Sylvia Palmer, public information officer for the city.
Next year, Fullerton will review whether it will stay free and expand to other parts of the city, Palmer said. Free wireless Internet is an effort to draw more businesses to downtown, she said.
About one square mile of the county’s Little Saigon area recently got wireless service as well.
Santa Ana, which has no official plans in the works for citywide wireless service, also is taking a more serious look at offering the service, according to economic development specialist Deborah Sanchez.
Anaheim had a big telecommunications headache with an Internet venture in the 1990s. The city built miles of fiber-optic lines and contracted with FirstWorld Communications Inc. to provide high-speed Internet service.
FirstWorld eventually defaulted on its agreement with Anaheim to build out the network and pay licensing fees to the city. Anaheim had to take FirstWorld to court.
