Madison's citywide broadband plan is nearing completion this fall just in time for returning students to be hungry for high-speed service. But since its introduction last spring, wireless service in Madison has yet to fully cover even the downtown area.
After failed negotiations in 2005, the city struck a deal to build a network with Cellnet Technology of Atlanta. Mad City Broadband now runs Cellnet's service locally.
According to spokesperson Eve Galanter, the city and the company are pleased with what has to this point been a shaky wireless network.
""The relationship between Cellnet and the City of Madison has been a positive, strong, cooperative working relationship,"" Galanter said. ""Our goal is to have the entire city covered by this time next year.""
Milwaukee is moving into the final stages of its wireless plan, and larger cities like San Francisco are looking to introduce wireless networks. Still, Madison is the first city in the country to embark on a citywide network, Galanter said.
But as Galanter spoke of citywide coverage, many students living in areas supposedly covered by the network have been finding it impossible to connect. Speed and signal strength in particular continue to hamper the success of Mad City Broadband.
""I don't get a signal right now— and I live on State Street,"" said UW-Madison senior John Kotnarowski. ""If I could count on reliability I would consider signing up.""
According to Mad City Broadband's website, the company is currently optimizing its coverage of State Street, citing construction as a cause for the delay. But students like junior Rod Stricher, who lives north of State Street in an area the company says is fully optimized, have also found it difficult to connect.
""I get no signal at all,"" said Stricher, who lives on the 100 block of West Johnson Street. ""We never really had a chance to consider that network.""
Many students, such as Stricher, have opted for package deals with companies like Charter who combine Internet and cable. In addition, most university buildings now provide free wireless connections for students.
But citywide wireless, currently in its infancy, has not been a complete bust. Monthly subscriptions to the service now number 4,000 and many users say the network performs acceptably.
""It's definitely not as fast as cable, but with the student discount the price is right,"" said graduate student Chris Konieczka, who pays $15 per month for a two-user connection. ""I also liked that when I called for technical support a person answered the phone and not a computer.""
