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Surf on a coffee break? It could happen

Tarpon Springs commissioners will consider a plan to equip the city with wireless Internet access.

By NICOLE JOHNSON
Published August 25, 2005

TARPON SPRINGS - At Starbucks stores across the country, you can simultaneously conduct a Google search and slurp a Frappuccino.

You may soon have the same access while chomping on a gyro at the Sponge Docks and throughout the city.

Next month, commissioners will consider awarding a contract to Citi Wifi Networks to outfit the entire city with a network that would allow wireless connections to the Internet indoors and out.

"Business people are constantly on the Internet; they go to places like Starbucks to sit and have their cup of coffee and do work," said Ron Holt, director of the city's management information systems. "So it just makes sense that as a city we offer those same things."

Discussions about going Wifi in Tarpon Springs began in July, Holt said.

Wifi, or wireless fidelity, operates much like a cell phone network. Base stations are established. A user buys a subscription to the network. When they log in, their computer communicates with those stations as long it is within range.

That means people could use their notebook computers whether sitting on a park bench or on their couch.

Customers would have to establish accounts with Citi Wifi Networks to gain access.

The St. Petersburg company's rates run about $24.99 a month, said Frank McCarthy, president of the Citi Wifi Networks. Visitors to the company's networks pay about $5 a day for access.

Installing the network in Tarpon Springs would not cost city taxpayers anything, said Lisa Nessler, a coordinator in the city's information systems department.

Citi Wifi Networks relies on its partnership with municipalities to ensure it has enough resident subscriptions to cover expenses. If the company makes a profit, city departments get their Internet access free of charge.

That's a savings of about $9,000 a year, Nessler said.

"There is no revenue attached to this, but we still have to build the network, deploy it and, to a big extent, market it," McCarthy said. "Citi Wifi Networks is not a household name, but the city of Tarpon Springs is, so there's some co-branding there."

Tarpon Springs will model its contract and implementation on a similar agreement in Dunedin, Holt said. That city announced it would go wireless in early May.

It would take about six months to equip Tarpon Springs for Wifi access, McCarthy said. The city is about 9 square miles.

To drum up support for the plan, Dunedin city officials plan to include information on the service in next month's water bills, McCarthy said.

If Tarpon Springs city commissioners approve the plan in September, residents could expect information fliers on the provider soon after, Nessler said.

"Right now, Verizon and Bright House are running about $25 to $50 a month," Nessler said.

"We want people to know that Wifi would offer a faster speed for half the price."

Nicole Johnson can be reached at njohnson@sptimes.com or 727 771-4303.

[Last modified August 25, 2005, 00:52:33]