Posted on Sun, Mar. 14, 2004
By Rocky Scott
DEMOCRAT STAFF WRITER


When Gary Brinkworth hears the word "canopy," he doesn't think of tree-lined roads - he sees antennas, computers and the Internet.

"It's our desire that the entire Leon Country area be served," said Brinkworth, the city utilities director who is charged with maintaining the "digital canopy." The project has provided wireless Internet access downtown for nearly two years and was expanded last month to Tallahassee Regional Airport.

The system, which cost the city about $100,000 to put in place, relies on a series of strategically placed antennas that beam signals to computers with wireless capability. Brinkworth said about 400 registered users - and a much larger number that is unregistered - use the free service.

The canopy was spearheaded by Rick Kearney, CEO of Mainline Information Systems, who took the idea to Brinkworth. Kearney says the canopy can be useful in a number of ways.

"It can go any number of directions, but certainly for internal city support like police, fire and utility dispatching," Kearney said.

But there's another area - energy consumption - where the canopy could produce dollar savings for utility customers.

"You could elect to be part of an energy-saving program and get a lower utility rate," Kearney said, by using what he calls a "smart device" that monitors energy consumption and reduces demand by using the wireless canopy to send and receive commands.

Energy used for air conditioners, swimming-pool filters and other large power-consuming devices could be dialed up or down depending on the customer's preference or the needs of the power grid, Kearney said.

In addition to energy conservation, Kearney said, the network also lends itself to public application.

He said he and Brinkworth talked to a number of local Internet service providers about the idea of supplying wireless digital Internet access. The providers liked the idea of using their computers to partner with the city.

"We've talked to all of them, and all of them were in favor," Kearney said.

Jim Hunt, CEO of ElectroNet Intermedia Consulting Inc., said that he had spoken with city officials on several occasions about the possible commercialization of the digital canopy, and that he thought the idea could work.

Sprint spokesman Jason Duff said the digital canopy idea certainly has advantages. But he added that Sprint was adopting a wait-and-see attitude when it came to how it might affect companies such as Sprint that offer specialized digital information services.


Read More Here