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Oregon Territory

August 19, 2005 — Wi-Fi in Oregon

part one part two

download links: part one | part two

With the rapid development of wireless Internet access, towns and cities across Oregon are jumping on the Wi-Fi bandwagon. In Portland, officials are moving to develop a so-called Wi-Fi cloud over the city that would give anyone with a computer and a Wi-Fi card access to the Internet -- anywhere in the city.

Telecommunication companies, such as Verizon, are less than thrilled with this idea, calling municipal Wi-Fi an "ill-conceived scheme" that puts the government "in direct competition with private sector jobs." Other companies, such as Verizon Wireless, offer their own version of a Wi-Fi access -- known as EVDO -- to subscribers for about $80 a month.

Meanwhile, in Umatilla and Morrow Counties in eastern Oregon, municipal Wi-Fi has been available for free for the past year and half over a 600 square mile area. Government officials there say it's helped them in a number of ways.

This week we'll explore the pros and cons of municipal Wi-Fi in Oregon.

Host: Allison Frost

Guest: Dan Saltzman, Portland City Commissioner; Randy Walter, data solutions manager for Verizon Wireless; and Kim Puzey, general manager for the Port of Umatilla.

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