Washtenaw Wireless on Hold for Now
The effort to provide Washtenaw County with wireless Internet has hit a funding snag, but officials claim the project will continue to move forward. The program is known as Wireless Washtenaw. It is been implemented in the downtown areas of three Washtenaw County cities: Ann Arbor, Saline, and Manchester.
The company working with the county to install the wireless network is 20/20 Communications. It has applied for a $14 million loan from the US Department of Agriculture, and is also trying to secure funding from other sources. The company's original goal was to start installing wireless service in the county's rural areas in the spring of 2007, with installation to have been completed by the end of the year.
20/20 also obtained a $2 million loan from United Bank & Trust Ann Arbor for the project. A number of venture capital investors have declined to contribute funds to the project, citing concerns about the technology being used growing obsolete and the management of the project by a small local company instead of a large national firm.
However, those involved remain optimistic. Project cost estimates have decreased significantly during the last 12 months. In August 2006, 20/20 estimated the cost for the project would run $42 million. That number was decreased to $26 million in December 2006. The is now estimated at $20 million. The company has stated that the lower costs are because of equipment improvements that mean fewer radios have to be purchased and installed. Equipment costs have also decreased.
According to Washtenaw County, no taxpayer money is being used to build, operate or maintain the wireless network. 20/20 officials have indicated that if the company gets the funding it seeks, it could wrap up the whole project by mid-spring of 2008.
