Subject: [NEXTEL-1] The Wi-Fi Hi-Five Boom- Out Of Control -The $1 MILLION Network

From: Marcel <[email-masked]>
Date: Sat, 14 Dec 2002 16:52:30 -0500

The Wi-Fi Hi-Five Boom- Out Of Control -The $1 MILLION Network

Cityplace Goes Wireless
Source: St. Louis Post - Dispatch
Publication date: 2002-12-13

* Koman Group is spending more than $1 million for a WiFi network that will
enable tenants and visitors to surf the Internet across the 43-acre campus.
Tenants and visitors to the Koman Group's CityPlace development in Creve
Coeur soon will be able to surf the Internet in lobbies and restaurants and on
patios across the 43-acre campus.
Koman is spending more than $1 million to install a wireless network along
with technology-packed training and conference rooms for tenant use, said
Paul Chesterton, leasing agent and general counsel.
"It's a tool for us to acquire the tenants who require the highest amenity
base," Chesterton said.
The wireless network is available to anyone who has a computer equipped
with 802.11b technology, commonly called WiFi for wireless fidelity, said
Tom Blake of Ascent Corp., which designed the network. Some computers
have the wireless capability built in, but network cards can be added to
most computers for as little as $35.
WiFi networks are gaining ground at businesses around the country. Last
week, AT&T, Intel and IBM announced plans to set up a new
company, Cometa Networks, that will sell broadband wireless Internet
service nationwide.
The company will sell service on the network to telecommunications
companies, Internet service providers, retailers, real estate firms and others
to deploy wireless access in 50 U.S. markets.
A group affiliated with the University of Georgia launched a WiFi network
encompassing 24 square blocks in downtown Athens, Ga., on Tuesday. The
wireless zone is a cooperative venture of the university, businesses and
local government.
The CityPlace network is accessible from some lobbies, conference areas
and training rooms. By Christmas, it will be available in the Provisions
gourmet-food shop. In the spring, wireless access will be expanded to
another restaurant, patio areas near the office buildings and around the lake
north of CityPlace 1, the oldest office building in the development.
The network is part of an increasing number of amenities for tenants in the
growing development, which includes four office buildings and a retail strip
on the north side of Olive Boulevard at CityPlace Drive, Chesterton said.
Koman also is building a 5,500- square-foot fitness center in the new
CityPlace 3 building, and a cybercafe will open soon.
Each building has at least one conference room. CityPlace 3 has three
conference rooms and a 50-seat training room that will be available to all
CityPlace tenants. CityPlace 1 has a 144-seat auditorium. All these rooms
are being equipped with a wide range of projection equipment and other
facilities for presentations and training.
Ascent also will offer tenants a "digital concierge" service that will answer
questions and address information technology problems around the clock,
seven days a week.
The CityPlace wireless network is the largest one Ascent has been involved
in but certainly isn't the first, Blake said. The company also installed a
wireless network at Villa Duchesne, a private school in Frontenac, and at
individual companies. The school's network allows faculty and staff to
access the Internet from their offices and in the science wing. Students can
access the network in technology-enabled classrooms. Eventually, students
will have their own laptops to tap into the network.
At CityPlace, Ascent started by installing a fiber-optic ring that links all the
buildings and their telecommunications hubs, said Robert Cordova, vice
president for technology.
Ethernet switches in each telecom room are linked with two of the 48
strands of optical fiber connecting each building. Savvis Communications
is supplying a high-speed Internet connection in CityPlace 1 for the wireless
network. Wireless access points are located in key common areas.
Ascent also designed a wired network to support phone service in common
areas across the campus and a separate network for security cameras and
access control, Cordova said. Telecommunications rooms are set up, so
tenants can choose their own carriers for local, long- distance or Internet
service.
Koman Group plans to expand CityPlace to include 12 buildings with 1.1
million square feet of office space, 300 residential units and 91,000 square
feet of retail space. The wireless network will be expanded as new buildings
are added.
http://cnniw.yellowbrix.com/pages/cnniw/Story.nsp?story_id=35133982&ID=cnniw&scategory=Telecommunications%3AWireless&

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