Free Wi-Fi in Naperville, for a while
The promise of free wireless Internet connections throughout Naperville is looking more unlikely, but at least for the next two months the service is available downtown.
Initially, MetroFi planned to outfit the entire city with free Wi-Fi, but city officials said the company's plans have changed, and that would require the city to pony up to make the project happen.
Meanwhile, the company has outfitted several downtown utility poles with equipment to provide the free service. It has been operating since Sept. 14 and will run for 60 days, city officials said.
"I've taken a computer out there, and it worked fine," said Don Carlsen, the city's administrative services business group director. "And during the test, you won't get any pop-up ads. You'll just go straight to the home page you have set as a default on your computer."
The free Wi-Fi access works best outside, but signals can reach inside downtown buildings, said Dan Voiland, the city's telecommunications manager. There are upgrades available through the company to allow better reception inside.
The boundary of the Wi-Fi coverage is Douglas Avenue or School Avenue to the north, Martin Avenue to the south, Wright Street to the east, and Ewing and West streets to the west. It's roughly one square mile, Voiland said.
One of the downsides of the free service is the network isn't completely secure. So users of the free service shouldn't access their bank accounts or other sensitive sites.
"Your data is secure once it gets into the network," Voiland said, "but between your laptop to the access point, someone out there who has the right equipment can actually pick you up."
Carlsen said the future of the program is in doubt since MetroFi changed its plans to pay the city for the ability to attach its Wi-Fi equipment to city utility poles. Now the company is offering a network for the city's emergency services as well as free Wi-Fi to the city, but at a cost.
"We need to look at the trade-off," Carlsen said. "One thing we're concerned about is if there are other companies that do this, we'd have a competitive procurement process."
MetroFi officials couldn't be reached for comment Thursday, but recent communications between the company and city officials indicate technology and equipment changes are responsible for the shift in the company's plans.
But because the city council approved a cost-neutral proposal initially, it will likely be a hard sell to get members to bite on something they'll have to pay for.
"I'm not looking to go any further if it's going to cost us money," said Councilman Richard Furstenau. "It's nice that we got what we got, but my choice would be we don't do anymore because the technology is changing so rapidly that soon someone will just put up an antenna that covers the whole city."