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Welcome to the World of Wi-Fi

By: Dave Richardson
Publication: Bozeman Daily Chronicle
Date: February 17, 2008

If any more evidence is needed that Bozeman is breaking the stereotypes many people have about Montana cities, look no further than the nearest coffee shop, fast-food joint or neighborhood tavern.

SEAN SPERRY/CHRONICLE A patron of the Leaf and Bean uses the wireless internet connection at the coffee shops' downtown Bozeman location Friday. Sure, you’ll see authentic cowboys walking the city’s streets. But you might also see one of them sipping a cup of Joe in a local coffee shop while checking his stock portfolio on a fancy laptop computer or PDA.

Bozeman has entered the wireless Internet age in a big way, with Wi-Fi access popping up in even the most unlikely places.

CNET.com, one of the nation’s premiere online technology publications, lists at least 36 Wi-Fi hotspots in the city. And that number continues to grow.

Wild Joe’s Coffee on West Main Street is one of the city’s hotspots. Along with an array of cozy couches, desks and reading nooks for customers, it offers free, high-speed Wi-Fi access to the Internet n a major perk, said owner Aimee Gerharter.

* “You have to keep up with the times, and these days it’s kind of a necessity,” Gerharter said. “A lot of people come in here to study and do homework. We also have a few regular downtown business people who come here to have some coffee and get some work done. It’s the kind of place that just lends itself to Wi-Fi access.”

The Wi-Fi network has been up and running since the coffee shop opened two years ago, and, unlike the Leaf & Bean across the street, it requires customers to obtain and use a password for access n a way to keep unauthorized users off the network, Gerharter said.

“The first year we didn’t do that, but we just got inundated by people from outside using it,” Gerharter said. “It’d end up slowing the whole network down, and people would start getting booted off.”

The shop changes its password regularly, and though the extra hassle bugs some customers, it’s ultimately for their benefit, she said.

It costs Gerharter about $40 a month in Internet access fees to offer the service to patrons, but it’s an investment that pays for itself in increased customer traffic, she said.

“We’ll definitely continue this in the future,” she said.

World at fingertips

Across the street from Wild Joe’s, the Leaf & Bean offers its own Wi-Fi to patrons, and does not require password access. That means people lucky enough to live or work nearby can access the shop’s network for free.

Jasmine Snyder, 19, an art student at Montana State University, is a regular at the Leaf & Bean. She works next door at Cactus Records, and was spending some time in the coffeeshop drawing and Web surfing Friday before her shift.

“I check my e-mail compulsively, like 30 times a day, and I check Facebook to see if anyone I know is out there,” Snyder said.

Having free access to the Internet is not only useful for educational purposes, Snyder spends a lot of time looking up obscure facts on Wikipedia, but it’s also saved her a pocketful of cash, she said.

“I used to have a problem with buying these celebrity trash magazines all the time,” Snyder said. “Now I just look at People.com. It’s a guilty pleasure, I guess, but at least I’m not supporting the trash-magazine industry anymore.”

City’s pilot network

Visitors to the Gallatin County Courthouse can also do some Web surfing while they wait to get new license plates, or it they get bored during a Gallatin County Commission meeting, thanks to that building’s Wi-Fi network, installed a few years ago.

Commissioner Steve White said the system there isn’t foolproof and has some dead spots. But finding a decent signal is easier thanks to a Wi-Fi-detection gadget he now finds indispensable.

“I have a little detector I carry around that I got for about $15 at Staples,” White said. “It’s pretty handy, especially if I’m on the road n I don’t have to open up my laptop and be disappointed.”

The city of Bozeman has also gotten into the act, too, although its small network of Wi-Fi routers downtown isn’t necessarily intended for public use.

About 18 months ago the city started a pilot program aimed at linking city buildings and facilities using Wi-Fi by installing five transmitters along Main Street in downtown Bozeman.

Although its coverage area is limited, the network does offer guest access to non-official users, albeit at lower bandwidths n and less speed n than other dedicated Wi-Fi hotspots in the city, said Brendan Steele, system administrator.

“For instance someone with a laptop down in Soroptimist Park can use the system, but we have the bandwidth turned way down so it doesn’t drain it too much for the rest of the system,” Steele said.

The city’s system is mainly intended as a backup way to maintain communication in case of an emergency, but could eventually be expanded to offer more robust wireless Internet access to anyone with a Wi-Fi device, Steele said.

“We’re still not sure what we’re aiming for,” Steele said. “A lot of the ideas that we are hoping we can eventually do are for public safety.

“(For example) to be able to go down a road anywhere in the city, and if there’s a structure on fire somewhere, the fire guys could pull up a blueprint of the building through the network and see where the important things are that they have to worry about in that structure,” he said.

That kind of coverage could theoretically open up some level of basic, free Internet access to anyone within range, but it’s not a cheap proposition. Steele said each transmitter costs up to $3,000, and they require maintenance and staff time to manage them. To cover the entire city, dozens would be needed, he added.

“We don’t know if we’ll get to that point, and that’s why we’re in this pilot stage to see how well it works,” Steele said.

Drinkin’ a beer

As time goes on, more and more local businesses are adding Wi-Fi to their repertoire. Mostly it’s free, but there are notable exceptions. Some hotels and motels charge for service, as does Gallatin Field airport.

But, as unlikely as being able to trade stocks online while munching a sandwich at the local Arby’s sounds, it’s a reality.

You can even check your e-mail over a cold beer at the Rockin’ R Bar on East Main Street if you feel like it, though you might want to avoid doing so after the place starts to fill to overflowing with booze-seeking revelers.

“Honestly, after about 9 p.m. I don’t ever see anyone doing that, and it would probably be kind of stupid,” said bartender Stacia Kimball.

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