Failure to connect

A year and a half after Charleston decided to offer free wireless Internet service throughout the peninsula, few downtown residents have access to the system, and the city's contractors are seeking help.

Only about 200 people now can tap into the so-called Wi-Fi network, short for wireless fidelity. Charleston officials initially hoped the entire peninsula would be able to catch a signal and surf the Web for free by last January. Instead, two technology companies will draft recommendations on how Charleston can deliver the service to the masses, a report that likely will suggest that users pay for access to the Wi-Fi system.

Ernest Andrade, the city economic-development official in charge of the project, said the consultants, Minneapolis-based US Internet Corp. and Atlanta-based Charys Holding Co. Inc., will work to get the long-faltering initiative back on track. "We've got to fix some of the challenges we are encountering, and these folks have done it elsewhere," he said.

The city's Wi-Fi plan was originally pitched as a bold initiative to attract and empower small businesses and close the so-called digital divide by plugging poor households into the Internet. In June 2005, two local companies were selected to install the network and oversee the service. Mount Pleasant-based Widespread Access LLC was to erect and maintain the antennas that would cast signals over the peninsula. Evening Post Publishing Co., which owns The Post and Courier, was picked to provide the content. The two formed a joint company and signed a five-year contract with the city. Afterward, Charleston was held up as a model for other communities nationwide. The city bucked the criticism of telecommunications businesses that said it was interfering with private enterprise. The project faltered, missing at least two city-imposed deadlines.

"Here, we're talking about cutting-edge technology," Andrade said. "There will be issues when you're flirting with cutting-edge technology."

The delays are tied mostly to technical issues, he and other officials said. For example, a city board took issue with the proposed locations for some of the antennas. Also, Widespread Access had trouble spreading the Internet signal through densely developed downtown neighborhoods. In May, the firm starting seeking subcontractors to help work on the project. It also stopped providing estimates of when the grid would be finished.

Widespread Access did not return calls seeking comment this week. Evening Post is evaluating its options, said Ward Lassoe, president of Evening Post Digital. "It's been challenging, especially from a technology standpoint," he said. The two companies have collectively spent about $500,000 on the Wi-Fi venture, according to Lassoe.

One of the major questions is how much additional investment will be required to deliver the service. Michael Oyster, chief executive officer of Charys, said Tuesday it would take "a fair amount of capital" to extend the existing network to the entire peninsula but he did not elaborate. Oyster, whose firm has worked on about a dozen other municipal Wi-Fi networks, also said the city will likely have to charge for access or use tax dollars to finish and maintain the system. "It's very difficult for a service provider to make money on free (access) and keep the infrastructure where it needs to be," he said.

Charys and US Internet are not being paid by the city to assess the network, but Oyster said the firms could make money if they build out the grid. Oyster said the testing costs "aren't great."

"You can consider it in the business-development part of my budget, if you like," he said.