Related articles:

City hikes loose-dog fines

Other articles by Andrea Kelly:

Coronado Hotel owners delay sale as Pima considers bid Road runner : Thanksgiving a perfect time to give up rude-driving habit $48K fee settlement OK'd with baseball team that left earlyQwest to move utility lines, freeing up 5 road projectsSupervisors approve Tucson Sidewinders' contract settlement Road runner : Pedestrian study ranks city 25th for safety Roadrunner: Tucson average when it comes to pedestrian safety Phase 2 of water-management plan cites 19 goals; focus is on coping with growth Budget woes shoot down public art at gun range What not to do when you meet photo radar

Sales and Marketing
Automation Center
Software Sales Technical
ReliaSoft
Software Developer Health Care
BENSON HOSPITAL
RESPIRATORY THERAPIST Computer
Automation Centre
Computer Software

The city will likely turn back on plans Tuesday to put in a citywide wireless Internet system.

The city studied the prospect of a citywide wireless Internet system earlier this year, and although most residents already have high-speed Internet access, some members of the City Council were interested in adding wireless access for those who don't have it. The wireless system was thought to be cheaper than most residential, regular high-speed Internet service.

The city didn't make a formal decision to proceed with estimates on a system but was favoring it earlier this year.

Because of the high connectivity here, and problems in other cities mainly involving high cost to the municipality, Ann Strine, the city's information technology director, said she will recommend the council take a different approach.

Instead of adding Internet to many areas of the city that are already connected, the city plans to add it in public places so those who do not have computers or Internet connections can still benefit from the technology.

It's a better solution to the problem, Strine said.

"There's not many people who don't have something better," Strine said.

Internet access is already available for public use at some neighborhood and recreation centers, and all public libraries, but the IT department plans to add it to all council offices and work with the Parks and Recreation Department to add it to the Cherry Avenue Center, the Marty Birdman Center, the Ormsby Center and the Oury Center, Strine said.

Council members said it's a good way to help those who need better access but not spend money adding a new system to the whole city.

It doesn't make sense for the city to be an anchor tenant of the wireless system because the city already has cable Internet, said Councilwoman Nina Trasoff. A better way to reach those who need it is to bring it to them in their community centers, she said.

"We've got to make sure there is access for anybody who needs it even though the penetration numbers are high, and the way to do that is to make sure we have Internet in as many public facilities as possible," Trasoff said.

The technology is ever-changing, so something better may be on the horizon, said Councilman Steve Leal. Add that to the fact that wireless Internet signals do not penetrate homes in Tucson very well because of their construction, and it seems better to wait, he said.

Leal said he's still concerned about the "digital divide" that separates those with Internet access from those without it, and while he hopes adding high-speed Internet in the additional community centers allows those people more access, he wants to do more research on the access issue.

Leal said his office is sending surveys out to four economically stressed neighborhoods to find out if Internet access there mirrors what the city consultant said in a report to the city.

He hopes the surveys, sent to the South Park, Western Hills, Las Vistas and Pueblo Gardens neighborhoods, provide a better sense of connectivity there, Leal said.

The possibility of a wireless, citywide Internet system is not dead but could re-emerge in a different form later, as technology and prices change, Strine said.