Putnam city becoming state’s example in wireless Internet

Photographer: Lawrence Pierce Dave Kimberling, chief operating officer of Netranom Communications in Hurricane, diagrams a wireless Internet network similar to one his company is setting up in Putnam County. The network will be a working example of how wireless technology can benefit cities, counties or businesses.

HURRICANE — When an official with Netranom Communications recently spotted a man tapping on a laptop keyboard on a downtown street, he approached to see what the man was doing.

Nervously, the man admitted he was surfing the Internet. He was impressed by the strong, wireless signal he was receiving, but he couldn’t figure out where it was coming from.

But he knew nothing that efficient could be free, Dave Kimberling, Netranom’s chief operating officer, said.

Anyone with a computer capable of processing a wireless signal can access the Internet for free along a two-block stretch of Main Street.

Kimberling and his associates are close to a deal to put a second wireless Internet access point atop the Super 8 Motel sign along Interstate 64 in Hurricane.

In addition to giving motorists along a small stretch of I-64 free wireless access, it will also connect more of Hurricane to the Web without the need for wires. Eventually, Kimberling said, the company would like to support a wireless network throughout most of the 5,000-resident city and make it a sample Internet hot zone.

It may cost the company $40,000 or more, but it would be worth the expense to attract business people and show off a working wireless model in West Virginia, said Scott Edwards, Netranom’s president.

Netranom officials installed a BelAir wireless Internet device (left) on a utility pole outside the company’s office. The device spreads a wireless Internet signal over two blocks of downtown Hurricane.

Hurricane could be a shining example for West Virginia, and it could be a way for West Virginia businesses to do their work and promote growing technologies in the state, Kimberling said. Police and other emergency officials see the technology as a way to quickly exchange data from anywhere in their community.

Thanks to a federal grant, Hurricane Police officers equipped their squad cars with wireless-capable computers. If they are in the Internet hot zones, they can hook into secure online databases from anywhere in the city.

“People here really haven’t had an appreciation for the types of technology that are out there,” Kimberling said.

In some cities, such as Philadelphia, city officials are working to create a citywide wireless zone. Such projects would require payment from people to use the wireless service, Kimberling said.

But logging on near downtown Hurricane’s specialty shops will remain free, for now. “We have to have someplace to demonstrate all of this technology,” Kimberling said.

But until he can finish Hurricane’s network, Kimberling stays busy talking up the process and the products.

He spent the past two weeks running wireless hot zones at the Charleston Civic Center during the state high school basketball tournaments. The access points he hooked up in downtown Charleston provided free wireless Internet to anyone who logged on.

The access points are made by Canada-based BelAir Networks. An Internet signal could be bounced off of them or sent from one to another point miles away, completing a network that dispenses wireless Internet signals to users.

Netranom has one access point bolted on a utility pole beside its office in the former Hurricane City Hall building. They can also be posted discretely on buildings and trees. The Internet access at Netranom, which is connected to a power source and an Internet connection, is barely noticeable.

From there, the Internet signal can be distributed wherever Kimberling or Netranom arranges it.

So far, it has been easy to draw attention to wireless networks, Kimberling said. He has already traveled the state to promote the capabilities of the access points and wireless technology. Officials in Putnam, Kanawha, Boone and Lincoln counties have all shown some interest.

One of the attractions of wireless signals is security possibilities and what it could mean for emergency officials.

Atop downtown Hurricane’s gazebo is a wireless security camera, anchored by a power cord. The camera records a clear view across Main Street, which Internet users can access and manipulate if they log on to a Web site that Kimberling created.

Kimberling’s work to promote the technology appears to be paying off.

In Barbour County, Joe Mattaliano, a retired city manager in Philippi and the county’s interim economic development director, recently heard Kimberling speak. As city manager, he helped Philippi set up wired Internet services. Now, he would like the rest of Barbour County to have high-speed access to the Internet, too.

Wireless is the only way to do that, Mattaliano said. He is pitching wireless security cameras to Philippi-Barbour regional airport officials to monitor the tiny airport from the county’s emergency services offices two miles away.

“You can’t have a patrolman out there every hour, but you can certainly watch it on a camera,” Mattaliano said. He estimated the wireless cameras at the airport would cost about $30,000 — less than the cost of a police cruiser.

It’s hard to attract businesses to rural Barbour County, and an industrial park in Belington would be more attractive if it had high-speed Internet access, Mattaliano said. Instead of using wires in Belington, Netranom’s wireless network could send a signal into the park through several access points, despite the mountain terrain.

“I think this is great,” Mattaliano said of the technology. “We’ve spent billions and billions on roads and here is Barbour County without any four-lane roads, with the exception of a small piece of W.Va. 33. This is our way out of here and onto the information superhighway.”

To contact staff writer Charles Shumaker, use e-mail or call 348-1240.

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