Orleans to be first ‘Wireless Village’ on Cape Cod
Forward thinkers will be looking to the east in the coming months to see how the Orleans Chamber of Commerce and the Cape Cod Technology Council develop plans to make the Lower Cape hub the Cape’s first wireless community.
The two groups won a $136,500 grant from the John Adams Innovation Institute to undertake the historic initiative, which will create broadband wireless “clouds” over a large portion of town. The project, dubbed “Wireless Village: Orleans,” will include a large research and education piece as well as a marketing plan. Most significantly, it will be designed as a model that can be used in other Cape communities.
“We’re treating it like a proper business plan,” said Teresa Martin, executive director of the Cape Cod Technology Council and project manager for the wireless initiative in Orleans. “If this thing is going to succeed, it’s got to be a sustainable model – and how do you get to that?”
That’s among the questions yet to be answered, as the project is in its formative stage. Now that grant funding is in place, the Wireless Village plan will be developed by a working group that includes representatives from Internet providers and other organizations, as well as attorneys, computer consultants and marketing specialists. “We’re two nonprofit groups that are driving it forward, with input from lots of other groups,” Martin explained.
Kyle Hinkle, executive director of the Orleans Chamber of Commerce, noted that leadership by the two groups means the project is not a municipal one, a model that has had mixed results. Some communities, like Nantucket, have been successful with that approach, while other government-driven wireless initiatives, such as Philadelphia’s, have run into problems over issues like unfair competition and costs.
This model will be collaborative, and two of the area’s major Internet providers, Comcast and Cape.com, are on board. Pat Murphy, sales director for Cape.com and chairman of the Cape Cod Technology Council’s board of directors, said he sees the project as a positive for everyone. “Our response to it is that using the Internet to empower government and individuals and businesses just increases overall usage,” he said. “When people are using wireless access points, they find out that the Internet is integral to their lives, and that leads to more usage … and paid access.”
“It’s a logical progression of technology,” said Mary O’Keeffe, manager of government/community relations for Comcast. “When you think about telephones, [first] you had to go to a pay phone, then you had a phone in your house. This is the unwired tether [to the Internet]. You don’t have to be at home or at school.”
That idea of progression is one reason organizers chose the historic French Cable Museum as the venue for formally announcing the project on Oct. 11, making the point that Orleans has been on the cutting edge of technology before. The French Cable Station was the landing point for the first underwater cable to connect the United States and Europe. The 3,000-mile cable brought news of Charles Lindbergh’s successful transatlantic flight in 1927 and the German invasion of France in 1940.
“We’re at the cutting edge of things, just as we were 100 years ago,” said Martin.
Wireless, proponents say, is just the next step in the technology continuum. There are even some parallels; in explaining the series of concentric circles drawn over a map of Orleans, representing those wireless “clouds,” Peter Karlson, a computer consultant and member of the Cape Cod Technology Council who is serving on the working group, said the initial radio signal will be repeated, “similar to the way the French Cable would repeat signals.”
Both Martin and Hinkle said a wireless community will be a draw for second-home buyers and vacationers who find it difficult to be away from their businesses for too long, and will also benefit the hospitality industry and create opportunities for other businesses.
The response from the business community has been very positive, according to Hinkle. “I’ve already heard from one of my members, when is this going to be up because I want it.”
On the other hand, she conceded, some business owners who already provide wireless service – Orleans has several “hot spots,” as wireless zones are known, including Hearth n’ Kettle and Eldia Coffeehouse – may fear that the larger project will detract from their business. Not so, Hinkle said: “People who want to sit in a café and get Wi-Fi and sip their coffee are going to do that,” she said. “People who really know the Internet know they can sit in their car outside Hearth n’ Kettle and get wireless.”
The wireless “clouds” will not blanket the entire town, Hinkle said, explaining while the exact area has not been defined yet, “We’re focusing on what is known as the village center.”
Karlson said the needed equipment will be “minimal,” and cited a wireless project at Mashpee Commons, where the equipment was essentially camouflaged.
Orleans was a good choice for this project, Martin said, because of its size, setup and economic diversity. “There’s a nice mix of businesses here,” she observed, “and good geography – a lot of public spaces, walkable spaces.”
One challenge is going to be visibility – letting people know that wireless access is there. That will be part of the public relations piece. The working group of about 15 people has already formed subgroups to address specific issues.
“We don’t even know where it can go, what it can be,” Martin said. “It’s not just one thing; it can be many things to different people.”
Hinkle is excited about the possibilities wireless will offer the business community. “The opportunity for businesses to really embrace this is huge,” she said.
To learn more:
www.unwiredvillage.com (site being developed)
www.orleans.ma.us
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