Wireless Oakland Picks 7 Wireless Network Test Cities, Country Wireless Provider

PONTIAC – The Wireless Oakland Project Team Monday announced seven pilot projects ? Royal Oak, Pontiac, Troy, Birmingham, Madison Heights, Oak Park and Wixom – that will serve as a starting points for the deployment of a county wide wireless internet network. MichTel Communications was selected as the service provider.

The Pilot Projects will be started by the end of 2005 and should be completed during the first quarter of 2006. County-wide wireless internet coverage is expected in mid to late 2007.

“This is a major milestone in our effort to blanket Oakland County’s entire 910 square miles with wireless internet service, a portion of which will be offered free of charge,” said Oakland County Executive, L. Brooks Patterson. “Wireless Oakland will help us attract the kind of Emerging Sector companies and skilled talent Oakland County needs to remain competitive in the corridors of commerce around the world.”

MichTel Communications was selected to provide county-wide wireless Internet service. The Pontiac-based company was selected after a detailed evaluation of thirteen responding private-sector bidders. MichTel provided the wireless hot spot this year in Pontiac at the Art, Beats and Eats Festival.

“We appreciate MichTel Communication’s commitment to Wireless Oakland,” Patterson said. “They demonstrated during the Art, Beats and Eats Festival they could offer reliable wireless Internet service in a timely manner and have also assembled an impressive team of partners that will showcase the possibilities of the Wireless Oakland initiative.”

The County’s private-sector partners will own, operate and maintain the project. Free internet service will be offered at the lower bandwidth, but the private sector partners will charge fees for higher-end service. Patterson says Wireless Oakland will also bridge the digital divide by providing training and computers at low cost or no cost to people who have been unable to afford access to the Internet because of income or education limitations.

To learn more, click on WirelessOakland.Org