Wi-Fi network mired in delays

The citywide wireless Internet network has run into more delays, and it is unclear when Yumans will be able to get online.

Kite Networks, the firm building the network, told the Yuma City Council in February that the wireless fidelity (Wi-Fi) system would be tested this month with a rollout to paid subscribers in May. But that won't happen since none of the equipment has been put in place, according to Greg Wilkinson, the city's assistant information technology services director.

"They've got $2 million in equipment here waiting to be installed," Wilkinson said. "They're in the final stages of negotiating contracts for roof rights to install."

While the city hoped Kite could follow its timelines, there is not much the city can do to expedite the process. The Wi-Fi system is a private project being built, operated and funded by Kite. Mark Rigney, Kite's director of market operations, did not return messages seeking comment this week.

Approximately 675 devices known as access points will be placed throughout Yuma to create a wireless Internet network that will cover the 25 most populous square miles of the city. The city's only cost is paying for the electricity that runs the access points and providing the use of light poles for placing some of them.

Wilkinson did not have any information about a current timeline. He said Kite has had more difficulty than it expected in negotiating cost-effective leases for locating access points on private buildings.

Local Internet provider Beamspeed, 2481 E. Palo Verde St., has been contracted to install the access points but hasn't done any work yet, according to co-owner Phil Merrill. In December, Merrill said he had received equipment but had not received approval from Kite to install. Four months later, he said the situation is basically the same.

The city would like to see the network operational because as part of the agreement with Kite, the city gets 2,000 user licenses for employees for work-related purposes. The city also plans to use the system for communications, stoplight timing, online billing and other uses.

But the city is not in a position to tell Kite what to do. "It's their money and their project," Wilkinson said.

The Kite Networks Web site shows Yuma as a Wi-Fi city, but clicking on Yuma delivers a message that says "The Kite Network is still in the deployment and testing phases for this market."

Previously, the costs for the service have been proposed at $3.95 per hour, $7.95 per day, $19.95 per week or $29.95 per month.

There are proposed to be four areas in the city, called "drinking fountains," where people can use two hours of free Wi-Fi every day: the Ray Kroc Memorial Baseball Complex, Yuma Civic Center, Smucker Park, West Wetlands Park and downtown. The city's Web site is expected to be accessible at all times for free to anyone with a Wi-Fi-capable device.

Kite Networks is headquartered in Ridgeland, Miss., and is a wholly owned subsidiary of MobilePro Corp.