Dennis Lopez sat along the Fourth Street Heritage Corridor in downtown Ketchum on Tuesday morning with a heavy-duty laptop computer on a table before him. He was monitoring the screen and said the wireless computer network he examined was downloading faster than it was uploading, something he was working to fix.
The web of wireless radio signals under examination was the city of Ketchum's free community wireless service, which is available throughout the downtown area. The network is about 10 months old, and Lopez, who works as a field services manager for network manager Net Logix, arrived in town this week to tweak the signals.
"We definitely know we have some changes to make, and we're working to address them," he said.
Wireless networks work similarly to the way two-way radios function, using radio frequency waves in much the same way as television, radio and cell phones. People with laptop computers, BlackBerrys or cell phones can connect to the World Wide Web with a fair degree of reliability from most anywhere in downtown Ketchum.
It doesn't, however, come without maintenance or reliability issues.
The network can be optimized remotely or on-site, Lopez said, but part of the reason for his on-site visit this week was to add a ninth radio repeater. That should help shore up areas where the signal strength has been soft in the past 10 months.
"For the most part it's pretty common for us to have to come out and optimize the network," Lopez said.
Ketchum's wireless network, called Ketchum Community Wi-Fi, was made possible last year by an unexpected grant from Allen & Co., a New York investment company that hosts a high-profile annual conference in Sun Valley.
Heidi Dohse, who volunteered services to Ketchum to make Wi-Fi a reality, said Allen & Co. requested that the amount of the grant not be disclosed. However, the city had been faced with a roughly $100,000 shortfall to make it work during the 2006-07 fiscal year.
"On behalf of the city of Ketchum, I want to thank Allen & Co. for this gift," Ketchum Mayor Randy Hall said in July 2007. "It's exciting to see Ketchum become a progressive digital community. We want to be a city that leads the way in developing innovative partnerships to increase access to technology."
Dohse said this week that the network is working well, "doing its thing."
"We get about 1,500 people a month that use the service," she said. "That's a good number of people. During the summer, when we have peak holidays and things like that, we definitely see increased use."
While Dohse said she is, perhaps, most happy about the lack of negative feedback regarding the network, there are some bugs.
Hailey resident Vanessa Crossgrove Fry said people and business owners shouldn't underestimate the power of wireless availability to influence customer decisions. She said she has been deterred from working at particular businesses in Ketchum because of a poor signal on the Ketchum Community Wi-Fi network.
"I think the fact that I can't get it at certain places means it's not working too well," she said. "It actually affects business. It totally drives where I go. When I need to work I'll only go to places where I have access to the Internet."
Ketchum resident Tom Pomeroy said the network appears to work fairly well, but added that awareness seems a little low.
"Nobody knows it's here," he said. "It needs signs or stickers."
Dohse said some of the things being addressed by Net Logix this week include network "interference" and "noise," whether created by obstacles like trees or buildings or from other wireless networks.
"They're doing some of the fine tuning to re-point some of those antennas," she said.
Also, she said that, as the network is outdoor-based, the signal will be more difficult to pick up at certain indoor locations.
"If you're indoors, the farther away you are from a window, the weaker it will get," she said. "It's an outdoor network that can work indoors depending on where you're located."
In general people who have used it are reporting favorable reviews, Dohse said.
"They're just happy that it's there, that it's available," she said. "I think the lack of negative feedback is a good thing. There are a lot of people who are surprised we have a network."
Net Logix Vice President of Business Development Eric DaVersa said his company is merely a subcontractor for Wood River Community Wireless, which is a nonprofit.
"With any wireless network, whether it's Wi-Fi or cellular, you model out coverage, you build based on how you modeled the design, and then over time you figure out where those dead spots might be," he said. "All wireless technologies are like that. There are a lot of unforeseen elements that come into play."
Creation of Wood River Community Wi-Fi occurred after months of planning and volunteer efforts last year. At a Ketchum City Council meeting in June 2007, the council decided it did not have enough money to move forward with the proposed Wi-Fi project. The City Council decided to delay the project, but the Allen & Co. grant turned that tide.
Allen & Co. has strong ties to the Wood River Valley, most notably hosting the annual July conference of some of the nation's leading media and technology moguls. Regular guests include software tycoon Bill Gates and investment guru Warren Buffett, two of the world's wealthiest men.
Dennis Lopez tests the Ketchum Community Wi-Fi along Fourth Street on Tuesday. Lopez works for network manager Net Logix. Photo by Greg Stahl
