Feb 1, 2003 12:00 PM,

Chet Yoshizaki and Bruce Mayes

by Ed Gubbins

Call it an experiment. To promote mutual growth, the city of Long Beach, Calif., and a small cadre of wireless broadband vendors have partnered to offer a rare municipal amenity: free wireless broadband for the public.

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The Economic Development Bureau for this harbor town half an hour south of L.A. is offering 8 Mb/s of free Wi-Fi access along a four-block stretch of Pine Avenue, a seaside strip running through the heart of downtown. The city is putting up $4000 a year for the service and hopes to stir activity in its business district. Meanwhile, vendors like Color Broadband and Vernier Networks hope to stir commercial interest in Wi-Fi.

Demand for the service was still unclear as it launched in January. Bruce Mayes (left), the project's manager, predicted between 300 and 500 users per week, which he based on a “lowball” assumption that about 4% of restaurant patio diners would log on. But Ed Knapp, manager of the Pine Avenue Starbucks, which offers Wi-Fi to T-Mobile subscribers, said the number of wireless surfers he sees on a weekly basis is in the single digits.

“For most people, lunch is a time to get away from their computers,” said Kevin Vossen, general manager of a Hooters restaurant located in a hot spot. “The demand in my restaurant is going to be zero.”

The city plans to add free Wi-Fi to its airport and convention center. Chet Yoshizaki, manager of Long Beach's Economic Development Bureau, also suggested expanding it to the marina at the end of Pine Avenue. But marina superintendent Doug Parsons said boater demand is debatable. “The live-aboards and larger boats might [want broadband], but you're still still looking at a fairly small number,” he said.

Whether the experiment succeeds, copycat towns may look to Wi-Fi in the meantime as a cheap way to compete for high-tech business and aid urban renewal. “I've already gotten calls from other cities in the midst of redevelopment efforts,” Yoshizaki said. If Long Beach is successful, “I'm sure they'll start picking up the idea.”