Knuwave Design Incorporated

Pepperell hopes to save $20,000 with wireless network for employees

By JACK MINCH, Sun Staff

PEPPERELL -- Town officials estimate they can create a $20,000 annual savings in Internet costs if they set up a wireless network for municipal employees.

Unfortunately, residents will not be able to walk into town offices to use their laptops free of charge.

Start-up costs are expect to run from $50,000 to $60,000 but will be paid for over time, said town Systems Administrator Den Connors.

The town has already invested about $15,000. The money has come from current department budgets, said Town
Administrator Robert Hanson.

The town needs 30 connections, so instead of increasing its reliance on direct-connection feeds the new plan will reduce connections to about three, Connors said. Critical buildings, such as the public-safety offices, wastewater-treatment plant and town government offices will keep their connections to defend against breakdowns in the system.

Each Internet connection costs $30 to $50 monthly, Connors said. The town is paying $450 a month for cable access to the Internet and another $1,500 for dial-up service.

“There's $24,000 a year,” Connors said. “If I can get rid of 80 percent, that's $20,000.”

He is also setting up wireless land boxes inside the town buildings to spread the signal around.

The nodes will also send signals for telephones, security cameras and alarm systems that will likely beam into the police station, Connors said.

Connors and the Fire Department put a node on a 50-foot pole at the Canal Street Water Department on Wednesday. Another node is expected to be installed at the town water tank early this week.

He is hoping to have the nodes and wireless network in place for a few town properties, such as the wastewater-treatment plant and Town Hall, by the end of summer.

Work on the telephones and alarms is expected to be done over the winter before returning to outdoor work for other town properties, such as the public library, next spring.

“Hopefully, we can get this done in about two years,” Connors said. “It's so nice -- being a town, we can do a little at a time.”

Firewalls on the system will prevent people from walking into town buildings to access the network, Connors said.

Some large cities around the country want to create their own wireless Internet companies to provide service for residents, but contrary to published reports, Pepperell officials don't expect that to happen here.

Companies such as Verizon and Charter Cable already provide competitive service and would make upgrades to keep the town from competing, Connors said.

Jack Minch's e-mail address is jminch@lowellsun.com.

© 1999-2005 MediaNews Group, Inc.