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Free Wi-Fi on Iowa Highways

August 31, 2005 /

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Bear Paw Development Corporation is a private non-profit organization created for the purpose of administering programs to help improve regional economic conditions in Hill, Blaine, Liberty, Chouteau and Phillips Counties and the Fort Belknap and Rocky Boy's Indian Reservations.

Visitors to any of the 39 rest areas available along the Iowa Interstate highway system can now use their 802.11-based devices to access the Web for free. The hotspots, which are also found at eight welcome centers and two shopping malls, were deployed by Des Moines-based I Spot Networks.

I Spot approached the Iowa Department of Transportation (DOT) roughly two years ago with a proposal to offer the free hotspots as an amenity for motorists. The company won the multi-year contract, and in July 2004, began a seven-month trial deployment in eight rest areas. During that time, 118,000 users logged into the system, a large enough number to convince the DOT and I Spot to move ahead with plans to make the hotspots ubiquitous on the Iowa Interstate.

By Eric Griffith

Full Story: http://www.wi-fiplanet.com/columns/article.php/3529866