Amherst town officials and researchers from the University of Massachusetts are working together to launch a community wireless mesh network in downtown Amherst.
The network, which has been in a test phase for the last several months, now allows the public to access services from WiFi-equipped mobile devices such as laptops and hand-held devices.
The project has been headed by UMass professors Mark Corner and Brian Levine of the computer science department. Their collaborator is Kristopher J. Pacunas, information technology director for the Town of Amherst, whose department will be managing and maintaining the network.
The wireless network has been funded through research grants given to UMass from the National Science Foundation and the Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency – part of the U.S. Department of Defense.
The total area covered by the network is currently 17 square miles. Any laptop computers with a wireless network adapter can access the network after agreeing to the disclaimer and terms of use.
The Town of Amherst official Web site does not suggest sending confidential or personal financial information over the wireless network.
The network is available in town hall meeting rooms, Bangs Community Center meeting rooms and courtyard, Jones Library and branches, the town common and Sweetster Park. Jones Library’s color printer will soon be available from the network.
“This system will have a positive impact on town services by providing citizens the ability to pay for parking with a credit card, or initiating traffic calming though connected traffic,” Pacunas said. “I also believe the possibilities surrounding economic development are endless.”
“I am very excited about where this system and this partnership with the university will take this community,” he added.
The wireless network’s services to the public go beyond providing Internet access. It has the ability to monitor town assets through services it can provide to the Department of Public Works. These services include security systems, traffic light management and improved communication within the department.
The network will also provide improved communication for the police, EMS and fire departments.
Several major cities around the country, such as San Francisco, Calif., Portland, Ore., and Philadelphia, Pa., are planning similar municipal wireless networks.
“We are proud to work in Amherst, and we believe our research can positively impact the town,” reads the project’s proposal. “Our project seeks to advance Internet technology so that it can be used in the many environments where providing networking to mobile users is a challenge.”
UMass researchers will be using the network to test projects that they believe will benefit society as a whole by improving Internet technology. These improvements will provide more reliable internet during natural disasters, power outages and to developing areas of the world.
The technology also allows wildlife and ocean researchers to monitor land wildlife as well as oceans with greater precision.
“We believe that the greatest research results come from experimentation done in a real test bed,” said Corner.
Caitlin Quinn can be reached at [email protected].
