Nate Pulliam relies on wireless Internet access to keep in touch with his mother in Conyers, his father in England, and his sister in Hawaii -- and to watch bluegrass music videos.

His connection is reliable and speedy enough to do that from his laptop, at a patio table or on the lawn of Georgia College & State University in Milledgeville.

“I definitely use the Georgia College (connection) every day,” said Pulliam, a sophomore from Conyers.

He doesn’t have any other Internet service but would pay for home access if Georgia College’s wasn’t so readily available.

“It’s the only thing I use,” Pulliam said.

The situation is similar for students at Mercer University and Macon State College, and Milledgeville residents can pay for access to a widespread city wireless network. But in Macon, a city about five times larger than Milledgeville, truly public wireless Internet is a dream unrealized, despite a 4-year-old attempt.

Gov. Sonny Perdue started offering Georgia Technology Authority grants to build wireless networks in all Georgia towns, said Macon City Councilwoman Beverly Blake, who is also area director for the John S. and James L. Knight Foundation.

Milledgeville accepted a grant for its system, but Macon -- with a network already under construction -- didn’t apply, she said.

“My understanding is the (Macon) network never worked on the public end as it was advertised,” said Andrew Blascovich, who was spokesman for Mayor Robert Reichert until recently taking a leave to work on Reichert’s re-election campaign. “When we came in to office in December 2007, we had complaints from citizens that could see the network but never access it.”

Stephen Masteller, Macon’s Information and Technology Department director, started work in October 2009 and found the wireless network only partially functioning.

“As I understand it, it was kind of put in as a foundation to grow, and it wasn’t put in in the most effective manner, if you want to call it that,” he said. “It was never fully done.”

To be really useful and effective, the network should have many more hot spots than were created, covering a much wider area, Masteller said. He wouldn’t say how many exist now or how many are working. Those that were installed weren’t maintained, meaning that some only work intermittently, Masteller said.

That makes it frustrating for potential users. An unreliable network merely provokes anger, discouraging use, he said.

Academic examples

Georgia College set up its campus-covering wireless network in 2001, said Ed Boyd, the university’s chief information officer.

“Anywhere there’s people, we tried to put wireless,” he said.

Macon State College also has a wireless network covering “all indoor areas and outdoor gathering areas adjacent to buildings” at two buildings on the Warner Robins campus and 15 on the Macon campus, according to the college website.

And a wireless Internet system has been in place for faculty, staff and students of Mercer University for two-and-a half years, installed as part of a larger “infrastructure refresh,” said Shane Milam, Mercer’s director for systems and networks.

The system covers all 125 acres of Mercer’s main campus, other buildings such as the law school and Grand Opera House. The 250-acre Atlanta campus and other satellite locations are also covered, Milam said.

It takes about 450 access points to serve all those locations, with roughly 275 in Macon, a mix of inside and outside units, Milam said.

It costs about $10,000 a year to keep the wireless system running, but considerably more in pay for those who monitor it, he said.

“A wireless network is far more troublesome than a wired network,” Milam said.

About 1,100 people use the wireless network at peak times, he said. They can fill an amazing amount of bandwidth when that capacity is available, but recent strides in hardware have kept pace, Milam said. Mercer already is replacing some access points with new ones, which have four times the previous capacity and compensate for interference with their signal, he said.

System scope

Even with the plethora of private businesses offering Internet access, from fast-food restaurants to bookstores, a public wireless network is still a “great idea” as a backup or less sedentary option, Masteller said.

To make a really viable wireless network, covering a large area of the city, it would take about 50 additional access points, he said. At a recent City Council committee meeting, Masteller mentioned $500,000 as a ballpark figure to do that.

But first must come the basic infrastructure for essential services, such as upgrading the 800 megahertz communication towers used by police, Masteller said. Then the city’s fiber-optic system, which would bear not only internal city traffic but the data that would flow through the wireless hot spots, has to be strengthened to bear that much traffic, he said.

“This year’s budget is infrastructure for the network,” Masteller said. “If we get that in place, then maybe we can take a look at the wireless.

“It’s really a prioritization issue. You’ve got to lay the foundations before you can really do the enhancements.”

Milledgeville’s system was built with an $869,000 state technology grant but is owned and operated by a company called Clearwire. Residents can pay monthly fees for service from five towers, which send out signals covering a majority of the city.

Chris Comes, Clearwire’s regional spokesman, said he didn’t know of any similar approach made to Macon. He wouldn’t say how many subscribers the Milledgeville network has.

Possible access

The city of Macon is looking for ways to get widespread Internet access paid for, such as the Google-sponsored Fiber Program for Communities and the federal Broadband Technologies Opportunity Program, Blascovich said.

According to Blake, the Knight Foundation wants to help Macon catch up.

“This is an issue and an opportunity that Macon has to take advantage of,” she said. “We’re very interested in working with the city in establishing a wireless network.”

Working with the Knight Foundation as a consultant is Kim Romaner from Possibilities Amplified Inc. of North Augusta, S.C.

Romaner said she has worked on similar projects across the country and has already met with Masteller and Rick Jones, CEO of the Macon Transit Authority.

“We might be able to put some Wi-Fi on the buses,” she said.

In the coming week, Romaner plans about a dozen meetings with local community leaders and wants to hold a public workshop to gather ideas and assess possible local partners for the effort, she said.

“The Knight Foundation believes that access to information is critical for people,” Romaner said. “Folks who don’t have regular access to the Internet are disadvantaged in this digital economy.”