Y(IKE)S!!! The Sky Is Falling

I must say my brethren in the local electronic media have been doing a bit better with Hurricane Ike coverage than with past storms. I didn't sense as much hype and hysteria - at least earlier this week - as they, er WE, have done in the past.

But as of yesterday afternoon, GAME IS ON! KPRC, KTRK and KHOU all scrapped the national morning show feeds today and I just noticed they shook off the nightly national news from their affiliate HQs. It's all local all the time now. Let's just hope this thing blows over (and we still have power) by Sunday so they don't pre-empt any NFL games.

If you've ever wondered what it's like for reporters to cover a major storm, take a look at some of these iPhone-snapped photos from this afternoon. I was at our Clear Channel radio offices on the West Loop as our folks prepped for round-the-clock coverage, at least on NewsRadio 740 KTRH. Though our studios are on the 5th floor there are no chances being taken.

Plywood was laying in the hallway ready to board up the double-paned windows in case of breakage. Mattresses, blankets and cots were folded up waiting for reporters, anchors and producers to use them for catnaps over the weekend.

And let's not forget food and drink. Charlie Pena, the longtime office manager, made a Sam's run early Thursday and came back with a truckload of supplies to satisfy even J.P. Pritchard. Chips, salsa, cookies, water, soda and almost every other carbohydrate you can imagine is piled high in the several kitchens throughout the office. And if you can't find any batteries in the city, that's because they are all here.

Programming changes have already come down from the Big Wigs. All regular Saturday programming on KPRC is cancelled for continuing weather coverage. That means my show will not be heard this weekend. Ironically, Mayor White was scheduled to be my first guest to talk about Monday's NSTA State of the City Technology Forum which I had planned to emcee. That event was just now rescheduled for Monday, Oct. 6. I got a call from the mayor's office this afternoon with an apology for him being a bit preoccupied this weekend. No prob, Bill. You go guy!

I am on standby to go in to the studio to help anchor coverage and listener response on KPRC and KTRH but we should return to our regular show next Saturday, September, 20.

Buckle up people and be safe.

As The WiFi Turns

Calls and emails continue to come in regarding citywide WiFi. Still a lot of questions from the public. Mainly:

• How come it won't be free?
• Will I need to get new gear to receive the signals?
• How secure will it be?
• If it's not as fast as DSL or cable then why do I need it?
• Why is the city government getting involved in this?

All fair questions indeed and each is something that individual users need to determine if they should subscribe and use the service when launched. My top level thoughts continue to be that if you don't want to use it then don't use it. (Maybe I'm a bit biased since I live in Ft. Bend County)

And I continue to remind people that the city is involved as they can make deployment easier by providing access rights to light poles and buildings for the thousands of routers and base stations.

But unless an ISP is going to offer really cheap or free access (maybe, but probably not) there are other inexpensive options. AT&T offers DSL service for $14.95 (not their highest speed) and due to a clause with the Bell South merger that price will soon go down to $10 bucks in some areas.

Convergent Broadband, the company that didn't get the city contract, has been relatively quiet. Founder Don Jordan provided a gracious to quote to the Chronicle but his partner Mark Singleton opened up a bit to Chron reporter Alexis Grant.

Apparently he is disappointed with the city moving forward with an Atlanta-based company. But you've got to love his quote: "It is a slap in the face of all Houstonians to not use High-Tech Texans."

Just remember, AT&T is based in San Antonio.

WiFi Podcast

In case anyone missed my interview this morning with the mayor, City CIO Richard Lewis and Earthlink Muni Networks prez Don Berryman, here is the link to the podcast. Click the Wed, Feb. 14th, download.

T-minus 27 months....

The WiFi Word Is Out

Just got back from the mayor's presser at City Hall where the "big secret" was revealed. Earthlink Municipal Networks was selected as the company to build the city's wireless network.

Mayor White elaborated on the details as specifically as he could:

• The project is expected to take up to 27 months to complete


• The next steps are for city council to approve the recommendation, sign a definitive agreement with Earhtlink and then a term sheet


• Expected cost to Earthlink is initially $50 million


• Approx. 95% of the city will have WiFi coverage


• The price for subscribers depends on the individual ISP. Some ISPs who use Earthlink's access may charge nominally for this service while others could possibly offer it for free depending on their business model (i.e. ad supported)

I spent a few hours during the day providing comments to several media outlets - KTRH, Channel 11, Fox 26 and CW39. Also lined up a slew of guests for my radio program Wednesday. The lineup as of now has Mayor White calling in a the top of show before he begins his weekly city council meeting. City CIO Richard Lewis and Earthlink Executive VP Don Berryman will join me in studio to answer listener questions. Umesh Verma will call in later to talk about the Greater Houston Partnership's role and how businesses will be able to utilize the network's resources.

I'd be interested to chat with a Convergent Broadband representative to get their take on the selection process. Interestingly enough they learned they were not the chosen company from my blog and radio show Tuesday morning. (Note to Don Jordan and Mark Singleton, please drop me a line if you would like to comment).

Got a question about the project? Leave a comment below or call in Wednesday between 9a-10a at 713-212-KPRC.

Houston, We Have Wireless (Sort Of)

As I buried the lead this morning on my show, Earthlink Municipal Networks has been chosen by the city of Houston to build out and manage a 600+ square mile wireless Internet network. Mayor White will officially make the announcement this afternoon at City Hall.

The mayor will be joining me at the top of my show Wednesday to discuss the selection process and next steps. Richard Lewis, the city's CIO, and a rep from Earthlink will also be in-studio to field questions from listeners.

BREAKING NEWS v2.1...City One Step Closer To WiFi

It's been almost a year since the City of Houston announced an RFP to build out a wireless network. Last October negotiations began with two companies to finance and manage the system - Earthlink and Convergent Broadband.

A wireless network covering 600+ square miles of our city would qualify Houston as the world's largest WiFi network, that is if WiFi (802.11 standard) is the chosen technology. Yes, there could be more solutions to delivering non-wired connectivity.

Look for announcement next Monday (Tuesday at latest) on the company selected to spend tens of millions of dollars to create and manage the infrastructure. I will have reps from the City and the "winning" company on my radio program the entire hour the day after the announcement.

Stay tuned...

UPDATE: Press conference just called for Tuesday at 4pm at City Hall.

UPDATE 2: Just for the helluvit and background research...

New Downtown Park Named "Discovery Green"

The rain delayed the "big" announcement yesterday but downtown H-Town has a new park coming with its new name...Discovery Green.

An unnamed source close to the project confirmed the name this morning. Guess the city didn't want to make it easier on tax payers by selling the naming rights. I don't think H-E-B Discovery Green would have been that bad. Hell, they already put a service mark on the name.

Then again, they have already named the Schiller Del Grande Restaurant Group as the preferred restaurateur so maybe Cafe Annie's Discovery Green may be on the horizon.

The name was apparently chosen from over 6,200 public submissions. In an ironic twist, the winning name ws submitted by a guy who works at the Pappas restaurant chain.

Nice tagline, though. "Discovery Green. See. Touch. Hear. Taste. Explore." They forgot "Pay For Parking."

Citywide WiFi Update

I've been tracking the City of Houston's efforts to build out a municipal WiFi for the past several months. The process began last April with several companies submitting bids for the very large-scale project. Back in May I hosted a live chat with Mayor White to take questions from the public about the initiative.

The city's Chief Technology Officer, Richard Lewis, has been keeping me updated with the status. He is in a "quiet period" in which he can not discuss many details however he was able to comment to me:

We have commenced definitive negotiations with the two highest rated proposers and are focusing on key deal terms (KDTs), i.e. viability of financial plan for $60 million network, amount of inclusion investments for low-income individuals, households and/or neighborhoods, which includes discounted subscription rates, free or cheap devices and skill development. Other KDTs include rates for government use and "anchor tenant" commitment, deployment plan, etc.

Keep tuned right here as I will post more news as it warrants.

Houston, We Are Impatient

But Austin has us beat. A study came out today listing the most impatient cities in America, according to research which examined where Americans are least likely to wait for the day-to-day conveniences of modern life.

I'll take this survey with a grain of salt just like I believe Houston was the fattest U.S. city (mainly because there are a ton of fast food joints in town). But it is interesting to see that 3 Texas cities are in the top 5.

Austin tops the list by a slim margin with the highest per capita "in and out" gyms, quick-copy centers and quick-change oil services. The city also ranks second in the number of WiFi hot spots and convenience stores, per capita. Indianapolis ranked second.

Houston wasn't far behind at #3. The city finished in the top half of every category but one, "in and out"gyms. Maybe our ranking will go up if and when we get citywide WiFi.

Dallas tied with Baltimore and Jacksonville for fifth place. It's interesting to see San Francisco come in fourth place as the west coast is supposed to be laid back. But they ranked high due to having more WiFi hot spots per capita than any U.S. city.