Air Advantage Proposes Swapping 2 Free Wireless Hotspots for Cell Tower Use

Representatives from Oakland County and Air Advantage, a Frankenmuth-based Internet service provider, presented a plan during Tuesday's Board of Trustees meeting to bring wireless broadband high-speed Internet to the township.

Air Advantage said its Broadband Stimulus Project would make high-speed Internet available to residents in more rural areas who are underserved – or not served at all – by other Internet service providers like Comcast and AT&T.

The project is part of a $7.2 billion federal project to bring wireless Internet to underserved and rural communities throughout the nation. Air Advantage received $64.2 million in grants and loans through the U.S. Department of Agriculture to fund the project in 2010; the Michigan company also gave $10.2 million in private contributions to the project.

“We believe everybody should have access to the Internet," said Phil Bertolini, deputy county executive and CIO for Oakland County.

Initially, several board and audience members expressed some concern about the project, particularly regarding the cost to township residents. Because the project is already funded with federal tax dollars, it will not increase taxes for residents, who will not pay for the service unless they decide they want it.

“What we want to do in Oakland Township is for all those people who don’t have Internet access … we want to make sure we give them an option to get Internet access," Bertolini said.

The company's Internet service ranges from $38 a month for up to 1 Mbps to $68 per month for up to 5 Mbps download speed; for comparison, AT&T offers up to 3 Mbps download speed for $38 a month while Comcast offers its Premium 15 Mbps service for between $42.95 and $60.95 per month. With Air Advantage, there is also a one-time $125 installation fee.

Air Advantage installs many of its antennas on county-owned cellular towers, and Oakland County has been instrumental in facilitating the project. In Oakland Township, however, the cellular tower in Goodison is owned by the township.

Air Advantage Vice President of Operations Dave Simmet proposed that in exchange for the use of its cellular tower in Goodison, Oakland Township would receive two free wireless hotspots, each about a half-mile in diameter, for five years. In these hotspots, anyone can log on and use the Internet.

Simmet and Bertolini suggested hotspots at the Paint Creek Cider Mill and in downtown Rochester, though Bertolini said company officials were more than willing to listen to the township's suggestions for hotspot locations.

Trustee Marc Edwards supported the idea of adding another Internet service provider to the area, if only to give residents another choice.

"Having been here for a number of years and having dealt with Comcast, they were a monopoly, and frankly, they were terrible," Edwards said.

"The more choices we can have – I'm all for it."

“The goal is to provide as much Internet to everyone as we can," Bertolini said. “Technology is an infrastructure; it needs to be put in place so everyone has access to it."

The Board of Trustees did not vote on the issue at Tuesday's meeting.