Ross Bridge area Wi-Fi network to go live Friday

The Birmingham News - Thursday, January 11, 2007 By Dawn Kent



Hoover's Ross Bridge community soon will have a high-speed wireless network that will offer Internet access for residents across the community, from the kitchen table to a park bench.

Logico Wireless is installing the network to cover the 1,600- acre community in western Hoover. It is expected to go live on Friday, said James Jones, state project manager for the company. Jones said the move will essentially make Ross Bridge a wireless, or Wi-Fi, hot spot - a growing phenomenon that, in the Birmingham-Hoover area, mostly is limited to businesses, parks and schools.

Curtis Palmer, president and CEO of TechBirmingham, said he was not aware of any other area neighborhoods with a wireless network.

Ross Bridge residents would have access to its wireless network through a password-protected system. Officials hope it will continue to set the neighborhood apart from others as a premier community, said Ross Bridge General Manager Jeff Boyd of Daniel Corp.

Home construction in Ross Bridge began in 2005. The community is a joint venture of Daniel Corp., USS Real Estate and the Retirement Systems of Alabama.

Long-range plans call for nearly 1,800 single-family homes and 600 multifamily units. The Renaissance Ross Bridge Golf Resort & Spa is the community centerpiece.