Wi-Fi Kankakee, LLC.

Posted Online: September 20, 2006

City first in state to cross technological divide

By Roy Bernard
rbernard@daily-journal.com
815-929-5408

Kankakee may be the first Illinois city to reach a widespread, major technological breakthrough.

While Aurora, Springfield and even Chicago have still not developed wireless Internet service, Kankakee already has nearly 400 acres of Wi-Fi coverage, and plans call for it to expand to the city's east side.

Wi-Fi is already available in three areas of Kankakee:

From East Avenue to Dearborn Avenue, from Chestnut Street to Hickory Street.
South of the Kankakee River, from Main Street to South Schuyler Avenue and south to Charles Street.
Beckman Park, Kankakee Community College, the Oak Orthopedic Sports Arena and the Splash Valley Aquatic Center.

Peter Schiel, assistant superintendent of utility operations for the Kankakee Municipal Utility, reported that the Wi-Fi service, as of Sept. 13, had 226 users.

One of the biggest uses occurred during the Kankakee River Regatta, in which 92 log-ins were recorded, using a total of 104 hours, Schiel said.

Wi-Fi in Kankakee is being developed through a cooperative effort between the city and The Daily Journal. Through that effort, a new company called WiFi Kankakee LLC was formed in May. Since that agreement was reached, the Wi-Fi service area in the city has quickly expanded.

Kankakee's Wi-Fi system uses D-Link equipment, and that company recently featured Kankakee in its newsletter, which is distributed worldwide. A photo in the newsletter shows the Kankakee welcome sign, which, along with stating that the mayor is Donald Green, also declares that the city is a "WiFi Community," and gives the Internet address of wifikankakee.com.

Also noted in the article is Schiel's involvement in the Wi-Fi project along with "another techie," Wade LeBeau, Information Services director for The Daily Journal.

The next step for Wi-Fi in Kankakee is to connect the Crestview Apartments, said Schiel. He noted that WiFi Kankakee LLC is working on a deal to provide Wi-Fi at Crestview if the apartment owner agrees to purchase the needed hardware, such as an antenna.

Once Crestview accesses the system, Schiel said connecting to businesses at the adjacent Eastgate Industrial Park would be the likely next step.