Ames is getting wired for wireless.

The city is planning to broaden its number of Wi-Fi hotspots by adding multiple locations around the community, with the potential of more outdoor accessibility. Matthew Goodman, City Council member, said he thinks the project is a good way for people to interact outside of their houses.

“We’re trying to add what I believe will let younger people live in a free way that is desirable for them,” he said.

At the City Council meeting on Jan. 8, it was decided the city would implement hotspots at City Hall, the Ames/ISU Ice Arena at 1507 Gateway Hills Park Drive, the Community Center at 515 Clark Ave., the municipal pool at 20th Street and Ridgewood Avenue, and the forthcoming aquatic center.

“The initial plan was for city-wide Wi-Fi, but that just wasn’t feasible,” said Stan Davis, Ames information services manager. “We already have a high concentration of high-speed broadband in this city, so there wouldn’t have been much of a client base for that.”

The council also issued a request for a proposal to determine the feasibility of hotspots in Tom Evans Plaza, Brookside Park, Campustown Court and the Hunziker Youth Sports Complex. One thing that might slow development in these areas is that there is not a pre-existing wireless infrastructure, as there are in the initial five locations.

“There are one or two local companies that already have an infrastructure up throughout the city, so we may end up having them be a vendor of service,” Davis said.

If the service in those locations proves to be popular enough, requests may be made for more hotspots across the city.

Goodman said he acknowledges those who say this program won’t be well utilized, but thinks it is worth a try, regardless.

“People often express concerns about services that won’t have immediate benefits to them, and this doesn’t fill the same Internet void for students, but I think we have to try new ideas,” he said. “Some will work, and some won’t, but I honestly think that this will be worth the effort.”

Davis said he thinks the effects will be more noticeable to the older residents of Ames, but could have a larger impact in the future.

“For right now this will be good if, say, you have a kid at the ice arena and you have to get work done on your laptop, because now you can,” he said. “But when more advanced technology comes along, these hotspots could be used by iPods and Blackberries and cell phones. We’re building an infrastructure for the next step.”

That is, if the city wants to go that far. In the action form detailing this project, it will cost $128,045 to implement all the hotspots and base infrastructure, and require $56,158 annually in operating costs.

“That amount is enough to cause delays,” Davis said.