1/7/05 The 109 antennas are in place for a broadband system that will let Lompoc residents log on to the Internet at bargain prices, and the city is just months away from launching the service.

The wireless (wi-fi) broadband service is slated to be up and running by early April.

"It's going very well," the city's broadband consultant, Mark McKibben, said from his Chatsworth office. "The installation is proceeding on schedule, and the units are working as we expected them to."

Other steps needed to get the network set up include installation of software and two rounds of testing. The first testing phase is designed to work out the bugs of the system so the city can learn how to fix any problems. The second phase will have paying subscribers from the public using the system, paying for it, and seeing what other problems pop up.

The city also has to hire an administrator to oversee the new city-operated utility. Lompoc Utilities Director Jim Beck said the city has yet to find candidates to fill the job, but he wants to get someone hired as soon as possible.

Another step that needs to be taken before the system is available is for the City Council to set the prices and create various packages for subscribers, such as the choice of having or not having e-mail. The people working on the broadband have floated a price of $20 a month subscription rate, which is the figure used in a study to determine whether a wi-fi system makes sense in Lompoc.

People working on the system are scheduled to give the Utility Commission an update at 7 p.m. Monday in City Hall, 100 Civic Center Plaza. They are optimistic about broadband's potential in Lompoc.

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"We expect that within a reasonable period of time, of about one to two years, to have 4,000 subscribers," McKibben said.

Councilman DeWayne Holmdahl, who helped lead the charge for broadband, said the people he runs into around town can't wait to sign up and are always asking him when it's going to be ready.

Once in place, an inexpensive city-owned Internet service could be used with other low-cost technologies to save people more money, including savings on phone bills for anyone who wants to sign-up for a voice over Internet protocol service (VOIP), like Vonage or AT&T.

VOIP services are basically a phone service that piggybacks on a broadband or other high-speed Internet network, like DSL. The service gives subscribers a flat-rate local and long-distance phone service over the network.

One VOIP service provider, for example, charges $24.99 a month for unlimited long distance calls to anywhere in the United States and Canada or $14.99 for up to 500 monthly minutes, call waiting, voice mail, caller ID and cheap rates on calls around the world. A VOIP subscriber can have a phone number with any area code in the country to make friends or relatives living elsewhere a local call. VOIP does not have as many taxes and service fees as phone service providers.

"Just about anything you can do over a DSL connection you can do on (broadband)," McKibben said.

For more information about Lompoc's broadband service, go to www.lompoc.tv.

Staff writer Mark Abramson can be reached at 736-2313, Ext. 126, or by e-mail at mabramson@lompocrecord.com.