IP, internet provider at stalemate
A Mississippi-based company planning to offer
wireless Internet service to Bastrop has begun talks with
International Paper's Louisiana Mill to locate an antenna at the
mill that would allow coverage of the city and outlying areas.
Don Lieber, Louisiana market manager for Air2Lan,
said he felt last week's talks were fruitful.
"There was some good news, but also some
concerns," Lieber said. "I believe we'll be able to work
something out to allow us to have the height we need to be able
to cover Bastrop."
Air2Lan announced last month it was expanding its
services to Monroe and West Monroe, Bastrop, Ruston and
Winnsboro. In a news conference earlier this month in Bastrop,
Lieber said his company would need to locate an antenna as high
as possible to broadcast and receive member services. Greg Van
Voorhis, International Paper Louisiana Mill manager attended the
initial meeting at Bastrop City Hall and said he was optimistic
IP could reach an agreement with Air2Lan to allow them to use
the mill's boiler tower for its antenna.
Van Voorhis did not take part in last week's
meeting with Air2Lan, and his initial optimism was perhaps more
tempered Monday.
"They met with our technical people, and we
haven't made a decision yet," Van Voorhis said. "Locating their
equipment inside the mill sounds like a feasible idea on the
surface, but there are a lot of issues that we'd have to work
out. It wouldn't be easy. One of the main issues would be access
to their equipment within mill property."
Van Voorhis also said he had suggested Air2Lan
talk with the Morehouse Parish Police Jury about leasing space
on a tower the jury uses for its two-way radio communications.
Air2Lan had originally planned to transmit and
receive a signal to Bastrop from an antenna atop the BankOne
Building off North 18th Street in Monroe. Monday, Lieber said
the company has also begun talks with KNOE about renting space
on the radio-television station's tower on Oliver Road in
Monroe.
"We could get up 500-600 feet on that tower and
plan to continue our talks with them," Lieber said, adding the
company "may be a little behind" on the timeline it was
operating on to offer service to businesses and residents in the
city.
