Despite being nearly 90 miles away from the closest city, the State College Borough Council has been working to connect State College to the rest of the world with a wireless network for campus and the downtown area.

An Aug. 21 presentation to the council detailed the feasibility of implementing a wireless network in town and on campus.

The issue is scheduled to be discussed at greater detail at tonight's council meeting.

The borough has been gathering information and planning a wireless network that would be a partnership with Penn State and would serve State College, although the exact area of the network has yet to be determined.

The borough's Information Technology director, Tim Grattan, said the plan would have to be implemented in phases and would benefit State College and surrounding areas in many ways.

Although it is still unknown exactly how much this wireless network would cost users, it could range from a paid subscription to free access, Grattan said.

Borough Manager Tom Fountaine said Civitium, a technology-consulting firm, was hired to evaluate the feasibility of the project.

Patrick McCamley, a senior partner with Civitium, presented the study to the council at the Aug. 21 meeting, which he said was completed in June.

He said his presentation included several recommendations regarding wireless Internet in State College, including the cost, which could be as low as $40 per month.

During his recent presentation, McCamley said there is a connection between the broadband infrastructure of an area and the well being of a community.

A wireless network increases economic development and creates efficiency in local government, McCamley said.

Council member Elizabeth Goreham said the prospect of a wireless network in State College is very exciting, but the cost of the project must be kept in mind.

"It's all very exciting. I think a lot of us want this to happen, but we want to make sure it's affordable," she said.

Dan Myers, President and CEO of GetWireless.net, a local Internet provider, will be at this evening's council meeting to present the status of their wireless project in State College.

The issue of the renewal of the Downtown Improvement District (DID) will also be on the agenda of tonight's council meeting, as the DID was designed to be terminated after a five-year period ending Dec. 31, Fountaine said.

In a presentation at a recent council meeting, DID director Teresa Sparacino provided members of the council with some details about the program.

She said the DID operates through a committee system and is responsible for local events like the summer concert series, the downtown street bazaar, the holiday tree lighting ceremony and Santa's workshop.

DID is also responsible for the work that has been done on the planning of the Fraser Centre, Sparacino said.

Fountaine said the plan was always for the DID program to be evaluated after five years and renewed if all goes well.

"At the inception of the DID, there was a five-year horizon for the program, and after that, reevaluation would occur," Fountaine said. "Over the next few months, the borough council will be asked to approve an ordinance reenacting the DID. Approval of the plan is anticipated to take place October 2."