R.I. wireless network to expand to rural Foster

The Business Innovation Factory, a nonprofit based in Providence, said today that it plans to install a base station for wireless broadband service in rural Foster as part of an effort to make Rhode Island the first state to go border-to-border with wireless Internet technology.
Expected to be operational in four to six months, the Foster base station will be the third WiMAX tower in the nonprofit’s R.I. Wireless Innovation Network (RI-WINs). Two pilot base stations in recent months were installed in Providence and Newport.
The Business Innovation Factory said the third base station will be installed with $200,000 from Gov. Donald L. Carcieri’s budget.
“Supporting the extension of the RI-WINs pilot into Foster will not only speed up our efforts to make Rhode Island the first state in the country with a border-to-border broadband network, it creates an opportunity to bring infrastructure into a rural community where this kind of technology is not yet available,” the governor said in a statement.