Fantastic innovation can often come from the most unique places and individuals. So is the case in Alpharetta, GA  where the next wave in wireless communications is being brought to life by two Marines. Craig Ganssle, CEO and Adam Van Heusen, CIE of Basecamp Networks, have set themselves with the task of developing and deploying wireless access in towns and cities so that all can use it - for free. No subscriptions, no logins, and no credit cards are needed. With over 20+ years in the telecommunications industry, Craig and Adam have set the bar high to meet the needs of the wireless consumer. Come visit downtown Alpharettaand log onto the community wireless to see for yourself. 

From New York City to San Francisco, public wi-fi has become a huge benefit. In town and city settings, smart phone users must currently rely on costly data plans or free spotty wi-fi access being provided by retailers. From Yelp! to Facebook to using Google Hangouts and Text+, smartphone owners expect their devices to perform over any network. Out of these needs, Craig Ganssle saw opportunity.

"I stand in central downtown Alpharetta and can pick up over 20 wireless networks to use as a guest. When I spend any time in this area, visiting several places or simply walking around, I would have to sign into all of  these different networks at least once to stay on wi-fi.  Even then there's going to be issues with changing between networks, login accounts, and passwords. My vision was to connect people over really fast, secure, and trusted wi-fi in walkable downtown cities everywhere on one mesh network."

Currently, Basecamp Networks has deployed their community wi-fi in the cities of Alpharetta and Roswell, GA, as well as beginning the project in Bethlehem, PA.  These cloud controlled mesh networks are free to the public and, in some cities, running at GigaBit speeds. After logging onto the network, you are sent through a simple splash page containing local business and community information. 

"We're out to change the wi-fi experience," comments Adam Van Heusen,  "Trying to connect to a public network and having to enter all your information such as e-mail, name, etc...who wants all that noise? We create a strong reliable network for the patrons to trust and use as they enjoy their downtown city center.  At the same time, we want to take that guest access burden off the retail store owners; making their networks more secure and private for point-of-sale and general business use".  

Traffic on Alpharetta's network has grown to over 15,000 unique visitors each month since July of last year. This caught the eye of Tres Crow, owner of Walkabout.  Walkabout creates custom maps for events, festivals, and conferences for smartphone use. As Ganssle and Crow met, they knew that Walkabout could play an important role as part of the community wi-fi splash page. Through Walkabout, the splash page for each city will now feature a unique map that you can interact with to see what is all around you.  It is updated and has more detail and accuracy than just using Google Maps.  

"Our partnership with Basecamp Networks is one of the most significant milestones in our company's history," comments Crow, "It has the potential to help us reach thousands more customers in a short amount of time, as well as help us achieve our mission of bringing 21st century technology to America's walkable places. We couldn't be happier to be partnering with Basecamp Networks because our two companies share a similar vision of making useful information accessible."

Basecamp Network's community wi-fi footprint is targeted to grow and expand into multiple cities and towns across the US by the end of 2015. Ganssle comments, "We are focused on building out Roswell and Bethlehem, PA to match Alpharetta's wireless traffic within the next few months before targeting our next set of cities. For the moment, we are proud to support Alpharetta as the 'Technology City of the South'."