Summerlink created by Hughes, Sprint

The Internet has evolved from being the domain of university scientists to a hobby of computer nerds to a widely used information tool used by an estimated 25 percent of American households.

A partnership announced Wednesday between Howard Hughes Corp. and Sprint will seek to expand practical use of the Internet by establishing a fiber-optic linked electronic village in the western Las Vegas master-planned community of Summerlin.

"The future has arrived in Summerlin," said Dan Van Epp, president of Howard Hughes Corp.'s Summerlin division.

Sprint will offer "fiber-to-curb" networking to 49,500 homes to be built in Summerlin by 2015 and will retrofit about 8,000 existing homes with the technology. For residents, that means the capability of data speeds up to 35 times faster than conventional modems using copper telecommunication lines.

The agreement will allow Sprint to showcase its technological capability, while the pact will allow Howard to launch "Summerlink," a community intranet site.

That site will allow Summerlin residents to link via computer with their neighbors and eventually with schools, community organizations and businesses. Thus, with a click of the mouse, a computer user could schedule a tee time at the golf course, make a doctor's appointment or check on a child's homework at school.

"All of us will have immediate access to what was assigned today and what is due tomorrow," said Tom Reiman of Broad Band Consulting, a company that served as a liaison in the partnership.

Reiman said that as Summerlin grows, it is important to keep its residents connected with their neighbors.

"Today's announcement is not just about high-speed access to the Internet," he said.

The companies hope to begin implementation in the fourth quarter of this year. Total investment costs were not disclosed, nor was the price residents would pay for the service.

Mark Kenyon of Sprint said the company will initially test pricing levels and tiers of access speed.

"Ultimately, the market will dictate the cost," Kenyon said. "In order to make our service competitive, we'll have to respond to the market."

Residents will get a passport to Summerlink through their neighborhood associations. The cost of maintaining the site will be paid through association dues. To take advantage of the high-speed access capability, residents would have to invest in a digital modem.

Similar electronic villages exist in the United States, but Van Epp emphasized, "this is state of the art."

The announcement illustrates the trend towards use of high-speed fiber optics as compared to traditional copper coaxial cables.

The fiber optic lines allow for multiple use, such as television, telephone and computer lines.

Prime Cable, the dominant cable television provider in Southern Nevada, is in the midst of a three-year upgrade to a fiber-optic transmission system and already offers high-speed data services in some parts of the Valley. The company offers high-speed Internet access, but how the system would link to the Summerlin operation hasn't been determined.

And while the Summerlin arrangement will allow Sprint to showcase its digitial products and services, it won't preclude other phone companies from offering local phone service. In that arena, Sprint faces competition from MGC Communications, which buys access to Sprint lines in bulk and resells at a profit. MGC focuses on residential and small business customers. Also, Prime Cable has a joint venture with Bellevue, Wash.-based NextLink focusing on developing a fiber-optic network to serve primarily businesses.

Summerlin residents wouldn't be required to use Sprint phone service to use the intranet site.

"They can use other phone providers and still interface with Summerlink," said Sprint's Vince Alberta.

A spokesman for local phone service rival MGC Communications said Sprint's fiber-optic plans for Summerlin would actually help his company.

Jeff Hein of MGC said because his company leases most of its lines from Sprint, and having the upgraded system in Summerlin would be a benefit for his customers as well as Sprint's.

MGC presently does not offer Internet access service, but Hein said it is something the company may consider offering in the future.

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