Details are still scarce on a Carbondale Main Street program to install wireless Internet in downtown, but Lt. Gov. Pat Quinn likened the Illinois Main Street organizations to Johnny Appleseed, spreading the high-speed Internet seeds throughout the state.

Quinn came to town Monday afternoon to give Carbondale Main Street a $17,000 grant to set up a wireless Internet network that would stretch for 30 blocks.

The announcement was made at the Town Square Pavilion downtown while several members of the City Council, Mayor Brad Cole and Carbondale Main Street executive director Roxanne Conley stood nearby. Cole said the wireless Internet should be available within the next 60 days, and Carbondale is taking the lead in technology.

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The grant is the result of an application that City Council members and Cole put together and submitted to the Illinois Main Street program, which is dedicated to historical preservation, tourism and local participation in democracy in communities in Illinois.

Conley said details on the service providers and equipment remain undecided.

“Everything is all in the process,” Conley said. “There are a lot of choices on the table for us to choose from.”

Conley also said Carbondale would help area communities, such as Murphysboro and Marion, in developing their own wireless programs in the future.

City Manager Jeff Doherty said the Carbondale Information Systems Division will provide most of the maintenance for the system once it is functional.

“Ideally, we would like to see Illinois as a wireless zone, but we have to build it step by step,” Quinn said.

He also said objections from local commercial Internet providers had not been a problem in areas such as Quincy, Belleville and Mount Vernon.

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“This allows for a lot of local participation,” Quinn said. “It sets up a start. It encourages local providers to come forward with their ideas and become a part of it.”

Alicia Wade can be reached at 536-3311 ext. 274 or [email protected].