The Andover City Council will vote Wednesday evening on a proposal to install three of five wireless Internet antennas on public land; two others will go before the Planning Commission on Tuesday. The monthlong process has been met with resistance from some residents.

The request is from Clearwire Communications, a Kirkland, Wash.-based firm, and if approved, could open the door to eventual citywide WiMax Internet service to Andover residents. Similar to Wi-Fi (the wireless service available in Minneapolis), WiMax has longer range but a weaker signal that can mean speed varies from place to place. Still, it offers the prospect of high-speed Internet access to areas not served.

According to Clearwire spokeswoman Debra Havins, each tower sends a signal with about a half-mile radius.

Two of the proposed antennas to be voted on tonight would be built atop water towers. "Our default is to look for existing structures to build on," Havins said. "That's what we always try to do first."

The third is a 75-foot freestanding tower to be built in Hidden Creek Park.

Of the two yet to go before the Planning Commission, one 120-foot tower would be near a rail line in Andover Lions Park; the other, 118 feet tall, would be a mile east in Shadowbrook East Park.

Park tower has critics

The Hidden Creek Park tower has raised the ire of some who live nearby. Andover resident Joseph Borsch objects to the use of park space for commercial purposes.

"It just doesn't belong there. That's the bottom line," Borsch said. "People belong in parks, not microwave towers. People go to parks to get away from that kind of thing."

He also expresses concerns about the safety of placing the antenna near sports fields and playgrounds.

Dickinson points out that the leasing of public land to Clearwire will bring revenue to Andover's parks, thus contributing to maintenance and improvements and increasing overall quality. Borsch, however, says that the benefits don't outweigh the costs. "I've voted twice to raise my taxes to pay for schools," Borsch said. "What little they're going to get from this doesn't seem worth it."

Clearwire has installed its WiMax system in 27 metro areas, said Havins. It has plans to provide service in Brooklyn Park and is building six antennas in Coon Rapids, some of which are located in parks. Clearwire hopes to expand into the rest of the Twin Cities metro area by the end of the year.

The company's WiMax technology is already operating in Atlanta, Chicago and Philadelphia, according to Havins. The system works similarly to cellular phone technology, creating a honeycomb coverage structure that can be expanded as user demands increase.

John Funk is a University of Minnesota journalism student on assignment with the Star Tribune.