Because of funding shortfalls, the completion of a project that would blanket all of Washtenaw County with free wireless Internet service remains at least a year away.

Washtenaw Wireless, a privately funded initiative to establish outdoor wireless access for the entire county, was originally supposed to be complete by December 2007, but the project fell behind schedule after several investors backed out.

Dan Skratek, Wireless Washtenaw project manager for 20/20 Communications, the company behind the project, said he's confident the project will soon have enough financial support to move forward. He said he expects the project to be complete in 16 to 18 months.

Originally estimated to cost $26 million, the project's cost has been reduced to $9 or $10 million, Skratek said. Skratek attributed the savings to improvements in technology since the planning stages of the project.

While many cities, including Ann Arbor, have supported the project by allowing 20/20 Communications to mount equipment on street signs and other public structures, no public or taxpayer money is being used to the fund the project. That's one reason the project has hit a snag.

"Private investors have been very interested, but they have been scared off by the skittish economy," Skratek said.

Once completed, a weak signal of 84 kbps would be beamed throughout the county and made available free to the public. The project is designed for exterior use only, as the signal is not meant to penetrate commercial or residential buildings.

For $35 a month, residents could extend the service to their homes or upgrade to a faster 500 kbps signal.

Currently, only about 30 of Washtenaw County's 720 square miles are covered by the signal.

Included in the pilot program are covers portions of the west side of the Diag, State Street, several blocks of downtown Ann Arbor and a 28-square-mile section of Manchester in southwest of the county.

Several other counties, including Oakland and Livingston counties, have similar programs in the works.

Last week, the city of Ypsilanti launched its own free wireless program with the help of a private donation.

Andy Palms, the University's director of Information Technology Communications, said the University has no plans to partner with the project to increase wireless coverage on campus.

Palms said that because all wireless signals share the same broadcasting spectrum, occasionally Washtenaw Wireless or University transmitters interfere with each other. For that reason, Palms said, the University has worked with Washtenaw Wireless to solve technical difficulties between the University's wireless networks and the program's network.

Palms said the University is beginning its own discussions about providing outdoor wireless signal on campus. He said the decision of whether to implement such a program would depend on student demand for outdoor wireless.

Some schools have already added outdoor access, like the Law School, which added a wireless network to cover the Law Quad, have already added outdoor access.

Palms said students tend to want more coverage in campus buildings rather than outdoor wireless access.

Ross School of Business junior Maciej Kowalski agreed.

"It would be better to have wireless in the dorms rather a signal outside," he said.

Many students said outdoor Internet access, either through Washtenaw Wireless or the University would be more of convenience than a necessity.

"It would be better to find a hotspot for a stronger signal than a weak one outside," said LSA freshman Julie Bateman.

Still, LSA sophomore John Witt said working outdoors might be more trouble than it's worth.

"It wouldn't affect me much," he said. "Batteries don't last long outside. There are no sockets outside to plug into."