Downtown Palo Alto could soon become a much faster place—as far as your computer is concerned.

AT&T is set to submit an application to the Palo Alto Planning Commission next month for its pilot program, which would bolster voice and data capacity to areas with a high density of mobile users, according to Lane Kasselman, spokesman with AT&T.

The project, known as a Distributed Antenna System (DAS), will be concentrated in a small area of downtown, according to Kasselman, and is made of smaller antennas connected to network equipment on existing telephone poles.

“Downtown Palo Alto has one of the highest concentrations of smartphone users in the nation— most of whom are surfing the Web, downloading music, streaming data and making calls," said Kasselman. "To help bolster capacity, AT&T is proposing DAS throughout downtown Palo Alto.” 

The project has already been well received by some Palo Altans.

“This is just another great reason to locate your business in Palo Alto,” said Maura McNulty, vice president of membership and marketing at the Palo Alto Chamber of Commerce. “I think this will make it easier for people to do business, because we are a mobile society." 

McNulty added that few could be troubled nowadays to look for an Internet café. So having faster Internet for the entire downtown area is a real “boom for our restaurants and businesses.”

AT&T does not yet have all the details of the plan—where it will be exactly and when it will happen, said Kasselman.

“While I’m not familiar with the specifics of the AT&T program, I think it’s a wonderful opportunity to have larger broadband capability," said Russ Cohen, executive director of Palo Alto Downtown Business & Professional Association.

"I think we need to take advantage of all the technology that surrounds downtown Palo Alto," he said.

Cohen added that he is interested to hear the Planning Commission’s feedback for the project.

Robert, a local Palo Alto writer who wished to leave out his last name, said he is “all for the project” but said he feels like technology is still not widely understood.

“I think today with radiation and WIFI, we’re just as far as we were 30 or 40 years ago with cigarettes and lung cancer—there’s too many viewpoints,” Robert said, adding that he is still waiting for more information on the project.

Kasselman said if the pilot project goes well, the location will be widened. Kasselman could not get data on the number of other California cities that have recently launched the wireless antenna technology by press time.