The Champaign City Council voted 8-0 in favor of installing and maintaining a free public wireless system in Champaign’s downtown area.

Pavlov Media, a local company with nationwide business, agreed to install the system on city-owned traffic signals for the use of the general public, free of charge.

So, what’s the catch?

“There really is no catch,” said Robert Grosz, the executive vice president and general manager of Pavlov Media.

“There’s not a lot of awareness about what we do. We just wanted to provide a community service,” Grosz added.

The service will operate throughout a five-block radius of downtown, including West Side Park.

Grosz said the service will be faster than dial-up and users can access it through their normal provider. It will be designed not to interfere with other signals, specifically those of the traffic lights.

“You may be able to use it inside buildings (in the area),” Grosz said. “But mostly the service is for (users) outside.”

The City Council also voted 8-0 in favor of equal sharing between the city and state for cost overages associated with the construction of a connection to Staley Road from the Sawgrass and Boulder Ridge subdivisions.

The city will be assigned to pay an amount no greater than $90,000 for each subdivision in constructing the secondary streets.

A related council bill stipulated that the portion of Staley Road from Springfield Avenue to Route 150 would transfer from state to city jurisdiction.

As part of the proposal the state will pay $2.9 million to upgrade and maintain the roadway, in addition to its 50 percent share of the cost of the subdivision overages.