When he needs some quiet time to get some work done, Brian Magee, director of the Montana Nonprofit Association, often hauls his laptop from his Ewing Street office down to the General Mercantile on the Gulch. But sometimes, he admitted, it's tough being away from e-mail and the Internet.

It's a problem Magee doesn't face anymore, as the Merc recently became one of eight downtown businesses to offer free wireless Web access through Montana Internet Corp.'s "One Helena Hotspot" wireless program.

"I like to come down here to write grants or work on budgets," Magee said. "Now I can do that work and still check my e-mail and stay connected."

General Mercantile owner Ray Domer said the wireless connection is another draw for customers to come and say a while.

"I've been wanting to bridge that gap for a while, so I was thrilled when I heard it was coming," he said. "Each summer more and more people come in with computers looking for wireless access."

Montana Internet director Chuck Siefert said that maintaining the wireless hot spots downtown and allowing free use is one way his 10-year-old company can give something back to Helena.

"We were just looking for something to do downtown to add a positive note to things rather than a divisive note," Siefert said. "This is something that's coming across the country, and we feel like we're in the best position to be a provider here."

In addition to the General Mercantile, wireless access through One Helena Hotspot is available at Taco del Sol, Gourmet to Go, the Green Iguana, Bert & Ernie's, the Windbag, the Panhandler and the Bagel Co.

The businesses, all of which are already served by high-speed hard lines, agreed to take on a wireless transmitter that's accessible within a couple hundred feet. After the businesses buy the necessary equipment, Montana Internet provides the bandwidth and expertise.

Customers who log on don't need to be Montana Internet customers, but there are advantages for those that are. Existing MI users can log on for as long as they want, while those who use other ISPs can log on as guests for two hours a day.

Across the country, cities large and small are contemplating or building access-all-areas networks. The most ambitious may be in Philadelphia, the largest city in the country geographically, which is eyeing a $10 million plan to make the city's 135 square miles wireless ready.

Smaller cities, like Chaska, Minn. (pop. 18,000), have also established blanket wireless coverage.

That may be a ways off in Helena, but with more and more hot spots cropping up, wireless Web users can log in from sites across town. Montana Internet established hot spots at the Staggering Ox in the Lundy Center last year and at the Helena Regional Airport this spring, both of which are popular, Siefert said.

John Harrington can be reached at 447-4080 or john.harrington@helenair.com.