Town will go wireless

La Plata, library want Wi-Fi service

Wednesday, Oct. 28, 2009

The La Plata Town Council and the Charles County Public Library information technology staff are hoping to offer the wireless service by next year, said La Plata Town Manager Daniel Mears. Where exactly the service will be available in the downtown area has not been decided nor has a wireless provider been selected, he said.

The town council has wanted to pursue the project for the last couple of years, Mears said, adding that town residents have also shown a strong interest in Wi-Fi service in town.

"One of the challenges that the town council has had is we don't have an information technology staff at town hall," he said. "What makes a partnership with the library an attractive option for us is they've got technical staff that is more versed on how to put this together."

The estimated cost to obtain the equipment — a server that would be at the library on Garrett Avenue and several remote radio transmitters that would be affixed to electric poles and other places in the coverage area — is about $25,000, said Emily Ferren, library director. The town and library are working on a memorandum of understanding that will detail how the cost of the project is shared, she said, adding that officials are not yet sure what the ongoing costs of the service will be.

The town council will adopt the memorandum of understanding before the project starts, Mears said.

The library, town and Civista Medical Center pursued a $60,000 grant from the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation in January to kick off the project but it was not approved, Ferren said.

"A lot of people use the library's Wi-Fi now," she said. "I see them drive in the parking lot around five in the morning to use the service. They sit outside the library before driving to work."

Ferren said folks will be able to access the service at no cost, the same as Wi-Fi at the library.

Aaron Krebeck, the library's information technology manager, and Fred Lively, information technology consultant, are working with the town to launch the project.

Lively said having wireless Internet service will provide better access to information offered by the town and the library online because Wi-Fi provides a wider bandwidth that allows information to be viewed and downloaded more quickly.

"Anything that you can get on the Internet can be provided more efficiently and quickly with wireless service," he said. "It will make the downtown area more business- and information-friendly. It's a way for the library and the town to expand their reach to residents outside the four walls of a building."

Wi-Fi will prove handy to folks who do not have Internet service in their homes as well, Krebeck said.

"We realized that the town and the library have got so much content to offer the public but it's really limited to those who can afford Internet service," he said. "As economic times get rougher people and businesses that have Internet service will be fewer."

The service will also allow people who work downtown to leave their offices and still have access to the Internet, Lively said.

"It will give them the ability to not always be behind their desks," he said.

Nicki Grasso, owner of Island Music Co. on Charles Street, said her young clients would be thrilled to have wireless access while waiting for their music lessons.

"The customers would definitely enjoy it," she said. "It would probably bring more young people downtown, too. It's a good idea."

Charles Street Bakery on Charles Street already provides Wi-Fi service for its customers, said Mary Radcliff, an employee, adding many businesses would probably see a spike in customers if the service was widespread.

"It's a good thing," she said.

"We get a lot of college students who come here during their break. They come in early to do homework and purchase food and drinks. It's a great way to draw customers in."

Mears said Wi-Fi access will widen as time goes on.

"This is a test to see the viability of the system and measure the ease of use," he said. "The hope is it will be something that we can expand over time."

"It's an important service," said Mayor Roy Hale. "We want a pedestrian-friendly walking downtown and this is a way to promote that. We'll be able to use the service to attract more businesses to the downtown area and retain businesses, too."

Ferren said ultimately she would like to see Wi-Fi access throughout the downtown area.

"It's exciting stuff," Ferren said. "The economy is not great and anytime that we can offer a service that people need and want it's a win for everybody."

nmcconaty@somdnews.com