The city plans to spend $15K on installing the equipment
Gilroy – Downtown Gilroy is six weeks away from getting “lit up” – technology parlance for transforming an area into a wireless hot spot for Internet access.
Planning commissioners last week gave the green light to the city’s technology department to begin installing equipment for a wireless network along downtown Monterey Street. The signal, relayed from atop Old City Hall and traffic lights between Fourth and Seventh streets, will provide businesses, residents and shoppers with a free high-speed Internet connection. The only requirement is a laptop, hand-held device or cell phone capable of tapping into the signal.
While business owners in the downtown area are focused right now on weathering a major overhaul of streets and sidewalks, most view the service as a small but important step toward restoring the downtown’s allure as a local destination.
“It’s going to be exciting,” said Larry Mickartz, a representative of the Downtown Business Association. “That will be one more thing we can advertise and work with folks on, one more reason to come downtown. It’s also a (selling point) when we try to get restaurants downtown.”
The city plans to spend $15,000 installing the equipment and will operate the system on a trial basis for at least six months, according to David Chulick, the city’s information technology director. While other cities hire private companies to set up antennas and provide wireless service, Gilroy is taking a more methodic approach to determine the needs of the city and local businesses and residents. The trial period is intended to help officials figure out how much bandwidth – or portion of the wireless signal – the city requires for its own communication needs. That will determine how much is left over for public use. Ultimately, officials expect to offer free wireless service to all residents and potentially businesses. They have yet to decide if the city or a private Internet Service Provider will operate the service.
When it comes to keeping pace with new wireless technologies, Chulick said the city is in the middle of the pack.
“We may be a little bit ahead of some places,” he said, “but if we don’t keep on going, we’re going to fall behind.”
