Expanding free WiFi to parks and public spaces in Essex County

Five regions for residents, businesses and visitors essex county After the launch of the new service on Tuesday, communities can now access free Wi-Fi in 21 parks and public spaces.

“This is a great opportunity to connect, especially for small and medium-sized businesses,” said Joanne Soave, CEO of Connecting Windsor Essex.

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Funded by a $422,000 federal FedDev Ontario grant, the municipality also partnered with private providers Gosfield North and WaveDirect Communications, and the nonprofit Connecting Windsor-Essex on the first public-private project.

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“With the various festivals and events held across the county, we looked at how many events a year there were where small businesses had the opportunity to make money, and unfortunately connectivity doesn’t allow that. Soave said.

“It was a cash-only environment. Now we can offer a cashless solution to small and medium-sized businesses. That alone is a great opportunity.”

The project will bring free Wi-Fi to several public parks, sports fields, arenas and marinas in Leamington, Lakeshore, Essex, Harrow and Kingsville. To connect, visitors simply click on the signal selection on their smartphone.

The project took three years and required no donations from the five municipalities. The federal grant covered most of WaveDirect’s installation costs, and Gosfield North also contributed by absorbing some of the costs.

This signal has a range of up to 2,000 feet from transmitters installed at various sites.

“We feel like we have a great framework that we can share with other southern Ontario communities,” said Noah Campbell, Windsor-Essex Connectivity Director of Technology Partnerships and Operations.

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“This was a pilot project to see if we could do it, and we proved we could.

“As technology continues to develop and grow, we need to continue to raise the bar (of coverage).”

Campbell added that two local telecommunications companies are ideal for the project, which was proposed by Connecting Windsor Essex. The nonprofit organization is tasked with expanding high-speed connectivity to the region.

“There’s only so much money you can spend, and it’s very expensive to put internet in the ground out of nowhere,” Campbell said.

“WaveDirect Communications at Gosfield North had an existing local infrastructure that they owned and were able to expand to as many sites as possible.

“They worked hard to identify ways in which they could connect as many sites as possible. They did a lot of that out of their own desire to connect their communities.”

MP Irek Kusmierczyk (L, Windsor-Tecumseh) said internet and connectivity are no longer considered luxuries needed to play on an iPhone. Ensuring inclusive connectivity in Canada is a critical component of the modern economy, which is why the federal government was keen to support this project.

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“In the 21st century, residents view Wi-Fi as infrastructure, just like roads and sewers,” Kusmieczyk said. “Wi-Fi is a critical infrastructure that connects residents in our communities.

“Imagine the spinoff effect on local businesses. When someone comes here for a soccer game and wants to find nearby restaurants and businesses, they can use Wi-Fi to find those businesses locally. You will be able to find it.”

The 21 new sites with free public access Wi-Fi are:

Coan Park (McGregor); Colchester Beach Port; Harrow Arena; Essex Sports Complex. Leamington Kinsmen baseball and soccer fields. Marcy Park (651 Point Pelee Drive); Comer Community Park. Millen Chevalier Park and Reg Chevalier Park in Woodsley. Lions Club of Bell River, Optimist, Lakeview, and Duck Creek parks, Lakeview Trail, Atlas Tube Center, Bell River Marina, and Bell River City Hall/Community Area. Ridgeview, Rotary and William Street Park in Cottam.

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