Up to 7,800 people at a time will be able to use the high-speed internet, said the city’s chief information officer, Steven DeBerry.
“I think the city of Norfolk is really leading the way in this free public access,” DeBerry said.
The city is partnering with WHRO in Park Place and planning to bring the same kind of Wi-Fi to at least two other neighborhoods in the next year, but it hasn’t decided which ones, DeBerry said.
Norfolk libraries have long had free Wi-Fi. It’s also available at the MacArthur Square train station and soon will be offered at Town Point Park.
But this is the first time an entire Norfolk neighborhood will have Wi-Fi. It’s part of a broader effort to improve access for businesses and residents.
DeBerry said he doesn’t know how much the Park Place installation will cost, but it won’t be “astronomical.”
The service will use the hard-line internet at Monroe Elementary School. A device called a concentrator will be installed there to send a wireless signal across the neighborhood, DeBerry said.
That signal will go to about 61 “nodes” on telephone poles around the neighborhood that will function like residential routers. Each one can connect as many as 128 users at a time.
DeBerry said exact connection speeds will depend on the equipment, but the service will be “very high speed” and should be able to handle heavy loads – even everyone streaming movies on Netflix at once, for example. It could replace home Internet service , he said, or provide service to people who don’t have it.
WHRO will maintain the equipment once it’s up and running. Bert Schmidt, president and CEO of the station, said it has the staff to help thanks to its online and educational efforts.
Schmidt said he’s excited to help connect people who don’t have service at home.
“Internet now is a little bit like water,” he said. “Everybody needs it. It’s not a luxury anymore. Many of us take internet for granted, but there are still people who don’t have access.”
Park Place, which includes the 35th Street business district, is north of Ghent and west of Granby Street. The once-thriving neighborhood was in decline for decades, with storefronts vacant and rising crime. But in recent years, the city has worked with residents and businesses to revitalize the area.
“There are a lot of exciting things that are happening,” said Beverly McDonald, who is opening a restaurant, Croaker’s Spot, in the neighborhood next month.
The city has provided matching grants to help property owners fix up building facades, said Vernon Fareed, president of the Park Place Business Association. He used a grant to remodel one of three units he owns.
And Norfolk officials have been talking to residents about how to use $200,000 more in city money for other upgrades, which Fareed said could include street improvements.
Business owners said free internet will help bring more people to the neighborhood.
Randy Baker, who owns the restaurant Granny’s Country Cooking and already has Wi-Fi there, said he sees a lot of people using laptops while they eat.
In a presentation Tuesday to the City Council, DeBerry outlined other ways the city is working to improve internet access.
Norfolk has renegotiated its deal with Cox to get higher-speed service at a lower cost for city and school buildings, DeBerry said. It’s planning to expand the fiber network that connects schools and city buildings.
Norfolk also plans to renegotiate its Cox franchise agreement and try to attract other providers.
DeBerry pointed to the city’s recognition from major technology firms.
Last year, Google named Norfolk an “eCity,” saying its small businesses had the best online presence of any city in Virginia. And this fall, Norfolk will host a “Smart City symposium” with Microsoft.
©2016 The Virginian-Pilot (Norfolk, Va.) Distributed by Tribune Content Agency, LLC.
