Columbia, MD – Downtown Columbia, MD, lakefront residents will now have access to free WiFi after a Howard County Executive announcement in late April.
According to the The Baltimore Sun, FreeHoCoGov, a WiFi network, will now extend throughout Lake Kittamaqundi and will push to provide free WiFi to outside buildings throughout the county as well.
A few months ago, the same company expanded their free Internet reach to Main Street in Ellicott.
“This is more than an amenity for people who work or live downtown,” Allan Kittleman, Howard County Executive, said. “This is part of a strategy to ensure we are providing the necessary tools that keep this area viable, thriving, and competitive for many years to come.”
According to Sun Microsystems, 60% of people use time that would be spent commuting to be productive and work from home. Free WiFi would increase the opportunity for employees of certain businesses to work remotely.
This all comes after a two-year-long community effort to have access to free Internet in Howard County. The movement now addresses the Internet needs of 80% of the 15,000 residents who previously had no access.
On April 25, Kittleman also announced that more businesses and developments will join the county’s Intercounty Broadband Network connection (ICBN) network. The expansion — which uses no taxpayer dollars — used $115 million that was provided by a federal stimulus grant and $45 million in state funds.
In 2013 a 4,200-square-mile fiber optic network was installed to kick off the project. Chris Merdon, Howard County’s technology director, said that over the last month, more than 2,000 unique visitors connected more than 20,000 times to test the free county Internet.
This WiFi project included a one-time installation cost of approximately $125,000.
Other organizations are following suit as well when it comes to free WiFi. The Delaware County Times reports that more than 700 Wawa stores in Delaware, Florida, Maryland, New Jersey, Pennsylvania, and Virginia now have access to free WiFi after collaborating with Comcast.
