Year in Preview: Public Wi-Fi

Five public locations in Homewod will have a Wi-Fi signal by the year’s end, thanks to funding from the City of Homewood.

Wi-Fi at the Senior Center and part of Patriot Park went live in November, and Lee Park, West Homewood Park and Homewood Central Park will also have the service in the coming months.

Central Park should go live around the time that the new community center is complete, according to James Yates, head of information technology for the city.

All five networks received funding for the 2013-2014 fiscal year from the City Council. The equipment and start-up costs for the first five networks will cost around $16,000, and yearly costs to provide firewalls and content stations will be $1,680 per station.

Once the project is completed, the different systems will form a single network so residents can sign in once and move anywhere around the city without losing their connection.