(1.) U.S. Post Office, 179 E. Franklin St.
(2.) Old Town Hall (IFC Shelter), 100 W. Rosemary St.
(3.) Town Parking Lot 5, 108 Church St.
(4.) Hargraves Center, 216 N. Roberson St.
(5.) Chapel Hill-Orange County Visitors Bureau, 501 W. Franklin St.
(6.) 411 West Restaurant, 411 W. Franklin St.

Here is the whole announcement:

4. Chapel Hill Launches Wi-Fi Pilot Project

The Town of Chapel Hill this Friday will activate six Wi-Fi hotspots in the downtown area, giving the public free access to the internet along much of Franklin Street.

The provision of wireless internet service to citizens has ranked as a top priority goal for the Town Council. The launching of wireless hotspots in downtown is considered a pilot project and a step forward toward this goal. The hotspots, which show up on wireless devices as “TOWNofCH-WiFi,” are located at the following (see map at www.townofchapelhill.org/DocumentView.asp?DID=1904):

(1.) U.S. Post Office, 179 E. Franklin St.
(2.) Old Town Hall (IFC Shelter), 100 W. Rosemary St.
(3.) Town Parking Lot 5, 108 Church St.
(4.) Hargraves Center, 216 N. Roberson St.
(5.) Chapel Hill-Orange County Visitors Bureau, 501 W. Franklin St.
(6.) 411 West Restaurant, 411 W. Franklin St.

Bob Avery, information technology director, said users within 300 feet of a hotspot should be able to connect, although the ability to connect will depend on the capability of the user’s device and the amount of obstructions between the user and the antenna. For a street level user, trees, buses, trucks and buildings will all reduce the quality of the connection signal.

The Town will soon provide information to the public by website, media and signage to help promote the hotspots and explain how they may be used. More information will be provided at the homepage of www.townofchapelhill.org.

The hotspots have been installed using Clearwire modems. These are attached to standard Wi-Fi access points with high gain antenna to provide the signal for public use.

The Town will not provide direct user support but does hope to be able to respond to and resolve outages or other service problems as they occur. To report comments and problems, please contact the Town at wifi@townofchapelhill.org.

Tony writes: Four Corners, formerly Woody’s, formerly Four Corners… I’ve used their hotspot a few times on quiet Sunday afternoons. No ID/password necessary. I’ve only used it to do a little blogging so I can’t speak to how fast it is but it worked with no problems. ]]> http://www.chapelhillwireless.org/home/2007/08/28/four-corners/feed/ http://www.chapelhillwireless.org/home/2007/08/28/top-of-the-hill/ http://www.chapelhillwireless.org/home/2007/08/28/top-of-the-hill/#comments Tue, 28 Aug 2007 17:04:32 +0000 BrianR Business Review Top of the Hill http://www.chapelhillwireless.org/home/2007/08/28/top-of-the-hill/ Top of the Hill
100 E. Franklin St., Chapel Hill, NC
Network: Open - Write a Review

Tony writes: I’ve used it at the bar, but it gets a little weak outside on the patio. Again, no ID/password necessary to log in. ]]> http://www.chapelhillwireless.org/home/2007/08/28/top-of-the-hill/feed/ http://www.chapelhillwireless.org/home/2007/08/20/publicity-building-for-new-town-hotspots/ http://www.chapelhillwireless.org/home/2007/08/20/publicity-building-for-new-town-hotspots/#comments Mon, 20 Aug 2007 20:15:10 +0000 BrianR Chapel Hill http://www.chapelhillwireless.org/home/2007/08/20/publicity-building-for-new-town-hotspots/ Today I found two articles about the upcoming Town of Chapel Hill WiFi pilot project. The scheduled date for these hotspots being open to the public is September 1. (I’ll put the locations on the map once they are live.)

One article is from the Daily Tarheel. Then it seems that the wonderful site MuniWireless saw that and wrote a post about it. The momentum is building.

For this pilot project to work not only do the WiFi hot spots need to be where people will be but the Town needs to tell people where they are. A press release will help but it won’t be enough to encourage full participation.

Here are a few ideas for getting the word out. I hope that if the Town is really interested in the success of this pilot that they’ll consider these options. What ideas do you have? Please leave them in the comments.

First, mark the locations clearly where open public WiFi is present. The Town of Carrboro uses a internationally known symbol for an open wifi node.
There is a symbol like this on the door of the Century Center as you head towards the Cybrary. Still this bit of iconography is a bit geeky so some may be confused by it. I think english AND spanish signs that say; Public Wireless Internet Access Available Here, would be good.

Second, plot the WiFi hot spots on a map. Google maps are incredibly powerful tools that are free to use. Last year I created a map for local WiFi called Chapel Hill Wireless. It has pins on a map that you can click on and learn more about the spot. I’ve included WiFi from both Towns and from local businesses. (Sadly UNC’s wifi is NOT on this map. That network is closed to most citizens.) Since this map’s creation we’ve also gotten maps for other towns such as Durham Wireless and Asheville Wireless.

Third, hold events at the WiFi locations. Work with local tech groups like BlogTogether and University user groups to have lawn chair parties within range of the WiFi. I suggest people need to bring their own chairs because it looks like the majority of the pilot project will be conducted in parking lots. Sorta hard to sip coffee and talk to friends and family on asphalt. But I plan on doing just that.

I am sure there are even more creative ways to let people know about these new public resources. As I said in my comments before the council success of public WiFi relies on two way communication with people more than technology. WiFi for people before parking meters!