DWBIA Boosting Wi-Fi Bandwidth in Downtown Windsor Core
After 8 years of providing free wi-fi in the city centre, the Downtown Windsor Business Improvement Association is investing in enhancing its wi-fi infrastructure, which in turn will improve connectivity and coverage. Residents living, working or partaking in social activities can connect to the free internet, with a myriad hotspots spanning Ouellette, Chatham and Wyandotte.
Having free and reliable internet in the core benefits many residents and visitors who can connect, share or learn with each other and local businesses. The goal is to generate more users with the influx of students attending St. Clair College and the University of Windsor downtown campuses.
Consistent and free wi-fi also contributes to those thinking about opening a business downtown or relocate into the core. The DWBIA currently estimates about 600 unique users per day, which would increase considerably with enhanced connectivity.
“It’s going to expand the network and the coverage,” said wi-fi specialist and contractor Steve Pierce. “It will also be able to handle more simultaneous users – over 2,000 people a day use the current system.”
Pierce has been hired to help this project move forward by installing wi-fi hot-spots attached to street lights so visitors, residents and students can have better access on the streets of downtown and “encourage people to come visit the downtown area.”
Other communities currently offering free downtown wi-fi includes Ann Arbor Michigan, London Ontario, Saskatoon Saskatchewan and more. Pierce wants to see downtown Windsor assimilate to communities successfully providing fast and reliable internet in their downtown cores.
