HANOVER COUNTY, Va. (WRIC) — A free public Wi-Fi network has launched in the Town of Ashland, giving residents and visitors another reason to rejoice when spending quality time in the historic district.
The network, which launched on Monday, Oct. 24 with a ribbon-cutting ceremony in front of Ashland Town Hall, is the result of a partnership with Connected Solutions Group, LLC (CSG), according to a press release sent by the town.
“We’ve been discussing the deployment of free public Wi-Fi in our historic downtown for years,” Ashland Deputy Town Manager Matt Reynal said. “We recognize that it will attract even more people to the Center of the Universe and help support our tourism economy.”
There are currently four network hubs to support the service, which is set to provide maximum coverage for those using Internet in the downtown area. According to the release, the hubs are located in the Town Hall, the Ashland/Hanover Visitor Center, Ashland Theatre and the Ashland Police Station. Depending on usage and performance, more hubs may be added in the future, the release said.
The new Wi-Fi network will also support the needs of business owners.
“Our downtown businesses, especially our restaurants and cafes, have been telling us for some time that their existing Internet service was not sufficient to run their point of sales systems while also providing free Wi-Fi to their customers,” Reynal said. “Our hope is that the Town-sponsored free downtown Wi-Fi network will take some of the burden off those businesses and provide a valuable service to our visitors and this community.”
Check out a coverage map of the areas serviced by the new network. To log on to the network, enter the coverage zone and select “Town of Ashland Guest WIFI.”
