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'Google Creek' rolls out free Wi-Fi
By Brendan Kearney
Tuesday, October 11, 2011
"Oh, Goose Creek Free Wi-Fi is now available," a surprised Dana Hellstrom read from her iPhone Monday afternoon as she sat behind her desk at Eckert Insurance Agency. "I've never seen this."
That's because just hours earlier, to the surprise and amazement of some, Goose Creek became the first city in South Carolina to have Google-sponsored, gratis-for-citizens wireless Internet.
And the Berkeley County municipality didn't even have to rename itself Google Creek.
A year and a half in the works, the public-private partnership was officially announced at a morning ribbon-cutting just a couple hundred feet from Hellstrom's desk along Central Avenue, which recently was repaved and re-landscaped. The road, which connects U.S. Highway 52 to St. James Avenue in downtown Goose Creek, forms the northern barrier of one of the four "hot spots" where city residents and businesses can connect to the Web without plugging in or paying up.
The Internet giant, which opened a $600 million data center a couple of miles up the road in 2008 and is building another on the same site, donated more than $167,000 for the equipment and first three years of maintenance.
Eric Wages, operations manager for the local Google site, said the city's progressing economic development plan made the investment a "no-brainer." Accepting Google's offer was similarly automatic, said Goose
Creek Information Technology Director Ryan Bird. "I know that they approached us and I jumped at the chance," he said.
Obtaining the necessary approvals took time, according to Bird, but installation began last month, and the service went live Monday.
In addition to the Central Avenue corridor, which is only partially occupied, the other three "hot spots" are City Hall, which is part of the Marguerite H. Brown Municipal Center; the Felkel Fields Sports Complex; and the Casey Community Center.
The hot spots are powered by a total of 31 antennae-spiked black boxes called nodes that are attached to buildings and lampposts.
Mayor Michael Heitzler wasn't the only one to admit yesterday that he doesn't know much about Wi-Fi. But the longtime mayor had no problem explaining why his city got Google Internet for its 50th birthday.
"Well, Goose Creek is the largest municipality in Berkeley County, it's the fifth-largest in the Trident region ... and we're the emerging communications center," Heitzler said. "I think if you want to be on the cutting edge of the tri-county area, you should come to Goose Creek. We're a well-kept secret that has been divulged."
Google has rolled out similar projects near its other data centers, such as in Lenoir, N.C.
Separately, Google recently held a national contest for a super high-speed (1Gbps) fiber network. Kansas City ended up winning earlier this year but not before several cities went to great lengths to woo Google, including Topeka, Kan., which renamed itself Google.
Mayor Heitzler said he fully intends to keep the wireless running beyond the first three years and even expand the hot spots. Bird said he has spoken with Comcast about continuing to provide its part of the Internet service going forward at "minimal cost" to the city.
Google, which has sponsored other civic activities in Berkeley County and expects to complete construction of its second $600 million data center next year, is also committed in the long term, Wages said, hinting Goose Creek might not be unique for long. "There could easily be something else in the future," he said.
'Google Creek' rolls out free Wi-Fi | The Post and Courier, Charleston SC - News, Sports, Entertainment
When I first moved to Goose Creek, it literally was a one-traffic-light town. It's really grown since then.
By Brendan Kearney
Tuesday, October 11, 2011
"Oh, Goose Creek Free Wi-Fi is now available," a surprised Dana Hellstrom read from her iPhone Monday afternoon as she sat behind her desk at Eckert Insurance Agency. "I've never seen this."
That's because just hours earlier, to the surprise and amazement of some, Goose Creek became the first city in South Carolina to have Google-sponsored, gratis-for-citizens wireless Internet.
And the Berkeley County municipality didn't even have to rename itself Google Creek.
A year and a half in the works, the public-private partnership was officially announced at a morning ribbon-cutting just a couple hundred feet from Hellstrom's desk along Central Avenue, which recently was repaved and re-landscaped. The road, which connects U.S. Highway 52 to St. James Avenue in downtown Goose Creek, forms the northern barrier of one of the four "hot spots" where city residents and businesses can connect to the Web without plugging in or paying up.
The Internet giant, which opened a $600 million data center a couple of miles up the road in 2008 and is building another on the same site, donated more than $167,000 for the equipment and first three years of maintenance.
Eric Wages, operations manager for the local Google site, said the city's progressing economic development plan made the investment a "no-brainer." Accepting Google's offer was similarly automatic, said Goose
Creek Information Technology Director Ryan Bird. "I know that they approached us and I jumped at the chance," he said.
Obtaining the necessary approvals took time, according to Bird, but installation began last month, and the service went live Monday.
In addition to the Central Avenue corridor, which is only partially occupied, the other three "hot spots" are City Hall, which is part of the Marguerite H. Brown Municipal Center; the Felkel Fields Sports Complex; and the Casey Community Center.
The hot spots are powered by a total of 31 antennae-spiked black boxes called nodes that are attached to buildings and lampposts.
Mayor Michael Heitzler wasn't the only one to admit yesterday that he doesn't know much about Wi-Fi. But the longtime mayor had no problem explaining why his city got Google Internet for its 50th birthday.
"Well, Goose Creek is the largest municipality in Berkeley County, it's the fifth-largest in the Trident region ... and we're the emerging communications center," Heitzler said. "I think if you want to be on the cutting edge of the tri-county area, you should come to Goose Creek. We're a well-kept secret that has been divulged."
Google has rolled out similar projects near its other data centers, such as in Lenoir, N.C.
Separately, Google recently held a national contest for a super high-speed (1Gbps) fiber network. Kansas City ended up winning earlier this year but not before several cities went to great lengths to woo Google, including Topeka, Kan., which renamed itself Google.
Mayor Heitzler said he fully intends to keep the wireless running beyond the first three years and even expand the hot spots. Bird said he has spoken with Comcast about continuing to provide its part of the Internet service going forward at "minimal cost" to the city.
Google, which has sponsored other civic activities in Berkeley County and expects to complete construction of its second $600 million data center next year, is also committed in the long term, Wages said, hinting Goose Creek might not be unique for long. "There could easily be something else in the future," he said.
'Google Creek' rolls out free Wi-Fi | The Post and Courier, Charleston SC - News, Sports, Entertainment
When I first moved to Goose Creek, it literally was a one-traffic-light town. It's really grown since then.
