Free Wi-Fi in Congress Park
Officials say service good for residents, visitors
Public Wi-Fi is now available in Congress Park through a network called Saratoga Free Public.
Commissioner of Finance Michele Madigan initially announced the news during last week’s State of the City Address, and reaffirmed during Tuesday night’s City Council meeting that people can now use the setup to wirelessly connect applicable devices to the internet.
Last year, city officials decided to set up the free Wi-Fi system for the public. The initial setup costs were about $7,000. The public Wi-Fi costs the city $119.99 per month for the 100Mb internet feed. There’s an annual cost of $329 for support and maintenance on the WiFi equipment.
City officials views the initial setup as a starting point, saying they might make improvements to the connection and hardware
once they see how residents and guests use the network.
The project will improve Wi-Fi accessibility at Canfield Casino, which the city sees as a opportunity to make it a more attractive location for events as well as improving the online functionality for the facility itself.
Saratoga Springs worked with Adirondack Technical Solutions in Argyle for the initial proposal and hardware purchase.
Originally, Madigan aimed for the Wi-Fi to be ready some time last summer.
However, she said Tuesday that the installation took longer than expected.
Madigan thanked the IT department and the Department of Public Works for making the installation possible.
Madigan did note there are a few areas throughout Congress Park with limited connectivity, but the city’s working with Spectrum to correct the issues as soon as possible.
The goal was to first bring public Wi-Fi to Congress Park, and then other possibilities could open up.
Madigan mentioned last year a public-private partnership could be entered into to scale the free public Wi-Fi onto Broadway, and possibly over to the Saratoga Performing Arts Center.
Madigan said some real benefits should be seen this summer, with events such as the concerts in the park and Shakespeare in the park.
From a security standpoint, the city noted the public network has no link into the broader City Hall network.