When summer is at its busiest in downtown Juneau It’s not difficult to spot the jammed-packed streets, crowded city buses, and the long lines in dining establishments. In recent times, both visitors and residents alike have had to contend with a different indication of summer slowing cell phone services.
The span style=”font-weight 400 ;”>”On an empty ship day, this works well,” said Chris Murray who is the City and Borough of Juneau’s director of IT. “But when you’re dealing with many more people, the system becomes congested and no one is happy. .”
Tourism manager Alexandra Pierce said complaints have grown since the 2022 tourism season that witnessed over 1 million passengers on cruise ships during Juneau for the first time in three years.
” style=”font-weight 400 ;”>”Since the industry was reinstated in the last year, we’ve received quite a lot of complaints and questions about whether or not cruise ships contribute to this problem,” she said. “And they certainly are. .”
In attempt to free up space on cell phone networks city officials are thinking of the expansion of public Wi-Fi in the most crowded areas of downtown in the peak tourist season.
The span style=”font-weight 400 ;”>”The cell networks only have a limited quantity of bandwidth,” Murray said. “If we could cut off a portion of the passengers to public Wi-Fi, it lets space on cell networks. .”
Wi-Fi can reduce the amount of virtual and physical congestion
The city’s leaders have utilised Wi-Fi for public use to ease traffic congestion in the Juneau Public Library.
Prior to the time that The library introduced Wi-Fi in Marine Park in 2018, visitors and crew members” would frequently visit the branch in downtown to surf the internet. City officials have reported that more than 100 users used the WiFi at any given time during summer sitting in the chairs and desks.
*span style=”font-weight 400 ;”>”It caused some congestion issues for them.” Pierce said.
Yellow signs at the library and in the vicinity of the elevators advertise free Wi-Fi service in Marine Park, which is accessible between 7 a.m. until nine p.m. throughout the peak tourist season. Although Wi-Fi connections within the library are limited to an hour, connections at Marine Park last up to 24 hours.
It’s a good thing. style=”font-weight 400 ;”>”I believe it’s eased the burden on the library a bit,” Pierce said. “Especially in the summer when it’s pleasant .”
As well as reducing physical crowding within the library In addition, the Marine Park Wi-Fi helps reduce the congestion on Juneau’s cell phone networks. When users use this Wi-Fi, it frees up space on networks operated through cell phone service companies such as AT&T as well as GCI. The networks could slow when there’s a large crowd of people.
It’s a matter of style=”font-weight 400 ;”>”If you’re in Marine Park and you’re on Wi-Fi, you’re connected to the city’s WiFi and somewhat not part of the issue,” Pierce said. “All of your iMessages and WhatsApp and even your Instagram account about Juneau are all being transmitted over Wi-Fi, not using the 5G or 4G network. .”
The expansion of the city’s Wi-Fi network would allow more people the chance to switch off the 5G and 4G networks, and also free up space for those who utilize their phones.
What is required to grow
The IT department of the city is trying to gauge the interest of internet service providers in setting up and managing Wi-Fi within an area of three square miles downtown. The city has issued an information request, that gives internet providers the chance to inquire about the project in question and aids city officials to get an idea of the cost and technical requirements.
In accordance with the demand the city’s request, the new Wi-Fi service will only operate during the daytime hours from April to September. the work would not start until July 2024. The providers can answer the request of city officials up until November. 8.
Murray declared that the three-mile stretch will begin with the statue of the whale and continue down the river to its south.
“We must connect a variety of access points from the whale statue to the south by bouncing it off poles of light and adding lots of infrastructure,” he said.
Murray stated that the request for information will to determine if it’s feasible, given variables like the building’s height and distances between poles for light.
Murray explained that many of the light poles along the stretch are part of Alaska Electric Light & Power. Nearby structures belong to the city, the state as well as private property owners. The provider must collaborate with them all to make the Wi-Fi upgrade occur.
“We’re seeking an organization that is experienced in working with multiple organizations in an area that is tight,” he said.
If city officials opt to proceed with the idea, Murray said the next step is to find a source of funding. Following that the city can issue an invitation to tender and sign a contract with a service.
The can be the source for the marine passenger fees.. It is possible that the Juneau Assembly and Cruise Lines International Association Alaska will have approval to spend the money for the project.
Marine charges for passengers are the cost for the Wi-Fi at Marine Park, which is supplied by local firm SnowCloud Services. The city paid $7,800 to establish the facility and costs around $1,900 each season to operate it.
Internet providers have already set up temporary Wi-Fi hotspots prior to. Then, in May of 2020 Alaska Communications set up public Wi-Fi hotspots at parking areas for schools within Anchorage and Fairbanks to allow students to access the internet after schools became remote.
Other communities offer Wi-Fi all year long. In Seattle the city provides free Wi-Fi in public libraries as well as a number of community centers. In addition, throughout Hawaii there are state-designated hotspots that provide an hour of free Wi-Fi for each device per day.
If Juneau’s plans move forward it could be the most recent way the city is able to handle record-breaking tourist numbers during the season.
