Lenoir launched free wireless Internet in its downtown this week. Hickory says it's not far behind.
Lenoir's project, the Lenoir Municipal Wi-Fi Network, means anyone with a wireless-ready computer can get online downtown. It covers a half-mile radius in the town, starting around the intersection of West and Main streets.
Google, which has a data center in Caldwell County, helped the town launch the project with a donation of $110,348 for equipment. The company also paid $15,000 to host the landing page, the first Web site downtown wireless users will see when they connect to the Internet.
Hickory plans to launch its downtown wireless Internet in the coming year, said Mandy Pitts, the city's public information officer.
People will have access downtown around Union Square and Trade Alley.
Right now, the city is in the final stages of its wireless Internet disclaimers and other details, Pitt said.
An official announcement of the Internet project should come in January.
The ability to offer a free wireless connection comes from a surveillance camera system the city recently installed downtown. Because the cameras use wireless Internet, it only required a few additions to give people in the area access.
It's hard to find numbers that prove a wireless connection provides an economic boon for cities or towns, but any attraction that draws people has some benefit, said Jim Chandler of the Western Piedmont Council of Government.
There also is debate around the issue of local government providing free or low-cost Internet, Chandler said. It is sometimes seen as encroaching on private business.
He points to a proposed law, House Bill 1252, that appears to put additional restrictions on when and how local governments in North Carolina could become Internet providers.
"There is government interest in bringing (Internet) access to the masses so everyone has those advantages," he said. "But there's disagreement over whether there's a role for the public sector."
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