Green Gets WiFi’d

The next time you’re downtown on the Green and need to send a quick email, an Instagram snap from a concert or simply find out when the next bus is coming you can do it without a cell phone data plan — though you will need a smartphone, tablet or laptop.

That’s because the Green has been WiFi’d.

Mayor Toni Harp along with members of her economic development team and the city’s controller joined the president and CEO of Spot On Networks and a New Haven Green proprietor Janet Bond Arterton Thursday to announce that the city will be providing free outdoor WiFi just in time for this Saturday’s upcoming concert.

For more than a year the city has been working to get the Green wired as part of the Harp administration’s ongoing efforts to bridge the digital divide. Harp said wiring the Green for connection is part of the city’s ongoing efforts to improve the public space. The Green has new LED lights that everyone can see and new underground conduits that people can’t see to improve stage sound and lighting. The city also purchased a new stage.

Harp noted that the WiFi is available just in time for Saturday’s free concert on the Green featuring The Stylistics. The city has evidence that the service will get plenty of use, especially during major events on the Green. There was a soft launch of the service nearly a year ago; usage peaked during the two hours before and after the EnVogue concert with around 3,000 devices logged on. Since then, more than 1,800 devices a day are using the service during the warmer months, while it drops down to about 700 per day when it’s cold. The city is expecting those numbers to continue growing.

“All those who attend will have access to free WiFi services as long as they’re here,” she said. Concerts and festivals attract thousands to the Green from around the region and access to free WiFi helps out-of-towners navigate the city. The Harp administration hopes it will help businesses near the Green attract customers.

The idea to wire the Green for WiFi came from City Controller Daryl Jones. Jones said Thursday that he got the idea while attending a United States Conference of Mayors conference in San Francisco, which like a growing number of municipalities offers public WiFi access. New Haven is a city that has been flexing its tech and startup muscles in recent years, and Jones didn’t see why there shouldn’t be public access in the Elm City.

He said with the support of the Board of Alders, the city was able to set aside $300,000 in capital funds to make the project happen. Spot On Networks was chosen to provide the service through a request for proposal process.

To access the WiFi connection all a person has to do is look for the network name ​“Historic New Haven Green” on a smartphone, tablet or laptop, and enter an email address. Jones said the city is looking to offset the monthly cost of maintaining the network by offering advertising opportunities to businesses on the landing page where people sign into the network.

Jones said wiring the Green is just the start. The city is looking for ways to wire other neighborhoods including Wooster Square and Lighthouse Point Park, and working with the Housing Authority of New Haven to wire communities like the new Farnam Courts on Grand Avenue as part of a citywide digital strategy.

“We’ve been working on this for over a year, working bugs and kinks,” he said. ​“I’m excited about it and it is a testament to the foresight and vision of the mayor and shows that she understands the fact that digital inclusion is so important to where we’re at today in this world.”

Janet Bond Arterton, a member of the Committee of the Proprietors of the Common and Undivided Lands of New Haven, which holds the New Haven Green in trust, said that wiring the Green keeps it open for all to enjoy.

Spot On Networks President and CEO Dick Sherwin said that WiFi has become an integral part of the infrastructure of cities and is a testament to Mayor Harp’s vision for the city.

Business owners interested in advertising opportunities can contact Jones or city Economic Development Officer Carlos Eyzaguirre.