City creates four hot spots
By Terry Murry on Wednesday, December 15th, 2021 in Columbia Basin News More Top Stories
COLLEGE PLACE – Free, high-speed Wi-Fi hot spots are now operating in four locations in the College Place city limits to provide internet access to residents lacking reliable internet services at home. The hot spots were made possible by a 2021 AARP Community Challenge grant totaling $18,350 and PocketiNet Communications partnering with the city.
The internet is available at the following locations: Lions Park, 801 S.E. Larch Ave.; Kiwanis Park, S.E. Second and Date avenues; Veterans Park, 450 S.W. Doans Ave.; and the city of College Place Municipal Campus, 625 S. College Ave. It operates daily from 6 a.m. to midnight.
College Place has struggled with access to high-speed internet. When the community was first hit by the coronavirus pandemic, City Administrator Mike Rizzitiello saw the need firsthand. PocketiNet set up a temporary Wi-Fi hot spot in the College Place High School parking lot for students to do their homework.
“I am an avid bicyclist, and every time I rode past it, it was full,” Rizzitiello recalls. “I was expecting a car or two but not a whole armada of vehicles.”
College Place has not attracted a lot of the big internet players over the years, and some have pulled out, Rizzitiello said. The city hopes to eventually offer residents a publicly-owned, privately-leased service for high-speed internet.
