Ocean City seeks new way to surf at beach
Posted on Friday, February 9th
OCEAN CITY — Forget the sun, the sea gulls and the saltwater taffy.
Ocean City wants to offer instant messaging, eBay shopping and Halo death matches.
The resort hopes to become the first in New Jersey to offer wireless Internet from
its beaches to its bay.
Under the proposal, residents would get free broadband access to the Internet while vacationers would have to pay for the privilege of surfing the Web at the surf's edge.
Despite the fee, wireless Internet would be a huge attraction for many workaholic vacationers, said Max Hurst, the city's technology expert.
“I won't stay in a hotel unless it has broadband connectivity, Hurst said. “It's such a struggle to balance family time and work that everyone needs to stay connected. A vacation destination that offers Internet connectivity, that's just that much more appealing.
Along with the tourism angle, the city expects to save at least some money on cellular phones and improve efficiency, especially in departments such as code enforcement. Inspectors can call up records remotely using handheld devices instead of traveling back and forth from a job site to their office.
Ocean City with a year-round population of 15,500 swells to more than 130,000 in the summer. Visitors regularly call City Hall to ask about cafes or hotels with Internet access, Hurst said.
The Homestead Hotel (download Homestead Hotel brochure)can attest to the attraction of wireless Internet. The hotel's new Beach Block Internet Cafe was very popular last year, front desk receptionist Sheryl Ireland said.
The cafe sells bagels, muffins and breakfast sandwiches and is home to the “buck a cup coffee.
“We opened in July. We had a lot of people coming in to use their laptops, Ireland said. “You'd think they'd leave them behind. But I noticed a lot of times early in the morning the men would be in here using their laptops before going back to their rooms and loading up the wife and kids to go to the beach.
Ireland said she thinks wireless Internet would be a huge hit in Ocean City. But she added, “I don't think I'd take my laptop to the beach. The city hired MRI, an Atlanta consulting firm, to develop a business plan for wireless Internet.
MRI President Jonathan Baltuch said Ocean City is a good candidate for this public project because of its compact size at 6 square miles and dense summer population. Under the proposal, the city would buy and install shoebox-sized transmitters on light poles. It takes about 25 of these boxes to cover 1 square mile. With its grid of avenues and streets, Ocean City would be relatively simple to plot, he said.
“What's unique is they want to provide this as a free public service to year-round residents, Baltuch said. “They're a very progressive community.
The city's proposal theoretically would put Ocean City in competition with private Internet service providers.
In a statement, Comcast spokesman Fred DeAndrea said he does not see it that way.
“We generally do not view proposed municipal wi-fi networks as a competitive threat, he said. “Comcast's high-speed Internet service is faster and more fully-featured. We offer the quality, reliability, security and 24/7 customer service unlikely to be available through municipal-run wireless networks.
The company offers features that Ocean City likely could not, DeAndrea said.
The Cape May County Library already offers free dial-up Internet access to its patrons from their homes or offices.
Ocean City will have a business plan completed by March and hopes to offer wireless Internet in the first part of 2008, Business Administrator James Rutala said.
The city's library will pay the initial expenses, which could be considerable. The city expects to recover its costs through fees much as it does with beach tags.
Whether Ocean City will offer advice on the best way to remove sand from a laptop is another question.
To e-mail Michael Miller at The Press:
MMiller@pressofac.com
