8/27/04

Holly Springs Goes to Wireless Internet Service
Town to Activate Public Internet Hot Spots in the Future

As Holly Springs grows and Town facilities are built away from the downtown Town Hall campus, the cost for providing phone and Internet connections to the remote facilities is rising while the travel time for employees who work in the field is increasing.

Solution: The Town of Holly Springs is implementing wireless Internet and phone service and is saving money in the process.

Added Bonus: The Town is considering opening wireless Internet service to the public at hot spots – designated locations in Town where anyone with a laptop equipped with a wireless Internet card could surf the web or send e-mail without being wired to a phone jack or cable outlet.

This August, the Town activated a point-to-point wireless system that connects different Town facilities’ Internet and phone services. The Town is also in the process of installing the wireless Internet network that could eventually allow police officers, building inspectors and engineers employed by the Town to file reports and download Town documents while in the field. The wireless network, when activated, would also support the public hot spots.

Point-to-Point Wireless Service

By connecting different Town facilities within the point-to-point wireless network, the Town saves money by consolidating Internet and phone services. Before the wireless network was activated, employees at the remote locations did not have high-speed Internet access. The lack of high-speed access limited productivity as the Town became more dependent on e-mail communications and file-sharing via a central document server located at Town Hall.

The point-to-point connection will also enable the Town to bring all office phone numbers into one system.

“The biggest advantage, as far as the public is concerned, is if a call comes in and someone needs to talk with a Town employee at a remote location, we won’t have to tell them to hang up and dial a different number; we can go ahead and transfer them directly,” said Chuck Simmons, assistant Town manager, who is overseeing the wireless project. “This is something people will definitely benefit from.”

So far, the different Town buildings connected with the wireless system include the Hunt Community Center at Womble Park and the Public Works Department building in the Holly Springs Business Park. The Town is determining if a connection to Bass Lake Park is feasible. When a new fire station is constructed on Holly Springs Road, the building will also be included in the point-to-point wireless service. The Town is currently working to consolidate the phone systems and on testing the service.

Wireless Network

The Town is in the process of installing a wireless Internet zone that will cover nearly 90 percent of the Town, to be completed by fall, 2004. This zone would allow employees in remote locations to file reports and download documents electronically without having to drive back to Town Hall.

“This will increase productivity for employees, such as building inspectors and police officers, because their offices will essentially be their vehicles,” Simmons said. “There will be future applications that we’re not even aware of right now.

Simmons added that the wireless network would allow for future capabilities, such as registering for parks and recreation programs on-site at the ball fields or accommodating video surveillance at remote Town facilities, in addition to creating public hot spots.

“There’s a lot of potential,” Simmons said. “The first step is to get it installed.”

Simmons said that the Town is planning on creating hot spots near commercial locations both for convenience to residents and to increase the draw to Holly Springs businesses.

“The public hotspots are something we feel like could be a valuable tool for promoting industry,” Simmons said.

Town of Holly Springs - PO Box 8 - 128 South Main Street - Holly Springs, NC 27540 - (919) 552-6221 - Holly.Springs@hollyspringsnc.us