Downtown Auburn Hills is now laptop friendly after installing free Wi-Fi service for the quaint city center.
The new service allows anyone with a laptop or a smartphone to surf the Internet with wild abandon. This came about as one of the recommendations of the city's 2009 HyettPalma Economic Enhancement Strategy for the Downtown.
"That's what people said they wanted to see if they moved down to the area or work there," says Peter Auger, city manager for Auburn Hills.
Local leaders also see the service as a way to make the area a desirable destination. Other suggestions include increasing business development, making public improvements, and marketing and managing the downtown.
"We'll see where it goes," Auger says. "If it reaches the point where we should increase the bandwidth, that's a good story."
Auburn Hills-based Netarx, a Wi-Fi vendor, used Cisco equipment to make the service operational. The total price for installation came to $43,358.78, which was funded by the city's tax increment finance authority.
Source: Peter Auger, city manager for Auburn Hills
Writer: Jon Zemke
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