Dansville Area Chamber of Commerce is proposing the addition of Internet wireless access to downtown Dansville. However, local civic leaders have yet to buy into the idea.
Chamber President Bill Bacon spoke to village trustees about the ida at the board’s Aug. 14 meeting.
“We would like to make the central business district of Dansville wireless so that anyone with a wireless card can log on basically anywhere from Chestnut Avenue to Perine Street,” Bacon said.
The wireless technology proposed by the chamber would place two wireless access points on buildings on Main Street. Devices such as laptop computers, tablets and most smartphones would be able to connect to the wireless system anywhere in the three-block stretch of Main Street.
Bacon explained that the chamber is looking for a partnership with the village of Dansville and the town of North Dansville. The total five-year contract with Frontier Communications has a price tag just over $22,000, he said. Split three ways betweenthe village, town and chamber, it comes out to $1,476 per year for five years.
The chamber is also proposing selling advertising space on the network’s splash page — a web page that loads automatically when users connect to the network.
He called the proposal a win for everyone from businesses to residents, even for businesses that currently offer wireless access. Bacon pointed out that businesses that open their wireless networks may be exposing themselves to liabilities.
“This way you’re doing it right,” Bacon said. “The liability is by the user.”
Chamber member Tom Wamp voiced his support and explained that the idea came along with the opening of the Genesee Community College campus one block off of Main Street on Clara Barton Avenue.
The board of trustees did not agree to financial support, rather they questioned the proposal.
Trustee Don Sylor said he was concerned that the chamber did not talk to businesses. He related conversations he had with some downtown businesses that currently offer wireless access. Sylor said some business owners think creating a free wireless network that spans the entire business district will detract from businesses that use it to draw in customers.
“I would rather open it ip to the entire Main Street rather than see it as competitive,” Bacon countered.
Sylor also questioned whether the village, and in turn taxpayers, should be subsidizing Internet services to businesses and private residences.
“I think taxpayers should do everything they can to promote the central business district whether that be its residents or merchants,” Bacon responded.
Dansville Area Chamber of Commerce is proposing the addition of Internet wireless access to downtown Dansville. However, local civic leaders have yet to buy into the idea.
Chamber President Bill Bacon spoke to village trustees about the ida at the board’s Aug. 14 meeting.
“We would like to make the central business district of Dansville wireless so that anyone with a wireless card can log on basically anywhere from Chestnut Avenue to Perine Street,” Bacon said.
The wireless technology proposed by the chamber would place two wireless access points on buildings on Main Street. Devices such as laptop computers, tablets and most smartphones would be able to connect to the wireless system anywhere in the three-block stretch of Main Street.
Bacon explained that the chamber is looking for a partnership with the village of Dansville and the town of North Dansville. The total five-year contract with Frontier Communications has a price tag just over $22,000, he said. Split three ways betweenthe village, town and chamber, it comes out to $1,476 per year for five years.
The chamber is also proposing selling advertising space on the network’s splash page — a web page that loads automatically when users connect to the network.
He called the proposal a win for everyone from businesses to residents, even for businesses that currently offer wireless access. Bacon pointed out that businesses that open their wireless networks may be exposing themselves to liabilities.
“This way you’re doing it right,” Bacon said. “The liability is by the user.”
Chamber member Tom Wamp voiced his support and explained that the idea came along with the opening of the Genesee Community College campus one block off of Main Street on Clara Barton Avenue.
The board of trustees did not agree to financial support, rather they questioned the proposal.
Trustee Don Sylor said he was concerned that the chamber did not talk to businesses. He related conversations he had with some downtown businesses that currently offer wireless access. Sylor said some business owners think creating a free wireless network that spans the entire business district will detract from businesses that use it to draw in customers.
“I would rather open it ip to the entire Main Street rather than see it as competitive,” Bacon countered.
Sylor also questioned whether the village, and in turn taxpayers, should be subsidizing Internet services to businesses and private residences.
“I think taxpayers should do everything they can to promote the central business district whether that be its residents or merchants,” Bacon responded.
Robert Smith, general manager at Frontier Communications’ Geneseo office added that the system would be configured with a two-hour limit so residents and business owners would be unable to hog the network and it would be more attractive to customers pasing through the downtown area.
Smith also responded to concerns from Trustee Pat Kreiley about potential problems if network users engage in illegal or obscene activities. He said the system can be limited and access can be filtered. Access can be monitored as well, he said.
When questioned about other communities that offer wireless access, Smith said Fairport, downtown Rochester and Greece have similar systems in place. However, he noted that he knows of no community the size of Dansville currently uses the system offered by Frontier.
Mayor Peter Vogt asked about Canandaigua, where the city opens its wireless network and provides excess bandwidth in several public areas and businesses in the city. Smith was unable to comment on the system used in Canandiagua.
Trustee Jay Griffith wondered whether the wireless technology proposed was going to be obsolete soon, referring to increased use of smartphones to access the Internet through cellular phone services.
“Seven or eight years ago, that was the technology,” Griffith said. “To invest five years into a technology that is a dinosaur is not expedient for our community.”
The village board took no action on the chamber’s request to join as a partner in the wireless project. The Express was unable to contact town officials about town of North Dansville’s participation in the project.
