Carol Johnson, Southern Indiana Business Report
SALEM – A partnership in Washington County has brought public WiFi to the downtown square in Salem, a walking trail and park.
City and county officials celebrated with a ribbon cutting last week.
Free public WiFi will be available on the Salem square, the Salem walking trail and Pekin Park.
Judy Johnson, executive director of Washington County Community Foundation, said the project was funded by a Regional Opportunity Initiatives Digital Towns grant for digital inclusion. The grant amount was $41,667.
The Foundation partnered with the city of Salem, the sub-grantee, Washington County government and Jackson County REMC.
In addition to the grant, there was quite a bit of “sweat equity.” Johnson said Jackson County REMC identified what equipment needed to be purchased and county employees performed much of the site work.
Washington County is a 1 gigabit county, but having public WiFi in central gathering spaces was missing until now. Johnson said when the COVID-19 pandemic shifted workers and students to working and learning from home, it raised awareness about the need for public WiFi.
Having free access represents a possible solution for those who can’t readily access the internet, she said.
Anticipating that the public access might result in older adults acquiring smart devices, the Foundation offered free digital literacy classes.
“They were geared for seniors and were well attended, with about 15 to 20 in each class,” Johnson said.