Community Corner
No Plans to Expand Free Wi-Fi
There is no money in the city budget for the intended extension beyond the original Pier Avenue area.
With city-provided free Wi-Fi service in Hermosa Beach, residents and tourists can Google, Facebook, or tweet from anywhere on Pier Avenue between Pacific Coast Highway and Hermosa Avenue. But some want access in more areas.
"The Internet is almost like oxygen for us," said Sam Albertson, who was visiting town this week from Arizona.
The city tested this free broadband wireless service six years ago, covering the same four blocks it does today. According to a news release issued at the time of the launch, in Phase One of the project, nine access points were placed along Pier Avenue with Internet coverage reaching 35 percent of the city.
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Phase Two of the project, which would have expanded access to more areas around town, was scheduled to begin in 2005, but never did due to a lack of funding. The program has been running in its inaugural stage ever since.
"The city should expand, depending on the cost," said Hermosa Beach resident Mark Kovach, who thought expanding Internet access could be a waste of money.
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Maintaining the current coverage remains in the city budget, according to City Manager Stephen Burrell.
"It doesn't cost much to run the system now," he said. "About $2,000 to $3,000 a year."
The city's wireless Internet offers a speed of up to 6 megabytes per second, which is five times the speed of DSL. Many visitors to the city find the accessibility and quality to be cutting edge, said San Clemente resident Megan Burns, whose husband uses the city's Wi-Fi when he travels to Hermosa Beach on business.
"Hermosa Beach is a hip city, and I think the free Wi-Fi is progressive in that sense," she said.
The city keeps no records on how many residents or visitors utilize the service on a day-to-day basis.
"Though it is used for city functions, we don't make efforts to publicize it like we were doing when we started the test program," Burrell said.
To log onto the city's Wi-Fi, first access the "WifiHermosa" option in your Internet access icon. Once connected, open your Internet browser and type in the URL: http://www.wifihermosabeach.com/
