Fair next week will offer wireless internet for the public

Residents can hear about new broadband service being rolled out in county

Press Release, Orleans County United Way and Orleans County government

ALBION – For the first time the Orleans County 4-H Fairgrounds will offer wireless connectivity at the fair from July 24-29.

Wireless access has been provided in partnership with Ambient Broadband, Connect Orleans, and the Orleans County United Way. Fairgoers, vendors, and exhibitors will all be able to utilize this service by logging on to one of two free WiFi networks throughout the event, and after the fair at other events held on the grounds.

The service is donated by Ambient Broadband, Orleans County’s partner in creating a spider web of wireless connectivity throughout the county. The first phase of implementing the new wireless service is reaching residents living in the villages of Albion, Holley and Medina and the towns of Albion, Gaines and Shelby.  These areas have an opportunity to take advantage of significant broadband subsidies currently available.

Some of the funding for the creation of the wireless network comes from the Community Development Block Grant (CDBG) with the goal of increasing access to affordable internet services throughout the county. Orleans County government, the United Way, Ambient Broadband, and Cornell Cooperative Extension’s Orleans Digital Literacy Initiative have partnered to create Connect Orleans, a coordinated outreach effort to inform residents of these communities of cost savings benefits from the CDGB funded project.

 “We have until mid-November to prequalify households for a grant that pays for free installation of wireless broadband service and free equipment, a $650 benefit,” said Nyla Gaylord, acting executive director for the Orleans County United Way. “We are also screening people to see if they qualify for the Affordable Connectivity Program (ACP) which can save them $30 a month on the broadband service.”

Many households are saving more than $100 a month by switching to wireless internet and unbundling from expensive cable packages, Gaylord said.

“With a surge of interest in saving money on internet service, we wanted to provide fairgoers the opportunity to try the service and also to learn more about how they can embrace streaming media technology instead of continuing to pay inflated monthly bills for hundreds of TV channels they never actually watch,” said Kevin Reagan, the Managing Director of Ambient Broadband.  “Jack Welch, Orleans County’s Chief Administrative Officer (CAO), suggested the idea of making wireless service available at the fairgrounds. We thought that was a great way to let people try before they buy.”

Kevin Reagan will be at the Fair on Thursday through Saturday conducting workshops in the Education Center specifically on how to save money using the internet and streaming technology instead of a traditional cable service. In partnership with the Orleans Digital Literacy Initiative, and the United Way, a publication “How to Unbundle from Cable” will be available free at the workshops and at the Connect Orleans table.

Robert Batt, Fair Coordinator and Executive Director of Orleans Cornell Cooperative Extension, encourages people to check out the new “Cyber Café” at the Fair.

“Fairgoers can sit down and charge their phones and talk with the Connect Orleans team,” Batt said. “Digital Literacy mentors from the Orleans Digital Literacy Initiative will be available to answer questions about using internet-based technology.”

There will also be a free drawing for a 10-inch Amazon Fire tablet, as well as opportunities to receive free Google and Roku streaming devices and household HDTV antennas.

The United Way team of two Connect Orleans outreach workers, Sharon Quill and Karen Sanders, will be at the Fair in the Lartz building from 3 p.m. to closing, Wednesday through Saturday, answering questions about how to save money by using the new wireless service and helping low-to-moderate income households in the villages of Albion, Holley and Medina and the towns of Albion, Gaines and Shelby prequalify for cost savings benefits.

“It’s been a long time coming but Orleans County, through our partnership with Ambient Broadband, continues to rollout new wireless internet service across much of the county with residents being connected to the service every day,” said Welch, the Orleans County CAO. “We are so pleased that Ambient Broadband has established free wireless internet service at the Fairgrounds in time for the County Fair.”