Storey Square readied for wireless Web
People who attend an upcoming event or just stop to enjoy a brown bag lunch in Storey Square in downtown Uniontown can bring their laptops or PDAs and surf the Internet for free thanks to a local service provider. Uniontown-based American Broadband installed a free wireless fidelity (Wi-Fi) hotspot in Storey Square on Main Street and is working on a Web cam that will transmit live images from the square to a new community Internet portal www.uniontownpa.us, which will be launched next week.
“We just wanted to give something back to the community,” said Paul Anderson, American Broadband’s technical operations director.
Anyone with a laptop or hand-held PDA with a Wi-Fi enabling card can access the Internet for free at the square, he said.
The portal will have a preliminary launch on July 14 and it will be expanded during the following month.
Company founder Stephen John of North Union Township decided to launch the hotspot and Web site because he wanted to be involved in the downtown revitalization that Joseph A. Hardy III kick-started and business owners supported, Anderson said.
“America Broadband installed the wireless hotspot in Storey Square to give the people who live, work and go to school in Uniontown an outdoor place to access the Internet,” Anderson said in a press release. “We decided to choose Storey Square because it’s a public gathering place. With recent renovations, along with the Summer Concert Series and Farmer’s Market, it was an ideal place to put a free public hotspot.”
The Web cam installation will be completed in a few weeks, he said.
“It will stream real-time video from Storey Square to the Web site,” Anderson said.
The Uniontown portal will offer a blend of content and features such as news, local events, sports, family and educational information as well as tools for small businesses and non-profit organizations.
American Broadband worked with USA Directory Information, an Ohio software firm, and McCarthy Public Relations to develop the portal.
“USA Directory Information is pleased to be working with American Broadband to provide Internet-based features and services relevant to the Uniontown community,” Christopher Miller, Director of USA Directory, said in a press release. “We look forward to a successful portal launch and partnership with American Broadband that will enable local businesses and organizations to expand their services to their customers and families and give them access to high quality content.”
Anderson said American Broadband has 20 employees in its Uniontown headquarters and has field offices in Atlanta, Ga., and St. Louis, Mo.