Northfield Adds More Free, Public Wi-Fi Hotspots

Press release from the City of Northfield:

December 4, 2020

The City of Northfield has installed new Wi-Fi hotspots to help residents, businesses, and visitors access the city’s free wireless network more reliably in the Northfield Public Library and Northfield Ice Arena. More enhancements are planned for the Water Department Building and the Wastewater Treatment Plant.

The Library has a total of five wireless access points, three inside and two outside. This includes coverage to the south side, including the public parking lot across the street.

“We had a student email us that his internet had gone down and he was able to drive and park outside the library at one in the morning and finish his paper. He was very appreciative,” said Teresa Jensen, the Library and IT director.

The Ice Arena also has two new additional wireless access points, covering the bleachers and office area more completely and will have access points to provide coverage in the parking lot.

“We want to keep Northfield connected. With the pandemic, this allows people to sit in their car in one of our parking lots and hop on to Wi-Fi while remaining socially distant from others,” said Kurt Wolf, IT manager for the City of Northfield. “We've already noticed an increase in the number of people on the network. At the library, our wireless stats have gone from 5,607 hits in September before the new access points were put in to 11,060 hits in November. Almost doubling our wireless hits.”

Users can choose “Northfield_Guest” from their list of available Wi-Fi networks to access the public wireless network.

These Wi-Fi hotspots are in addition to the hotspot already installed at Bridge Square. The City is installing the Wi-Fi hotspots as part of a larger strategic plan to enhance tourism throughout Northfield, and provide a wider connection for residents.

This press release was produced by the City of Northfield. The views expressed here are the author’s own.