Wi-Fi coming to Hub City parks

HATTIESBURG, Miss. (WDAM) - Soon, Wi-Fi hotspots will be installed at some of the parks around the Hub City.

City leaders say this is in response to the COVID-19 pandemic where many community members struggled to gain access to the internet.

“As we saw through COVID, people want to be able to get outside and being outside and being able to utilize a computer and work on your computer of the phone to work through Wi-Fi that’s going to be provided by the city, I think will just expand opportunity for people that may not have that opportunity to have that Wi-Fi at their house,” said City Council President Jeffrey George.

The project is funded through the Cares Act. The funding was allotted back in 2020 and focused on making sure communities were prepared for a future pandemic or shutdown.

“What we saw as a community and what we heard from our residents with surveys, is that connectivity and Wi-Fi was an issue, particularly in some of our areas that are more disadvantaged in wards 2 and 5,” said Hattiesburg Mayor Toby Barker. “That’s why those 8 sites were put forward in this proposal from c-spire so we’re excited to see this work get going.”

The Wi-Fi hotspots will be installed at eight parks including Tatum Park, Vernon Dahmer Park, Chain Park, Duncan Lake, Dewitt Sullivan Park, C. E. Roy Walking Trail and East Side Park.

Right now, there is no set time frame for this project, but it is expected to be in the works by Spring 2024.

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