Douglas County Commissioners fund Genoa Main Street Wi-Fi Project

If you've been to the Town of Genoa you know how challenging it can be to access the internet and check your email due to spotty, at best, reception. This will be a thing of the past as the town just received $20,000 from the Douglas County Commissions on August 6 to fund their Main Street Wi-Fi Project.

Much like the system recently installed in Virginia City, the project will add a full-scale Wi-Fi network in the Town of Genoa’s downtown corridor, allowing visitors to access the Internet, find out more about local attractions and recreational opportunities, retrieve e-mail or surf the Web. This new improved technology will allow for enhanced internet connectivity.

This project will also benefit vendors during the Genoa Candy Dance Art & Crafts Faire and the Genoa Cowboy Festival. Very small devices will be installed on the Town’s street lights and several buildings throughout downtown to create the mesh network. The new system will allow event vendors the opportunity to complete sales transactions via Squares or other data-enabled devices. This ability currently does not exist in Genoa and vendors in previous years, including the Town of Genoa itself, have had to turn away debit and credit sales due to the lack of connectivity.

“We are confident that providing the convenience of electronic payments to Town visitors will enhance candy and memorabilia sales during the Genoa Candy Dance and the Genoa Cowboy Festival,” said Genoa Town Manager Phil Ritger.

Economic Vitality Manager Lisa Granahan stated, “This idea for a Wi-Fi Mesh network came up when ordering light poles three years ago for the Genoa Main Street Destination Project. At that time, the poles were modified and equipped with the necessary features needed to provide future Wi-Fi service. It will be a great benefit to those visiting and doing business in Genoa.”

Access to the free Wi-Fi internet will be through a Town “splash” page that is designed to provide guests with useful information about current and future events as well as local attractions. The goal is to provide guests with information that will help them plan their current stay in Genoa and the Carson Valley, as well as plan future visits to the area. Users of the service will be required to agree to the Terms and Conditions of use before connecting to the network, and the agreement will identify and warn users of the potential security risks associated with the use of a non-secure public network.

- South Tahoe Now Staff Report