Making connections: Free Wi-Fi coming to three small WNC towns

In the last eight years, Sara Bell has heard a list of reasons why the Internet connection stopped working at her business in downtown Saluda.

"Your security system is interfering," one technician told her.

"It's an old building," said another.

"You might be having trouble with the cable line," another person suggested.

It's reached the point that Bell now pays two service providers for Internet access to guarantee Green River Adventures has a connection to the World Wide Web.

"We pay over $400 a month, and it can still be unreliable," Bell said, estimating her business loses service 10-45 times a day.

But every month, Bell forks over money for the service because Internet access is a necessity for businesses and consumers alike.

"People expect their phones to be able to work and have Internet wherever they are," said Bell, who owns Green River Adventures and The Gorge Zipline with her husband, Tim. "Our business is the same way. Our entire reservation system is web-based. Everything we do relies on the Internet — and we're a whitewater guide service. If the Internet goes down, we don't know who's going to show up for a trip today."

That need for digital connectivity is why PANGAEA Internet, a nonprofit in neighboring Tryon, exists today. In its 15 years of operation, PANGAEA has built 200 miles of fiber optic network in Polk and Rutherford counties and is now trying to bring free public Wi-Fi to downtown Chimney Rock Village, Lake Lure and Saluda.

"Broadband is the one piece of infrastructure that is critical for today's economy. Before, you needed the interstate. Today, you need Wi-Fi," said Earl Ghol, federal co-chair of the Appalachian Regional Commission.

Though bringing a high-tech service to areas known for tourism and spotty cell reception is no small task, it is something PANGAEA has experience doing in Western North Carolina.

The pilot

In its 2010 strategic plan, the town of Tryon identified six goals it wanted to achieve in the coming years along with the ways it planned to do it.

Under a goal of encouraging business development was this strategy: "Provide high-speed wireless Internet access in the downtown area."

Last year, PANGAEA made it happen.

"Tryon was our first market," said Ron Walters, executive director of PANGAEA Internet. "And, really, it was frustration in the Tryon community that really got our efforts started."

When Tryon residents found themselves disappointed in a lack of overall Internet options about a decade ago, rather than accept their digital dead zone, the community organized itself.

"Some of the business leaders, the library director and school IT guys got together and tried to figure out ways to bring higher-speed Internet to this area, and found some grant money from what was then the North Carolina Rural Internet Access Authority," Walters said.

First, PANGAEA built fiber optic lines in Polk and Rutherford counties. Walter said the next logical step was to bring Wi-Fi to downtown Tryon.

Tryon Town Manager Joey Davis said today Wi-Fi has become a source of pride for the downtown district.

"Since the town and PANGAEA implemented the Wi-Fi project, we've seen a really big boom. Empty storefronts now have businesses in them," said Davis. "Last year, our sales tax numbers were higher than they have ever been in my entire time as town manager, and our numbers are projected to be even higher this year."

While some of that sales tax is likely coming from the new Tryon Equestrian Center, Davis said the Wi-Fi service has certainly played a part in the town's growth.

"A long time ago, I think people looked at Tryon as a 'head in a bed' place where you stayed a couple of days. Though we still have bed and breakfasts, we have less than we did before and we are now more likely to see day trippers who drive up here, shop and then head back to their place of residence," he said. "But you'll see people out there with laptops, iPhones and iPads. This (Wi-Fi) is obviously a sign of something good going on here in Tryon."

Now PANGAEA wants to spread that good around to Tryon's neighbors.

Though the work is far from over, preliminary results are positive.

The plan

Stu Davidson, PANGAEA's operations director, said areas where they have already started providing Wi-Fi in Chimney Rock, Lake Lure and Saluda are doing better than anticipated.

In the last month, more than 11,000 users have connected to PANGAEA's wireless network, which includes Chimney Rock, Lake Lure, Saluda and Tryon.

To do this work, the nonprofit recently secured a $31,850 grant from the Appalachian Regional Commission. The grant also requires Chimney Rock, Lake Lure and Saluda contribute a few thousand dollars to the effort.

Ghol, federal co-chair of the Appalachian Regional Commission, said there are real economic benefits to be had for Appalachian communities with Wi-Fi.

"Broadband is such a critical part of our economy, and if we want our small towns to be in a good spot, it's going to be an important piece. In this case, these communities will go from not having good cell service to having Wi-Fi," Gohl said.

However, bringing Wi-Fi to Chimney Rock, Lake Lure and Saluda will not be an overnight process.

While portions of the project have been completed, the project may not be fully implemented until the end of the year. That slow but steady pace, Walter said, is intentional.

Just a small stretch of Saluda's downtown can currently pick up the signal.

"We're deploying access points slowly to see what kind of coverage we can get with the signal, and then what kind of usage we're driving," Walter said. "That way, we can tell what kind of voids there are both in terms of strength and usage."

The current signal strength for the PANGAEA Wi-Fi in these communities is about 3 megabits per second — fast enough to do basic things like checking and sending email, but not fast enough to stream or download videos.

For Chris Braund, Lake Lure's town manager, having any Wi-Fi signal is an exciting opportunity for economic development.

"Tourism is people's first introduction to our area, but we hope to convert a good percentage of the tourist population to property purchasers or second-home owners, and then ultimately turn into year-round residents. That's how we expand tax base: Get them hooked as a visitor and then get them here. That's the same model in our entire region," Braund said.

"There's a list of things today that must be present in order for someone to decide to move and retire here, and increasingly high-speed Internet is right up there behind things like water, electricity and sewer. That makes Wi-Fi even more important."

The opportunity

Braund said that this year has been the strongest year both Chimney Rock and Lake Lure have probably had in a decade for tourism.

"We certainly didn't have those challenges back in 2009, 2010 or 2011. We're happy to be dealing with the challenges of being popular again," he said.

One of the challenges Braund repeatedly hears from the business community has been a lack of Internet access for their patrons. With plans for PANGAEA taking shape, though, it could spell opportunity for Chimney Rock, Lake Lure and Saluda.

"Our communities have one predominant industry and that's tourism. So anything and everything we can do to enhance our tourism product and help improve quality of experience our visitors have is something we have to do," he said.

Cathy Jackson, who sells real estate in Saluda, said bringing free public Wi-Fi to these small towns is a real need.

"Even though it's just signals in the air, it's awesome. Right now, it doesn't go beyond three blocks but we're hoping to extend it," she said, noting she saw vendors at the Saluda Arts Fest using the Wi-Fi to do credit card transactions.

For Bell at Green River Adventures, she is hopeful that this Wi-Fi will help put her small town on the map.

"When you go to Greenville, South Carolina, there's free Greenville Wi-Fi you can connect to wherever you go on Main Street," she said. "I think it would be pretty neat to have a really small town like ours doing something this big."