OURISM in Spotsylvania County usually centers on the 1860s. But officials are now turning to the 21st century.
"It's a new day in Spotsylvania," said Hap Connors, chairman of the Board of Supervisors.
The latest change is the county's move to wireless. Now, anyone traveling through the courthouse area can connect to the Internet with a laptop or personal data assistant. Wireless connections are available along State Route 208 from the county offices to the Spotsylvania Museum, according to a county press release. The service is free.
"Every day you turn around, you see the changes happen," Connors said. "And I think that's a good thing, and it's helping to rebrand and reposition Spotsylvania County as a cool place to live."
The service is called Crossroads Connection. Eventually, tourists with Internet access will be able to tap into information about the county. However, Brian Scott, director of information services for the county, said that for now the move will probably benefit locals.
"Initially, I think it will be useful for people that are commuting through the courthouse area," he said. "They may be able to download their e-mails before they get to the office."
The initial phase of the project has been up and running since August, Scott said. But the wireless project will grow both in vision and in coverage area.
In the future, the county hopes to offer free wireless service in the Cosner's Corner area of the county, which is on U.S. 1 near Massaponax; somewhere along State Route 3; and in the rural areas of the county, Connors said.
But the next phase is more about service than square feet. It will include a tourism Web site that pops up whenever anyone logs onto the Internet through the county's wireless service.
"You're actually capturing the people coming in and directing them to the home page," Scott said. "The people can get county business. It will be very easy for them to point and click and go where they need to within the county Web sites."
That part of the project should be done by the end of the year, Scott said. In the third phase, people will be able to download walking tours to their PDAs and laptops. They'll also receive information on local restaurants and historic sites.
Connors said this type of tourism enhancement is "especially targeted at the younger generation who may be bored with the old way of touring the battlefield."
But he hopes the technology will do more than bring younger tourists; he wants it to entice businesses to the county.
"If we are to create new economic development opportunities, wireless and broadband becomes just as important as water and sewer and roads in the infrastructure you provide," he said.
Connors got the idea of creating a county hot spot through his day job at the Center for Innovative Technology in Northern Virginia. He said that many towns and counties throughout Virginia are turning to wireless technology. Many use it to boost economic development. Connors sees it helping almost every aspect of the county, including tourism, economic development, marketing, fire and rescue, and education. It could even work to ease transportation woes, he said, since wireless technology can help people do their jobs from anywhere.
"I see it happening all over the county, all over the region, all over," Connors said.
Glossary: Some wireless lingo for those of you who aren't techno-geeks
Wi-Fi: short for "wireless fidelity," the popular term for a high-frequency wireless local area network
WLAN: a wireless local area network that uses radio waves as its carrier; the last link with the users is wireless, to give a network connection to all users in the surrounding area. Areas may range from a single room to an entire campus. The backbone network usually uses cables, with one or more wireless access points connecting the wireless users to the wired network.
Broadband: a term for high-speed, high-capacity Internet and data connections
Wireless: refers to the type of broadband connection in which information is sent from and arrives at a computer through transmission towers
Hot spot: A specific geographical location in which an access point provides public wireless broadband network services to mobile visitors through a WLAN. Hot spots are often located in heavily populated places such as airports, train stations, libraries, marinas, convention centers and hotels. Hot spots typically have a short range.
What is it? A wireless Internet connection
Who can use it? Anyone with a wireless laptop or PDA
Where can it be used? In the courthouse area, from the Spotsylvania Museum to the Judicial Center along State Route 208 and the front of the Holbert building.
How can it be used? To surf the Internet; read, write and send e-mails; and conduct business
Why is it offered? To promote tourism and to help county residents conduct business online
Does it cost anything to use? Nope.
Then and now
Brian Scott came to the county's information services department 21 years ago.
Back then, the department had three employees. The county had one personal computer and one minicomputer. Both were bolted to tables, and all of the county's departments shared the computers.
Now, everyone has a computer, and "if the computers go down, everyone stops working," Scott said. He sees the county continuing to use new technology. An upcoming step could include e-tickets, where police officers just scan a driver's license instead of writing a ticket on paper.
Read more stories about Spotsylvania Date published: 9/26/2006
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