Connect Cochran: Public WiFi is coming to downtown Cochran

Public WiFi is coming to downtown Cochran in what one official called a “huge win for the community.” 

According to Downtown Development Authority Director Ken Land, five different entities in Cochran-Bleckley County have agreed to fund a collaboration with Middle Georgia State University to bring free, public WiFi to the downtown area.

Project plans include deploying ten access points, each with a 150 foot radius, along Second Street with coverage spanning from Ash Street to Dykes Street. 

Right now, downtown Cochran is as Land described, a “dead zone.” The area offers zero public WiFi options and extremely limited data access. Though some businesses downtown offer free internet for customers, many don’t.

According to Land, this low internet access is a major force driving business away from downtown.

Less than one mile away, Middle Georgia State University is home to hundreds of young adults who need consistent access to the internet to complete their school work. Without reliable access, students will opt to stay on campus.

While in the dead zone, visitors also have a hard time accessing their digital wallets which negatively impacts business owners.

According to Land, this collaboration between the city, county and the college will work to bridge this gap and “make Wi-Fi downtown accessible” for everyone.

“This will provide the community access to the internet downtown, hopefully causing them to stay longer and shop longer,” he said.

The access points will be installed and maintained entirely by Middle Georgia State University’s School of Computing. Students involved in the program will contribute their IT knowledge and in exchange, gain experience and school credit.

Back in 2019, the college collaborated with Macon-Bibb County rolling out a similar plan on Poplar Street in downtown Macon. The project was so successful that seven years in, the college still maintains public WiFi on Poplar and in many public parks in the Macon-Bibb County area.

The five entities who will jointly fund the project in downtown Cochran are the City of Cochran, Bleckley County, Chamber of Commerce, Downtown Development Authority and the Industrial Development.

The plan will cost a total of $35,857.52, split between the five entities over five years, at about $551.98 per month. This will include the cost of the licenses, 10 access points and 40 antennas necessary for the project.

In total, each entity will spend $7,171.50 over the five year period.

According to officials, the Chamber and DDA are both in the process of writing grants which could cut some of the costs involved in the project.

The initiative was first presented to Cochran City Council in a work session earlier this month by Downtown Development Authority Director Ken Land and Cochran IT provider Matt Oxley. 

At the following meeting, council approved the project pending approval from the four other entities.

According to Land, once all five entities approve it, the access points shouldn’t take longer than 60 days to set up, making public WiFi in downtown a possibility before 2027.