ATLANTIC BEACH, Fla. — Getting work done while surrounded by nature.
High speed internet has made its way into Jack Russell Park in Atlantic Beach, thanks to a new system of fiber-optic cables.
"I own my own business and I work in my free time with my kids, so often times I come here with my computer and connect to my own personal hotspot," said Atlantic Beach mom and business owner Leah Hansen.
Hansen has noticed quite a bit of digging around Atlantic Beach the past few months, and now she knows what it was all for.
She can save that data on her hotspot, at least while she's at Jack Russell Park, with free internet.
"I think everyone understands at this point that internet connectivity is no longer optional, whether it's for work or education or play, you've got to have it," said IQ Fiber CEO Ted Schremp. "Being able to take that same super high speed connection and take it out into public spaces like this is incredibly important."
IQ Fiber is building a fiberoptic network throughout the City of Atlantic Beach for customers, and since it runs through the parks, the company designed and built it for free as a donation.
Not only is it WiFi - it's fast WiFi. A quick speed test on a phone shows the connection is comparable to Verizon 5G, meaning anyone with an unlimited data plan can save those gigabytes.
Atlantic Beach Mayor Curtis Ford says the park can now play a key role during natural disasters.
"I hate to think that we've got to wait until the next big storm to see how effective this is, but we think it matters that you'd have available WiFi when you would not have regular WiFi available at your home or be able to get to your home," said Ford.
Mayor Ford says this is the first purpose-built, free high speed network in a park in Northeast Florida.
It won't stay that way for long, however, as IQ Fiber is already working on the same thing for Jordan and Donner Parks.