Listed below are questions frequently asked about the Wireless Oakland Project.
What is Wireless Oakland?
Wireless Oakland is an initiative launched by County Executive L. Brooks Patterson that consists of three goals. The primary goal is to create public-private partnerships to ensure that all citizens in Oakland County have access to affordable broadband and leverage access to public assets so that some level of free internet service could be provided to Oakland County residents by the private sector.
How Do I Get Service?
Service is currently unavailable anywhere in the County.
The free downtown wireless in the City of the Village of Clarkston, the Village of Holly, and the Village of Oxford will be available by our private sector partner, Air Advantage. As service is made available in these areas, updates will be made to this page.
The original pilot areas in Birmingham, Madison Heights, Oak Park, Royal Oak, Pontiac, Troy, and Wixom are no longer in service.
What technology will be used to create the network?
As a general strategy, the Wireless Oakland initiative will support consumer-based wireless technologies so the cost for the public to use the internet service is minimized.
Are you using County tax dollars for this?
NO, Oakland County will not fund, own or operate the wireless network. Instead, Oakland County will create a public/private partnership(s) by providing private businesses access to the assets in which Oakland County taxpayers have already funded. In exchange, the partner(s) will be required to provide some form of free wireless internet access to residents, businesses and visitors within Oakland County. All profits from the wireless network will be realized by the private sector partners. Additionally, no Oakland County tax or grant dollars will be used to subsidize the creation of the wireless network.
Why is Wireless Oakland important to the future of Oakland County?
The benefits of this project are nearly endless, but fundamentally, the goal of Wireless Oakland is to prepare the residents of Oakland County for the jobs of tomorrow. As businesses go high-tech and more high-tech firms locate and relocate their businesses within Oakland County the residents of the County must be prepared to fill the jobs those businesses have to offer.
