Starting with the Feb. 3 Boynton Beach City Commission meeting, Information Technology Services will provide wireless connectivity at City Hall, 100 E. Boynton Beach Blvd.
Phyllis Koch, the city's ITS director, said the city is purchasing cost-effective technology that allows several individuals to wirelessly share one Sprint connection.
The box is portable and once it is initially configured, it can be moved to any location and be live in minutes. It can receive electrical power either from any normal wall outlet or its own battery.
ITS staff will be available at the beginning of the Feb. 3 and Feb 17 commission meetings to help interested media members and residents to configure their laptops and sign-on to the new service. Connectivity should extend from the Commission Chamber to the lobby just outside.
Once they are connected, clients should be able to reach any Internet site or service.
The one draw back is that the connection is a relatively low-volume feed.
The service to the Internet is completely independent from any city computer network, so city computer and network services should not be impacted or compromised in any way.
For information, call 561-742-6000.
Mike Rothman can be reached at mkrothman@tribune.com.