MARINE CORPS AIR STATION IWAKUNI, Japan -- Marine Corps Community Services facilities are scheduled to provide free wired and wireless Internet at various locations around the station in late February.
Locations slated to offer the service include the Crossroads Mall, Crossroads Café, Single Marine Lounge, Strike Zone, IronWorks Gym, Hornets Nest, Youth Center in Building 558, Youth and Teen Center in Building 443, Child Development Center Buildings 636 and 637, Buildings 444, 1188 and 1104, the station library in Building 411, and the Club Iwakuni dinning rooms, ballrooms and possibly the outside 2nd deck patio area.
“This (new service) allows every member of the Iwakuni community an additional way to connect with friends, family and services offered over the Internet,” said Mark S. Shoebrook, MCCS management information systems officer. “A quick chat session over lunch with a friend or loved one can have an immeasurable effect on an individual’s morale and readiness.”
The new Internet service being provided is not a replacement or substitute for paid Internet access, just another avenue offered to stay connected and bring some improvement to the station’s quality of life, Shoebrook said.
The WiFi service will be an open network which requires no signup process and will be accessible by various Wi-Fi enabled devices.
Although there is no limit to the number of people who can use the Internet service, the available bandwidth is not unlimited and areas with high traffic could experience a slow network connection.
“Because this is an open network with limited content filtering, patrons should be mindful of the content they surf and the people around them,” said Shoebrook. “Also peer-to-peer, like Limewire file sharing, may monopolize bandwidth and make the experience for others around them less enjoyable.”
Shoebrook said he also recommends patrons fully charge the batteries to their Wi-Fi devices if they plan to use the Internet for an extended period of time since not all locations slated to offer the service have easy access to a power outlet.
Some of the station members have already expressed excitement at the possibility of the new service.
“It’s something that’s definitely been needed,” said Adam Wilburn, a frequent patron of the Crossroads Café. “I come to the coffee shop a lot and people always come and ask me ‘is there Wi-Fi here’, ‘is it free’, or ‘how do I get it’ and so offering the service will be much more beneficial because a lot of people are looking for that service.”
Wilburn said he also believed offering free Wi-Fi could help community business sales go up because the service will attract more people to the areas where the Internet is offered.
Wilburn said, “(Because of the extra patrons looking for Wi-Fi), the vendors and the shops will be making more money and that money will then come back into the community, so it will help out all around.