WILLIAMSON, W.Va. — The “Greater Williamson WiFi Weekends” project was launched Thursday in Williamson.

The Williamson Health and Wellness Center has installed a free public WiFi access point in downtown Williamson that benefits local residents and businesses.

A ribbon cutting ceremony took place Thursday in front of the wellness center to celebrate what organizers say is a historic day in Williamson. The project will provide expanded WiFi access for area residents and tourists that visit downtown businesses during weekend hours.

The initial access point for Williamson is installed on the Williamson Health and Wellness Center clinic building and provides service extending approximately 500 feet in range. Additional access points will be added soon to extend the downtown coverage area and capacity.

“Lots of people that don’t have carriers that provide service in Williamson will be able to have access to free public WiFi,” said Williamson Health and Wellness Center President and CEO Dr. Dino Beckett. “Also, we’re very excited this is going to be the Hatfield and McCoy Marathon weekend … so lots of visitors. We have over 1,000 runners coming to town. They’re going to have plenty of guests and friends with them. So, for all of those people to be  able to have access to get to WiFi while they’re on the street and not have to search for signal, it’s pretty exciting.”

This is the first phase of the project. The initial goal of the project is to be able to provide fiber broadband services in Williamson.

A grant has been submitted to the Appalachian Regional Commission.

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